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Score: Villarreal 2-2 Real Madrid
Goalscorers: Real Madrid - Gareth Bale 11', Cristiano Ronaldo 32'
Villarreal - Roger Martinez 71', Samuel Castillejo 85'
Real Madrid ended their 2017/18 La Liga campaign with a 2-2 draw against Villarreal. It was a performance reflective of their league campaign where the Champions League finalists impressed and frustrated in equal measure.
Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo gave the visitors a lead in the first half with two well-worked goals. Villarreal reduced the deficit in the 71st minute when substitute Roger Martinez smashed home from the left.
Another substitute, Samuel Castillejo, got the equalizer five minutes from time to mount a successful comeback. So without further ado, let's discuss the game in further detail and analyze the key talking points that emerged from the 2-2 draw:
#5 Real Madrid field their strongest team including one big surprise
After resting as many players as possible in the 6-0 win against Celta Vigo, Zinedine Zidane brought his A-team to Villarreal. With this being the last game of the season before their Champions League final against Liverpool, Real Madrid were expected to field their strongest XI against the Yellow Submarines.
The regular back four and the midfield three returned to their positions with these seven players assured of a starting berth in Kiev. Isco played in the No. 10 role, with Ronaldo and Bale up front. Karim Benzema was left on the bench, which was a big surprise when the lineups were announced.
But the biggest surprise of the night came in the selection of Luca Zidane, who made his debut for Real Madrid. The teenage goalkeeper, and Zinedine Zidane's son, was given the nod to start ahead of Kiko Casilla.
#4 Luca Zidane's big night
The 20-year-old started between the posts for Real Madrid in their final league game of the season. Being a debutant and the son of the club legend, it was obvious that all attention would be on how he fares in the game.
The young Zidane seemed confident from the word go. In the first half, he covered his angles well as few of Villarreal shots went just wide. His distribution was decent as he clocked up a 92% pass percentage. Luca also made a stunning save early in the second half, parrying away Nicola Sansone's dipping free kick.
The youngster had no chance to save the first Villarreal goal with Martinez hitting a sweet strike into the top corner. But he could have done better for the second goal, coming off his line quickly, to rush against Castillejo. All in all, it was a decent performance by the debutant, who will get more chances in the next season.
#3 Villarreal engineer a late comeback
The hosts started the game brightly and were troubling Real Madrid through the right flank. But goals from Bale and Ronaldo nullified the pressure that Villarreal had created in the early stages of the match. The Submarines had a huge task at hand in the second half to get away with anything from this game.
Manager Javier Calleja was spot on with his substitutions as he made three attacking changes to his side, with two of them netting the all-important goals. The decision to bring on Roger Martinez and Samuel Castillejo proved to be the turning point of the game.
Also, Calleja's changes to his starting lineup from the 4-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna proved to be decisive. The duo of Nicola Sansone and Enes Unal returned to the starting eleven and impressed against Real Madrid.
#2 Defensive issues still remain for Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane fielded his strongest defence against Villarreal, which will mostly start against Liverpool on May 26. The return of Dani Carvajal was a major sense of relief to the management and the supporters alike.
But Carvajal had a bad day in the office as Villarreal decided to attack him in the first half. He was bypassed far too easily at times and did not provide the needed cover for Raphael Varane. It was the same with Marcelo who was caught out of position on numerous occasions.
For the first goal, Martinez was not closed down by Varane and was given ample time to take his shot. This mistake against the likes of Salah and Mane could prove to be disastrous. For the second, Marcelo was caught napping and played Castillejo onside.
Fullbacks are Real Madrid's strength going forward but are also their biggest weakness at the moment. From recent weeks it can be concluded that Real Madrid's fate against Liverpool will be decided by how Carvajal and Marcelo fare against the mighty Liverpool attack.
#1 Gareth Bale seals his place in the Champions League final
With yet another goal to his name, Gareth Bale has all but sealed his place in the playing eleven against Liverpool. The Welshman has now scored four goals in his last four La Liga games - a streak he has managed after two years.
It was a brilliant goal from Bale that gave Real Madrid the lead. With his back against the goal, he used the defender to turn and shot with his right foot to find the bottom corner. He also drifted wide at times to create space for Cristiano Ronaldo and even dropped deep to get involved.
Bale's direct threat, Isco, had an average outing as he was taken off at the hour mark. It can be argued that the Spaniard has blown his chance to start against Liverpool as on current form, it is impossible for Zidane to drop the Welshman.
Hence, it can be predicted that Real Madrid will deploy a 4-3-3 formation in the Champions League final with the BBC troika leading the line for the reigning champions.
