Real Madrid managed to escape Villarreal with a 2-2 draw thanks to some Gareth Bale heroics. Zinedine Zidane’s team struggled defensively once again and couldn’t seem to finish on the offensive end despite controlling possession throughout the contest. Here is what the manager said following the third La Liga match of the year.
"“Taking away the first 15 minutes, where we weren’t at the races, we put in a good performance. When you concede two goals it’s important to get back in to the game. That’s the positive point. We created chances to score and we have to try to convert more of them.”"
This is how Zizou led off his post-match press conference on Sunday night. Although Real Madrid seemed to be in control of the match in every way against Villarreal, the forwards and midfielders simply could not find the back of the net like we have seen in the past.
If it wasn’t for a Bale goal just before halftime and another in the final five minutes, Real would have dropped points because of their inability to clear a rebound in front of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Both of the the home side’s goals came by way of a rebound and despite some spectacular stops from Courtois, it was the defense that hurt the visitors the most.
It seemed whenever Villarreal created a chance- they had two in the entire match – they managed to score off of it. Zidane was quick to mention this in his post-match remarks.
"“It’s true that they had two chances and scored two goals. That happens sometimes and we have to work to improve the defensive side of our game. We know we are going to create things going forward.”"
It was very interesting to see Zidane roll out a 4-4-2 setup for this match and one that maybe caught everyone off guard. In an attempt to exploit Villarreal’s lack of talent at center back, the French boss thought starting Luka Jovic for the first time since his move from Germany was the best choice.
While both Jovic and Karim Benzema were influential in the attack, neither striker was able to finish. Jovic helped on Dani Carvajal with a great flick of a pass to set up the first goal, but The Royal Whites managed just five shots on target on 17 attempts.
Jovic had two, both off target, and Benzema had two as well with one hitting the post.
Zidane made a point to talk about the slow start the team had tonight and he was right in doing so. The Yellow Submarine looked far more prepared for this match than Real Madrid and had it not been for that start, this would have been a win.
The international break will provide the club some time to rest and recuperate which is a must with how many injuries have there are right now.