You could argue that Isco had a near perfect game in Gijón Saturday afternoon against the relegation zone dwellers Sporting de Gijón as Real Madrid won 3-2 to stay top of the league. Ben Sundock gives you the review of a surprisingly close, and fun to watch match between the Spanish giants and the Gijón.
First Half
The first half began with plenty of possession from Real Madrid, who looked to work the wings and had plenty of space in the midfield, with Sporting Gijón dropping between 8 and 10 players back at a time, taking in the Real Madrid attack and limiting crosses to the middle.
A probing run by Lucas Vasquez in the 11th minute was the only true chance of the opening half, after a great cross from Danilo, Vasquez completely misjudged his power on the header and sent the ball well over the crossbar.
With no true chances from either side for the first 13 minutes, it caught everyone off guard when Mikel Vesga chipped the ball over the Real Madrid back four, onto the in stride foot of Duje Cop, who beat Madrid goalkeeper Kiko Casilla to the low corner to surprisingly put the home side up 1-0.
It didn’t take long for Real to answer as Isco, to begin his Man of the Match performance, ran through the Sporting defense into the box, beating three defenders on the dribble, to score a world class goal in the top corner of the net to tie the game.
Before the goal, Isco had created several chances and made several good attacking runs. It was a shame he didn’t get a better look at goal before this one, but Isco created plenty of chances, both from inside and outside the box, in front of goal.
Real kept most of the possession after the goal tied things up in the 17th minute. Sergio Alvararez of Sporting picked up the first yellow of the match in the 21st minute. Other than a Morata chance, and a couple of corners for Real, there no true chances to score, as Real Madrid maintained possession, but just couldn’t the net.
The two teams went into the locker room tied at one.
First half goals from #Sporting's Duje Cop and this man, @isco_alarcon has #SportingRealMadrid tied at 1 at halftime pic.twitter.com/arpr3a6Hzo
— The Real Champs (@TheRealChampsFS) April 15, 2017
Second Half
The second half began quickly as Sporting took the possession out of the gates. Nacho had a quick shot off a free kick on a header for Real Madrid that was saved right in front of goal.
A quick counter attack and a good run from the assist man from the first goal, Mikel Vesga, off of a free kick set up, headed home a looping ball beating the Real keeper who could not reach the ball.
Real Madrid again answered the Sporting goal quickly with a goal of their own, as just nine minutes after relegation endangered Gijón had taken the lead, a spot on cross from Danilo to super sub striker Alvaro Morata who beat keeper Ivan Cuéller to tie the game back up.
In the 64th minute, a good link up play between Morata and Lucas Vasquez saw Morata put the ball in the net, however, the Spanish striker was called offside after initially taking a shot that was saved by Cuéller, then headed off the bar by Vasquez, and then put into the net by Morata.
The call drew Morata to complain and it was close to seeing him receive a yellow.
It was clear in the substituting that Zidane was trying to go more attacking, bringing off Fabio Coentrao, and bringing on Marcelo. He also brought Mariano on for Lucas Vasquez in the 71st minute, but was careful to leave on his three attacking midfielders, James, Marco Asensio, and Isco.
Mariano and Morata were lurking in the middle of the box, or waiting on the edge of the area to jump in on a cross and head the ball on goal. Both players had their chances but were unable to finish any of the chances.
Morata was again frustrated after missing a chance in the 89th minute, drawing a yellow card.
Despite Casemiro coming on for Kovacic, Real stayed on the attack, keeping all the possession, never allowing Sporting anywhere near their net.
In the 90th minute, another stroke of pure brilliance from Isco was enough to get Real Madrid the goal and the win as the crafty midfielder dribbled around slow defenders to put the shot in the bottom corner of the net.
The goal was late enough to see Los Blancos snatch away the 3 points from Gijón after the relegation side might have deserved the draw, earning two goals against the legue leaders.
The win is of course a huge one for Real Madrid as they keep up their lead atop La Liga, putting pressure back on FC Barcelona to win every game.
Man of the Match: Isco
There is no doubt that Isco deserves man of the match in this one. And WhoScored agrees, giving the Spanish midfielder a perfect 10 rating, his first of the season.
Completing 94% of his passes, taking 10 stunning dribbles, winning 1 tackle, and taking 2 shots and scoring on both of them, including the winner. What makes this performance even more impressive is the way in which he scored both of his goals. The first, was a great individual effort, knifing through the Sporting defense, beating three defenders to score.
The second goal, was also a beauty, as Isco let a long shot go from just outside the box, shooting it through the legs of Sporting center back Babin. It was simply a flawless performance from the midfielder.
More from The Real Champs
- Manchester City hold talks over Real Madrid target
- Real Madrid player confirms he is playing with a fracture
- Real Madrid superstar rejected Premier League clubs confirmed
- Spaniard ready to join Real Madrid instead of Liverpool
- PSG want €100 million Real Madrid player to replace Kylian Mbappe
If you didn’t know who he was before this match, you sure do now. And many teams in Europe will surely come calling for Isco’s number this week.
Zidane needs to lock Isco up before someone else decides to pay big money for him, his talents should definitely not go to waste.
Next: Kylian M’Bappe vs Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Which Forward Is More Likely To Join Real Madrid