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#4 Defense holds steady in the first half, lacks concentration in the second
In their previous games, Madrid was very weak on the defensive end. Eibar broke through the defense in the last game and Madrid lived dangerously against Roma. Valencia made several attempts to break them down in the first half but there was no space vacant.
Any cutback, cross, shot or dribble attempt, everything was gobbled up by the Madrid defense. Valencia didn't have a sight of Thibaut Courtois in the first half. The defense justified the presence of Ramos and Varane in the middle.
In the second half, Valencia came out with more intent and accordingly the defense was broken apart on numerous occasions. We saw the same sort of problems that we saw with Madrid defense in the past few matches. Thibaut Courtois came to their rescue twice in the second half.
Madrid shouldn't be in the delusion that their defensive problems are all but gone. They were saved by poor finishing of Valencia which won't be the case when poachers like Icardi and Kane are on a 1v1. Luck favored Madrid because they were brave in their attacking approach.
