X-ray of a comeback

The Real Madrid slept provisional leader on Saturday night after defeating Barcelona in the Classical (2-1) to culminate a comeback that has been forged over the last two months. The white team beat the eternal rival in Valdebebas with a deployment and counterattack exercise in the first half and suffering in the second. Ilaix was about to throw it all away on the last play, but he finished off the crossbar and the three points stayed in Madrid, raising the whites to first place in the table: 66 points, the same as Atleti one more than Barcelona.

It is true that the white leadership is provisional, pending what Atlético does at Betis' home in Seville, in a very complicated duel for the rojiblancos before one of the revelations of LaLiga and with sensitive losses in the eleven as Marcos Llorente and Luis Suárez. Whether the leading day ends or not, Real Madrid's comeback is meritorious: at the end of matchday 31 he was third, tied with Barcelona at 40 points and ten behind AtletiFirst, that he also had one game less than his two pursuers.

Today that distance has disappeared and Madrid is fully involved in the bid for the title, while he is also the only Spanish who remains standing in the Champions League and has one foot already in the semifinals; they need to finish the job at Anfield on Wednesday, after 3-1 in the first leg. This is how Madrid managed to turn their situation around in just over two months.

Find regularity

It is a truism, but it should not be ignored for that reason: Madrid have found a clear line of results, essential to qualify for the title of regularity. After a brilliant December, his departure in 2020 and entry into 2021 left much to be desired: he drew at Elche's home (18th right now) and in Pamplona against Osasuna (14th), and on January 30th he hit the blow at home against Levante (1-2). That was his last loss in LaLiga, since then he has added 23 points out of 27, with seven wins and two draws.

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He could not beat Atleti, but avoided 'in extremis' an Atletico victory that would have launched him for the title (1-1); and yes it was imposed on Barcelona; between both rivals, five points that Madrid prevented from adding and that are now their fuel in the fight for the League. The culés have followed a line very similar to Madrid since then: 22 points out of 27, with seven victories, a draw and the defeat of the Classic. It has been Atleti that has squandered an income that led directly to the title: four wins, three draws and two losses, at the expense of what they do in Seville. They are 15 points out of 27, just over half. Madrid (and Barça) found consistency and that got them hooked on the League.

Zidane's harangue took effect

After the defeat against Levante, in the preview of the next day of the League (against Huesca), Zidane took his less contained version for a walk: “We deserve to stand up until the end of the season, I'm not going to give it up and neither are we players.. If you want to change me, tell me to my face … Not just from behind. You have to respect the people who work a bit, this team won the League last year. Not ten years ago, last year. “

An atypical speech for the Marseillais, used to keeping a low profile whenever he sits in front of the media. The message was clear: protect the players from criticism that came from outside at a difficult time and, at the same time, urge the staff to change that dynamic to stop the aforementioned criticisms. And the dressing room got the message: he recovered from a first goal by Javi Galán to win in Huesca (1-2, double by Varane) and He has not fallen since that stumble against Levante.

Benzema makes it easier

Much has been said about the difficulties of this Real Madrid to score goals, which inevitably led to their need to strengthen themselves in the next market (Haaland, Mbappé …). That was a reality for many days: Madrid closed their first 19 league games with only 34 goals (1.8 per game) in favor and leaving the field three times without seeing a goal. Now, the whites have scored 12 games in a row and their average has risen in that stretch to two goals per league duel. He maintains the formula that led him to the title last year (effectiveness above and solvency behind), but now he achieves it with more ease, generating more and marking more.

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In that offensive revival of Madrid, Benzema's role is capital: the Frenchman has been scoring seven consecutive days (He lost two in between due to injury), he has scored nine goals since February 9 in the league and his are 19 of the 53 that Madrid has scored in the domestic tournament so far (36%). They are 25 throughout the season for the '9', who fixes his gaze on his personal record of 32 goals from 2015-16; He is seven away, with eight days ahead and at least one other Champions League match, which could be two more if Madrid go to the semifinals and three if they also reach the final in Istanbul on May 29.

Zidane squeezes the squad

Zidane made it clear at the end of the Classic, referring to the image of exhaustion that Real Madrid had given in the second half: “Now we have to rest well because there are players touched. I don't know how we are going to end the season., we are physically at the limit. “

The permanence of the white team in the Champions League, where no other Spaniard exceeded the round of 16, complicates the fight for the League: Madrid had to play against Liverpool before the Clásico, they will do it again next Wednesday and if they go to the semifinals they will be waiting for Porto or Chelsea (predictably the English) there will be two more matches, located between the league matches against Betis, Osasuna and Sevilla. A handicap that Barcelona and Atlético do not have and that tires a squad that Zidane is making the most of.

In the last ten days of the League, Courtois, Nacho and Casemiro have played 100% of the minutes, Mendy 99%, Modric, at 35, 87%, Benzema 76% (including injury), Varane 80% (He lost the Classic due to COVID), Vinicius 71% … After the departures of Jovic and Odegaard in January, the spare parts are scarce and Zidane does not finish trusting them, betting day after day on his hard block. For the moment it works, but the load of matches threatens to take its toll on a team with several players over 30 years old (Ramos, Nacho, Kroos, Modric, Benzema …).

