Real Madrid 2 – 1 Valencia: 3 Takeaways from the La Liga Match

The Keylor Navas Redemption Tour Rolls On.

Keylor Navas had a really rough start to the 2016-2017 season. After spending some time sidelined with injury, we began seeing a precipitous decline from the keeper who had widely been recognized as one of the best in the world. Navas’ biggest problem was his positioning; he had a tendency to come off his line at strange moments, causing him to be beat from improbable distances and angles. In terms of clean sheet records, Navas has gone from one of the best in the league to one of the worst.

Slowly but surely, Navas has been starting to turn his form around. Navas was perhaps the brightest spot in Madrid’s defeat to Barcelona in El Clásico, making a number of crucial saves that kept Madrid in the game until late.

And while Navas was unable to keep a clean sheet against Valencia, he was nevertheless a key part of Madrid’s efforts to salvage three points from a feisty Valencia side.  Navas can hardly blamed for the beautiful curler that ex-Madrid man Parejo steered into the top corner from a free kick.  In fact, he got a hand to this ball, and was almost able to slap it clear, but just faield to do so.

Navas’ biggest contribution came in the opening minutes of the match, as Ramos let Mina by for a dangerous shot at the near post from point-blank range, which Navas was able to parry away to Mina again whose rebound smacked the post.

Navas was rarely called into action after this, but showed much more composure in the box than Kiko Casilla did days earlier against Deportivo. Navas’ positioning and decision-making were on-point, and managed to successfully catch a number of crosses that Casilla most likely would have merely punched away were he between the posts.

Real Madrid may still be in the market for a goalkeeper next season, but it’s good to know that Navas is recovering his form in time for the tricky matches ahead.