Real Madrid: Five burning questions after the opener against Real Sociedad
By Parshva Shah
Will Zidane persist with a 4-2-3-1 to get the best out of Ødegaard?
Against Sociedad, Zizou dropped Casemiro to the bench, opting for a midfield trio of Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, and Martin Ødegaard instead.
Kroos and Modrić operated in a double-pivot, while Ødegaard played right behind Benzema as a no. 10. He wasn’t given many defensive duties and spent a majority of his 69 minutes in the opposition half. But will Zidane stick to this formation for the upcoming games?
The manager conceded in his post-match interview that dropping Casemiro was a one-off thing. The Brazilian is going to be an undisputed starter upon his return to the starting XI, which leaves just two spots in the midfield. Kroos will be occupying one of those spots and there is a fair chance that Ødegaard occupies the third one over both Modrić and Fede Valverde.
It was clear that the Norwegian is still returning to peak fitness, but the fact that he started the game and played around 70 odd minutes without struggling is a positive sign for both Zidane and the fans. Many thought Martin would start on the bench and make a second-half substitute appearance. Zidane named him in the playing XI instead.
As we saw when he was with Real Sociedad, a 4-3-3 is another formation where Ødegaard could flourish. One thing is for sure and that is that Ødegaard will be given a very big role in the squad this season.