Three things we learned from Getafe 1-2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid defeated Getafe 1-2, securing a crucial three points and continuing their fine form away from home. Here are three key takeaways from that match.

The Ronaldo/Benzema strike-force is still lethal

Many people give Benzema a lot of flack. Some were astounded that Benzema consistently sat Alvaro Morata despite Morata having a much better goals to minute ratio. Madrid fans often voice their frustration at the striker who they think needs to score more goals.

But at the end of the day, there’s a reason why Benzema’s lasted so long at Madrid, despite perhaps not being as lethal a striker as some other options Real  could pursue.  Simply put, Karim Benzema is successful at Real Madrid because he makes such an excellent partner to Cristiano Ronaldo. As Marca have previously reported, Ronaldo and Benzema  are a strike partnership that is difficult to rival.

The strength of the CR7/Big Benz partnership was on display again against Getafe as Benzema and Ronaldo each netted one of Real Madrid’s two goals. Without the injured Gareth Bale, the B and C of the BBC trident managed to get Real Madrid across the finish line.

Benzema’s goal was top quality. Despite the defensive calamity from Getafe, Benzema had a lot of work to do to smack the ball low and hard into the far post. And it’s good to see Ronaldo finally open up his La Liga goalscoring account.

Real Madrid still need to do better at the back.

Real Madrid sure don’t seem to like keeping a clean sheet. Despite boasting some of the most potent attacking prowess in European football, Real Madrid are just plain leaky at the defensive end. Once again, against Getfae, Real Madrid were unable to keep a clean sheet.

With Keylor Navas out through injury, Zidane relied on Kiko Casilla to guard Madrid’s goal. Varane was also absent, having just returned from International duty. With Carvajal still out for a heart problem, that meant Achraf Hakimi at right-back, Marcelo at left-back, and Nacho at center-back alongside Sergio Ramos.

Interestingly enough, the best performance of the night probably came from the rookie first-teamer Achraf, who was a bundle of energy throughout the match and put in good work on both ends of the pitch.

It’s not that Real Madrid were terrible in defense in this match. But time after time, we see Real Madrid fail to keep their focus for the full 90 and concede a silly goal. It was no different against Getafe.

Marcelo was splayed out trying to cover two positions and allowed Getafe to break through. Nacho and Llorente failed to adequately communicate, and Llorente let the ball slip past him onto the foot of Jorge Molina, right into the back of the net. It looked like if it wasn’t a Molina goal, it could have just as easily been a Llorente own goal.

With Zidane making as many rotations as he does, it’s easy to understand how Madrid’s back line might suffer from some communication issues. Let’s hope Zidane can get those stupid mistakes drilled out of this Madrid squad by the business end of the season.

Real Madrid keep the pressure on Barcelona

Real Madrid needed a win to keep the pressure on Barcelona ahead of their match with Atletico Madrid, and the performance against Getafe was mission accomplished. Even though it wasn’t a totally convincing match, Real Madrid got three points when only three points would do.

Fortunately for Real Madrid, Barcelona could not manage to complete their comeback after going down 1-0 against Diego Simeone’s Atletico. While Luis Suarez did manage to scrape back a late point for Barca, they had to settle for a draw. That allows Real Madrid to carve two points off of Barcelona’s seven point lead.

With just five points separating the two teams at the top of the La Liga table, Real Madrid now are back in control of their own destiny. Winning both the home and away Clasicos against Barcelona would now be enough to overturn the remaining deficit, something that Madrid could not take solace in before matchweek eight began.

Madrid needed a win to keep the pressure on, and a win was what they got.

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