Real Madrid knew they would have a tough time breaking down Osasuna’s defense, which ranked seventh in La Liga in goals allowed coming into Matchday 34. Los Blancos actually created a ton of chances against Osasuna, but it took them a long time to find the breakthrough goal.
In the end, they found goals, plural. The first was a perfect cross from substitute Isco, converted with a header by Eder Militao, who had nearly scored on three earlier occasions. And the second goal was scored by Casemiro, as an even better ball from Karim Benzema ricocheted off his foot and past an otherwise brilliant Sergio Herrera.
All in all, it was another positive performance from Real Madrid and a bounce back from their draws against Chelsea and Real Betis.
Here are three takeaways from the 2-0 win at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
The legend of Eder Militao grows
We have to jump right into a discussion about Eder Militao and praise him heavily for his work in this game. He was one of the top three players of the month of April, as the month served as something of a breakout for the young Brazilian center back.
Militao was one of the best players on the pitch in recent matches against Getafe, Real Betis, and Chelsea. And that continued against Osasuna. The funny thing is that Militao was the most dangerous attacking player for Real Madrid, beyond just being their best defender.
Aside from one misplaced pass to Thibaut Courtois, Militao had a tremendous ballgame for Real Madrid. He continues to grow in stature each week. And in Madrid, we talk a lot about how center backs have to transcend the game and add to the attack. Well, Militao certainly did that on Saturday night.
Eden Hazard looks ready for Chelsea
From the moment he stepped back onto the pitch for Real Madrid against Real Betis, Eden Hazard looked a little bit like his old self. The former Chelsea superstar had some electric touches against Los Verdiblancos last weekend, though his team could not find the goal they needed to avoid dropping points.
Then, Hazard came off the bench against his former employers on Tuesday night. He played pretty well, too, though, again, Real could not find a goal in the few minutes he was on the pitch.
Hazard played for about 70 minutes at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano as a tune-up for Wednesday night’s battle at Stamford Bridge. The story of the Belgian’s performance should not be the lack of goals from the team, but, rather his individual excellence.
He had one particularly delightful play, somehow sending a perfect backheel from around the sideline to a dangerous position for Marco Asensio to then swing in a ball into the box. Hazard looked sharp and spry for more than an hour, creating chances, dropping deep, and combining well.
You can only imagine the damage he could have caused in a No. 10 role with wingers who were playing at a higher level. Real Madrid didn’t find their breakthrough until after he left the pitch, but, for my money, Hazard was the team’s best attacker.
Real Madrid still need to step up in one respect
A 2-0 win over Osasuna should feel good and should lift the spirits of Madridistas, as Real Madrid took advantage of Barcelona dropping all three points to Granada a couple of days earlier. But it is important to point out the bad with the good. There was something that left me wanting regarding this performance.
It’s the fact that it took so long for Real to score despite all the possession they had and the chances they created. Against a higher quality team that can be a big problem. Marco Asensio played better in this game and was more active with the chances he created, but he wasn’t taking up dangerous enough positions as a scorer, which is a problem when Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard are putting in so much work to create.
I have bigger criticisms of Vinicius Junior in this game. Lately, I’ve mostly been targeting Asensio for falling back down to earth after scoring four goals in four games, but Vinicius also needs to perform better. He was indecisive and made too many mistakes in the penalty box against Osasuna. Again, it’s only going to get more difficult for him and Asensio against Chelsea.
Even though Benzema had a great assist for Casemiro, he really wasn’t at his best either. That can be forgiven, since Benz has been so damn good this season. But it does go back to the question of the other needing to step up.
Let’s see where Hazard starts against Chelsea and who else starts with him in the attack. There will be opportunities out there with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric returning. But Real Madrid really, really need to take them. That means people besides defensive players like Casemiro and Militao or the man carrying the attack from a scoring perspective, Benz.