Real Madrid vs. Villarreal: 4 takeaways as Los Blancos win but lose the title

It looked like Real Madrid were staring down a frustrating loss to Villarreal to close the 2020-2021 season. They were down 1-0 for much of the match until Karim Benzema rectified a couple of missed chances with an equalizer. And then he assisted Luka Modric, who finished with a late half-volley to give Los Blancos the lead and a glimmer of hope.

But it was not to be. Lowly Real Valladolid, who have the worst squad in LaLiga, could not make a comeback, having already blown a 1-0 lead to Atletico Madrid’s Angel Correa and Luis Suarez. Atleti, per usual, held on to their lead against Valladolid’s punchless attack, thus winning the title.

Here are four takeaways from Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Villarreal, which could very well be the final match for Zinedine Zidane, Marcelo, Isco, and Raphael Varane. (Sergio Ramos did not play.)

Real Madrid showed the same attacking issues

For most of the match, Real Madrid offered very little threat to Villarreal offensively, which is a huge problem. When they went down 1-0 early, they knew they would need to score two goals, yet they played so lethargically for the rest of the first half. The intensity of their attacks was close to zero, and the play from the forwards was meandering and non-threatening.

Real Madrid’s loss to Chelsea was filled with examples of anemia in the attack, and it’s been the main issue plaguing Los Blancos throughout 2020-2021. We saw all those same issues for much of the match vs. Villarreal, and without the individual efforts of Karim Benzema and Luka Modric, Real would have been embarrassed due to these very attacking deficiencies.