Vinicius meets again

If a positive aspect has had the impossibility of having Hazard for much of the season (the Belgian has been chaining muscle injuries; he is already available, but Zidane will not give him ball until he sees him at 100% and without risks), that It has been to be able to contemplate the return of Vinicius to the level that he was known, the one he showed in his explosive first season in white. The Brazilian has started seven of the last ten days, scoring a saving goal against Real Sociedad that was worth one point and giving an assist against Eibar.

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Beyond the statistics, he has recovered his dribbling version, the one that was hidden for months, in an attempt by Vinicius to convey to Zidane his ability to secure the ball. Over time, the former Flamengo understood that this record did not suit him and he galloped again: Against Barcelona, ​​he led two counterattacks that ended in fouls on the front and yellow for the two central holders of the Catalans, Mingueza and Araújo; in the second case, Kroos scored 2-0 taking advantage of this circumstance.

His problems facing the rival goal are still an evidence, it was seen in the second part of the Classic, in which exhaustion clouded his good judgment in the final meters and prevented him from attending Benzema for the third or scoring it himself in more on one occasion (he ran into the pole once). Although in the Champions League he finally found the way: two goals against Liverpool in the first leg of the quarterfinals, in addition to a penalty against Atalanta in the second round and a period game that ended terribly. At the critical point of the season, Vinicius becomes Vinicius again and complicates life for Zidane, who now must choose between keeping the Brazilian in the eleven or hitting a Hazard that is no guarantee of anything, apparently so far .

Asensio rebels based on goals

He was a substitute in the Classic so that Fede Valverde could enter and prop up the center of the field, also reinforcing the coverage on the right of the Madrid defense, where Alba threatened to damage Madrid. But Asensio's performance in the last month is encouraging. After repeated opportunities without the Balearic justifying his presence in the eleven, Zidane gave him bench syrup against Atalanta and Celta and the Spaniard got the quick message: he came out in the final minutes of both duels to score, which helped him to regain his place in the initial team. Against Eibar and Liverpool he repeated goals, chaining four games leaving his mark.

El Clásico stopped his streak, but there are already six goals and two assists for the Balearic Islands this season. Asensio continued dragging the consequences of a year of inactivity after his injury last year; not so much mental as physical, he was absent from that self-confidence that deluded the club during his first two seasons in white. Little by little, Asensio has managed to banish that image and puts Zidane in another mess, who must choose whether to promote the Mallorcan for the final stretch of the course or pull a Valverde that, with his deployment and his drive, gives an extra vitality to the core.

A fireproof stocking

Because the Real Madrid midfield, brilliant in the last months of the season, plays everything and plays everything well. Casemiro (4th most used by Zizou) was expelled in the last minutes of the Classic and will miss the visit to Getafe, which will give him a well-deserved rest; Modric, at 35 years old, has almost 3,000 minutes and is the sixth most used player by Zidane so far; Kroos, with 100 minutes less than the Croatian, is seventh.

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The midfield of the three consecutive Champions League resists retirement and does so by directing the best moment of the Madrid season and, in addition, contributing in attack: between the three they add 13 goals and 20 assists. The last example, Kroos's direct free-kick in El Clásico, with the help of Dest and Alba to mislead Ter Stegen. After Odegaard's departure to Arsenal in January, the importance of the relays now gains weight, with a special role for Valverde (brilliant for an hour against Barça, he limped away and it remains to be seen if there is injury, his physique has been showing fragile this season) and in the background for Isco, who begins to see the ways of the past again: he was good in Bergamo against Atalanta, against Eibar …

Living without Ramos

And all this has been achieved by Real Madrid without counting on Sergio Ramos, its captain and emblem of the last decade: The one from Camas has only played 61 minutes in the league since mid-January, but the Whites have been able to string together good results in Spain and Europe (He did play the second leg against Atalanta and scored a penalty) without him, who has had a knee operation and a muscle injury during an inopportune call with the Spanish National Team. Not only was the Sevillian missing, Carvajal has only been able to play 113 minutes in 2021 and Varane missed the visits from Liverpool and Barcelona due to COVID (it remains to be seen if he will be able to play at Anfield). Right now, only Mendy survives from the gala rear.

The secondary ones have taken the step forward. Like Lucas Vázquez, who played the role of winger in the Camp Nou Classic and remained the best option for the position, definitively displacing an Odriozola who already counted little; the Galician had two goals and eight assists (the last, to Benzema in the Classical) and cries out for a renewal (His contract expires in June) but this Sunday he received the blow that he suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his knee and missed the season. Or Militao, from whose error in coverage the last league defeat of Madrid was born (he was sent off against Levante after ten minutes of the game), but who against Eibar, Liverpool and Barcelona has reinforced his candidacy as a central defender with a level to dress the White T-shirt.

And especially Nacho. Last season, Zidane banished the youth squad and gave all the weight to Militao, following in the wake of the club, which had just disbursed 50 million euros for the Brazilian. Time showed the coach that Nacho, in addition to being exemplary off the pitch (he never raised his voice, when he spoke it was to support the coach despite his few opportunities), he is probably Madrid's best-fit defender at the time. And he is talisman: he has played everything since the defeat against Levante and from there Madrid took off, in the League and in the Champions League. On Sunday against Getafe, a litmus test without him: he saw the fifth yellow against Barcelona and will complete a cycle of warnings.