Levante 2 – Real Madrid 2: A full recap of the La Liga draw

Real Madrid had two leads in both the first and second halves but was unable to get the three points as they drew with struggling Levante Saturday. Here is a full recap of the match.

First Half

Real came out flying, with the BBC finally back starting together. It was great to see the pace and threatening attack Ronaldo, Bale, and Benzema as the trio created several good chances.

The first goal of the match came in the 11th minute off of a corner kick that the captain, Sergio Ramos, headed in pas the sprawling Levante goalkeeper, Orier.

Surprisingly, this was the first league goal from Ramos this season and the header marked his 14th consecutive season with a goal in Spain. After the goal from Ramos, Real Madrid had a pip in their step and looked great on the attacking side as they searched for a second.

In typical Ramos, fashion the center back picked up a yellow card for an ignorant challenge midway through the first half.

Throughout the first half, Karim Benzema was everywhere on the left wing dropping deep to play defense while also pushing forward on offense helping build up the attack. This was by far one of Karim’s best games of the year and he deserved a goal from all the work he did throughout the contest.

The Achilles heel of this Real Madrid team all season has been focusing too much on the attack and committing too many bodies forward. That is exactly how Levante tied the match up shortly before halftime.

The home-side sat back and only had 29% of the possession in the first half yet found a gaping hole between the Madrid back line that allowed for the counter-attack goal.

Levante midfielder José Luis Morales blew right past Sergio Ramos on the counter-attack and got a good shot on Keylor Navas who parried the shot, but both Ramos and Raphael Varane were out of position letting the rebound fall right to striker Emmanuel Boateng who tucked the ball into the corner of the opening net.

With Real Madrid dominating possession and creating tons of chances, the match went to the half tied at 1.

Second Half

Levante came out flying in the second half creating good chances and getting shots on goal in the first five minutes. After settling in, Real Madrid played much better.

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Holding possession and testing the Levante back-line, Los Blancos started to find holes in the defense and get shots away. Cristiano Ronaldo had a few free-kick opportunities and seven total shots during the match but was unable to convert any.

Luka Modric and Toni Kroos both did a great job pushing forward and helping not only setup chances, but shooting as well. Both players had a great opportunity to score and came within inches of finding the back of the net.

Zinedine Zidane made some questionable changes taking off Gareth Bale and replacing him with Isco and also subbed out Ronaldo after going up 2-1 to be replaced with Marco Asensio.

It was the first substitute, Isco who scored the second goal for Madrid turning home a picture-perfect pass from Karim Benzema in the box. The goal came with fewer than ten minutes left and Zidane employed his players to sit back and play defensively.

As we have seen time and time again this year, Madrid did not execute well at the back and allowed Levante to get in behind. There was a header that went narrowly wide of the post and two minutes later, the goal came from one of the substitutes, Giampaolo Pazzini, in the 89th minute.

Luka Modric narrowly missed a header in added time, but yet again, Real Madrid dropped points to a team they should beat handily.

Final Thoughts

This season continues to go down the toilet and even though Sevilla and Valencia dropped points as well, Real Madrid look a lock to finish between third and fifth this year.

Don’t even get me started on the Champions League right now.

Next: Real Madrid transfer rumors: Liverpool interested in signing Keylor Navas

I have backed Zinedine Zidane for most of the year and through the struggle, but in the match, he made a mistake pulling Ronaldo after going up 2-1. No lead is safe with the way this team has played all year and it is so frustrating to see Zidane pull two of the three BBC players in a close game.

There are still three months left in the season, yet the result of the season seems decided. It truly is a shame.

Stay tuned to The Real Champs for more post-match coverage of Levante vs. Real Madrid.