Real Madrid’s brick wall, Raphael Varane
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid center back, Raphael Varane, was world-class in the first-leg against Bayern Munich shutting down the threat of Robert Lewandowski and making great plays in the middle of the defense all night. Here is how the French international performed in the match.
The birthday boy celebrated his 25th by shutting down the high flying Bavarians in the Allianz Arena. Rafa was a brick wall alongside Sergio Ramos as the two center backs weathered attack after attack from the prolific Bayern front line for the majority of the match.
It was probably Rafa’s best individual performance of the season Wednesday as he made four tackles (second most on the team) and won four ariels (most by a Real Madrid player).
He was quick to come off his line and challenge the likes of James Rodriguez and Thomas Mueller as they tirelessly pushed the ball into the Real final third.
Had it not been for Marcelo being out of position on the Joshua Kimmich goal, the home side wouldn’t have been able to find the back of the net because of the performance of the center back.
According to WhoScored!, Raphael received the second highest match rating for Los Blancos behind only Marcelo and Lucas Vazquez with a 7.6 (both finished with a 7.7 rating).
Many have wondered if Real Madrid can win big matches without Cristiano Ronaldo playing a key role. Today, Marco Asensio, Vazquez, and Varane proved that yes, they can.
Not only was Varane perfect in man marking, he was also the backboard for any and all crosses Bayern whipped into the Madrid box. Matched up with Lewandowski on the majority of these crosses, the birthday boy used his jumping and height advantage to clear every chance.
While his pass success was a little low at 79 percent, Varane was on point when dribbling at the back. He was also spot on when switching fields.
VİDEO | Raphael Varane’ın pasında Marcelo’nun rüya gibi kontrolü. #FCBRMA https://t.co/dBixTvgGSF
— Ligue 1 Türkçe (@Ligue1_Turkce) April 25, 2018
It is only fitting that Varane receives praise from Madridistas worldwide after this performance in the first-leg. His confidence, his aggressiveness, and ability to win the ball back so quickly for his team makes him my player of the match today.
Next: Bayern Munich 1 – 2 Real Madrid: UCL match recap
While Marco Asensio provided the game-winner, it was Rafa who stood tall in the middle of the Madrid defense and helped his team take a 2-1 aggregate lead back to the Spanish capital.
If Los Blancos want to advance to Kyiv and their third straight UCL final, Varane and the captain, Sergio Ramos, need to repeat this performance from this match next Tuesday. If they do, Real will cruise to the final.