Real Madrid 0 – 1 Villarreal – Match recap – how it happened

First Half

The first half against Villarreal saw some glimpses of the fluid and fierce Real Madrid that we got used to last season. In particular, Marcelo, Bale, Isco, and Modric looked dangerous throughout much of the first half. Real Madrid dominated in possession and created 18 shots. Unfortunately, only  three of those targets were on target (Stats from BeinSports half-time show).

The story of the first half was the story of a very frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo. The Dark Invader had eight of Madrid’s 18 shots. Ronaldo was doing really well to manipulate space and find the ball in dangerous areas, but he simply could not find the back of the net. Ronaldo produced two of Madrid’s three shots on goal, a free kick that Asenjo had to smack away, and a near tap-in that Asenjo just got a hand to, denying Ronaldo what looked like a certain goal.

Real Madrid were probably denied a legitimate claim for a hand-ball. And Ray Hudson on my Bein Sports broadcast certainly seemed to think Ronaldo was fouled in the box and denied a penalty late into the first half. But it was not to be, and Real Madrid went into half-time level.