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In a title-deciding clash at the Zayed sports city stadium, the hosts Al-Ain took on the Champions League holders Real Madrid.
Al-Ain were the surprise finalists as they defeated a strong River Plate side on penalties in the semifinal of the Club World Cup. On the other hand, Real Madrid, who have struggled heavily both in LaLiga and Champions league were hoping for an inspiring victory that would sow the seeds for a turnaround in the second half of the season.
The manager of Al-Ain Zoran Mamic decided to go with a typical 4-2-3-1 formation and made just one change to the side that won against River Plate. Youngster Rayan Yaslam started as an attacking midfielder in place of the experienced Tongo Doumbia.
On the other hand, Santiago Solari opted for a 4-3-3 formation with Llorente given a chance to prove himself on the big stage even though Casemiro was fit to play again. Isco was once again benched and Lucas Vasquez started on the right wing.
For the first 20 minutes, both the teams exchanged equal blows and Al-Ain missed a golden chance to open the scoring as Ramos blocked away a close-range effort from El Shahat.
Modric opened the scoring for the visitors with a trademark left-foot curler from outside the box after a layoff from Benzema. Soon Benzema missed an easy tap-in opportunity and at the end of the first half, the scoreline read 1-0.
In the second half, both Llorente and Ramos scored for the hosts and took Real Madrid to the cusp of victory. In a bid to save energy, Solari brought on Vinicius for the excellent Lucas Vasquez while Casemiro and Ceballos replaced Llorente and Kroos respectively.
Vinicius made a great run into the opposition box and forced an own goal from Yahia Nader in the dying moments. In the end, Real Madrid comfortably won the match 4-1.
Here are the 3 reasons why Real Madrid won the match:
#1 Marcos Llorente’s performance
Casemiro has been the rock of the Real Madrid defence for almost 3 seasons and when he was injured during the crunch time for Real Madrid, many expected the Los Blancos to suffer in his absence.
Solari tried Ceballos as a defensive midfielder during his initial games but that move did not give the desired results. Since then Solari has trusted Llorente in the holding midfield position and with each passing game, he has grown in confidence and stature.
In a knockout game against opposition with home advantage, Llorente showed the calmness and composure of a veteran and was measured in both attack and defence. His positioning whenever the opposition countered was particularly impressive and won some crucial 1 on 1 duels against the opposition midfield.
The cherry on top was his stunning goal from outside of the box. Since Casemiro is fit enough to play again, Solari somehow has to fit Marcus Llorente into his future plans.
#2 High defensive line
Al-Ain are hard to beat when they keep possession of the ball and in order to counter this strategy, Real Madrid stretched their defensive line further up in a bid to press high and win back the ball.
This made them vulnerable to counter attacks and they did struggle in the initial minutes of the game. But, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane proved their class as the match progressed and were hardly beaten by the opposition forwards.
Ramos, in particular, made an unbelievable goal-line save in the 13th minute of the game after El Shahat beat Courtois and the goal post was left empty. Varane was assured while carrying the ball forward and during counterattacks, Llorente covered the entire defence with some crucial interceptions and clearances.
Surprisingly, both Carvajal and Marcelo tracked back regularly to help his teammates during transitions and capped off a solid defensive performance from the Los Blancos.
#3 Solari’s tactics
This is Santiago Solari’s second month in charge of Real Madrid and he is slowly figuring out his starting XI and the players who he can trust on a regular basis.
Against Al-Ain on Saturday, Real Madrid’s playing style was quite clear. Solari wants his team to keep possession of the ball by pressing hard and for this purpose, he used Lucas Vasquez on the right flank against Al-Ain.
The work rate of Lucas Vasquez played a major role in Madrid dominating possession in the midfield. Vasquez might not be a typical winger but he is an expert in linking up the play and unselfishly helps his team on the defensive front also.
Solari should be given a lot of credit for the way he has utilised Llorente since he was rarely given any match time during Zinedine Zidane’s stint.
More importantly, he has convinced Ramos to give up his reckless forward runs and this has increased the defensive solidity of this side.
