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Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-0 in their first match since the appointment of Zinedine Zidane as their manager. Real now have 54 points from 28 matches in La Liga, and are third position on the league table.
Zidane stepped down as Real’s manager in May 2018, but was reappointed following the sacking of Santiago Solari, who failed to take Los Blancos to the quarter final of the Champions League, and also oversaw consecutive defeats against arch rivals Barcelona at home.
Isco and Gareth Bale scored for Real in the second half of the match to ensure a comfortable win. The first half had ended goalless in spite of the home side’s continuous efforts to break the deadlock.
We would now take a look at the 3 things we learned from today’s match:
#1 Real made some changes in their starting line-up
Zidane made some changes in the starting line-up, as Isco and Marco Asensio made a comeback to it. Isco, who was sidelined for a long time by Solari, started as a central midfielder in a 4-3-3 formation. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos played as the other two midfielders, and Bale, Asensio and Karim Benzema played as the attacking trio.
Moreover, Álvaro Odriozola started as Real’s right-back instead of Dani Carvajal, and put up a decent performance. Isco scored his 66th goal for Real Madrid, as he tapped in a cross from Benzema. Benzema was again very good for Real, as registered his 6th assist of the season. Keylor Navas started in goal in place of Thibaut Courtois.
Marcelo, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane also started in the defence for Real Madrid, but did not have to work too hard, as Celta made very few inroads into the final third. Modric played box-to-box in the first half, and was tireless in his approach. He also played some vital passes to Real’s forwards, but the latter somehow failed to breach Celta’s defence.
Kroos took over from Modric in the second half, and roamed all over the opposition half. He also opened up spaces in Celta’s half with some intelligent through balls, and helped Real dominate Celta completely. However, Asensio was quite possibly the most impressive player in the pitch, and contributed immensely towards the first goal.
#2 Minor adjustments in formation helped Real in the second half
Real made some changes in their formation in the second half, as they shifted Benzema to the left flank, and Bale to the centre of the pitch. As a result, Benzema started cutting in from the left flank frequently, and one of his forays led to the opening goal. Also, Isco started playing in a more advanced role, and penetrated frequently into Celta’s penalty box.
In the 62nd minute of the match, Asensio ran in diagonally from the right flank, and played the ball to an advancing Benzema, who provided a very good cross to Isco inside the penalty box. Isco did not make any mistake in tapping in and putting Real ahead.
Asensio kept moving swiftly through the right flank, and providing quality passes to the likes of Benzema and Bale. Marcelo ran in from the left flanks to play a delectable pass to Bale inside the Celta penalty box, and the latter controlled the ball superbly before slotting it past the Celta goalkeeper.
It was Bale’s 101st goal for Real Madrid, and the Welsh forward did justice to the faith that Zidane had put on him by including him in the starting eleven.
#3 Celta played counter-attacking football, but could not trouble the Real defence
Celta played counter-attacking football throughout the match, but could not trouble the Real defenders much. Both Ramos and Varane dealt with the Celta forwards quite comfortably, and also played some long balls to Real’s forwards at times.
Real also started playing the high defensive line more frequently after half time, and it allowed them to increase numbers in the opposition half. It put more pressure on the Celta defenders, as they had to deal with more Real players in their defensive third.
Real succeeded in scoring two goals ultimately, and managed to salvage some pride. After having taken the lead, Real took off Bale, Isco and Modric, and introduced youngsters Dani Ceballos, Mariano Diaz and Frederico Valverde into the match. They lent solidity to Real’s midfield and attack, and did not allow Celta to come back into the match.
