Real Madrid: Zidane’s tactics were instrumental in the Clasico win
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has at times been criticized for his lackluster tactics or team selections, but against FC Barcelona on Sunday, Zizou got it all right.
Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez did not make the starting XI. Luka Jovic was left out of the matchday squad altogether. Yet, Real Madrid managed a 2-0 win over Barca and hopped their rivals to go top of the table with 12 matches remaining in the La Liga campaign.
A shaky first half and few chances in the first hour of the match had Madridistas nervous at the prospect of remaining two points back of the Catalans, however, Zidane’s tactical decisions and lineup proved the difference late on.
With Eden Hazard out again with an ankle injury, Vinicius Junior was again deployed on the left flank after a stunning performance during the mid-week clash with Manchester City. In that 2-1 defeat, Vini was all over the pitch creating chances and set up Isco for the lone Madrid goal.
He was subbed off just after the assist and when he was taken off, Los Blancos lost all momentum going forward. Zidane recognized he made a mistake pulling off the lethal Brazilian forward and decided to leave him in for the entire 90 minutes.
Vinicius, of course, repaid his manager’s faith with a phenomenal goal in the 71st minute and made some fantastic runs and passes throughout the match.
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The smartest decisions the Real Madrid manager made were in the midfield. Electing to start Fede Valverde over Luka Modric was bold while also perfect in matching up with Barca’s strong midfield.
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The Uruguayan midfielder has shown this season he is reliable in the big matches and has the energy to outrun and outplay everyone from the first whistle to the last.
Valverde was free-roaming the right-wing with Isco and was instrumental in winning the ball back quickly on defense and transitioning onto the counter-attack. It was a bold decision from Zizou to play in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Valverde more forward than usual, but his speed and awareness on defense combatted the open spaces left by the formation perfectly.
The biggest and most important decision from the Real Madrid boss was to put faith in Casemiro after his worst match of the season in the Champions League.
As usual, the CDM for Real was tasked with slowing down the incredible Lionel Messi for the entire contest and the number 14 was very much up to the task. Casemiro made three tackles, four interceptions, and completed 88 percent of his 58 passes.
Finally, the last big decision that may have caught Barca boss Quiqen Setién off guard was Marcelo starting at left-back instead of Ferland Mendy.
Marcel has struggled for form in the last few months, but Zinedine Zidane has such a great relationship with these veteran players, he knew he could rely on Marcelo to perform at his best in this match and he definitely did.
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Marcelo made a couple of crucial defensive plays and helped to stop one specific breakaway shortly after Los Blancos went up 1-0 that likely saved the result.
It was refreshing to see Zidane take some calculated risks in a huge match and it ended up paying off. Listen to your gut more often, Zinedine! The team needs tactics like this in every match.