Well, that was beautiful. Real Madrid perfectly returned to form by defeating Shakhtar 5-0 on Tuesday. An own goal from Serhiy Kryvstov made things a little easier for Real Madrid at the start, and they just went ahead and put the game to bed.
To be honest, Los Blancos didn’t really face a lot of difficulty during the game. Shakhtar were always a foot slower, a step behind, sometimes two, and Real Madrid capitalized on that, especially in the second half.
Vinicius scored two goals and had an assist, Karim Benzema scored one and assisted the other, while also being partly involved in the own goal, and Rodrygo added to his Champions League tally as Real ran riot, preparing themselves for the crucial game against Barcelona.
What are my takeaways from the game?
Karim Benzema once again proved that he’s the best in the world
I myself, like almost every other Real Madrid-associated person on the planet, am a Benzema-for-Ballon-D’or advocate. The Frenchman has simply been phenomenal for years, particularly this season, and it’s high time that someone took notice of that.
He was once again instrumental in the win over Shakhtar. Benzema didn’t have the greatest of halves during the first 45′ but more than made up for it during the second half. That’s also when Real Madrid started playing some amazing football. I do not know if it was a coincidence or not, but Real’s successes go in sync with Benzema’s, that’s one thing we have noticed in these last three to four seasons in a Benzema-led Real Madrid side.
The first goal was pretty fortunate, but the pass was directed to Benzema, which technically means he was partly responsible for the goal. Then, Real scored the second goal, and Benzema played a very important role in it. He got the ball on the left side of the box, he took his time and made the all-important pass to Luka Modric moments before the goal. Shortly after he registered the assist for Vini’s second of the night, and ended it all with a goal to his name minutes before the full-time whistle. Excellent game from Karim Benzema. Best in the world, no doubt.
Vinicius Jr is simply phenomenal
There’s no doubt in my mind that Vinicius Jr is one of the best players in La Liga, and one of the best and most exciting young players in world football. I’m not even talking about this present moment; this is not based on form alone, and he keeps proving me right in every single game.
Vinicius wasn’t having the best of halves, but then, just like Benzema, he flipped the switch. He went berserk in the second half, scoring two goals in quick succession. The first one was a pretty good finish, chipping it over the goalkeeper after receiving a brilliant Modric pass. The second one was even better, he received the ball from Benzema and dribbled it past the Shakhtar defense and then took a composed shot towards the near post.
Shortly after, Vinicius crossed the ball to Rodrygo who scored with his left foot. That’s how you respond after a couple of off-games. This performance just proves that he really has improved, and that the erratic finishing, even though it’s still present at some points, will soon become a thing of the past, and he will keep improving and morphing into the player everyone thinks he will be. The rest of Europe should take note of the pace at which Vinicius is improving. Real Madrid fans, on the other hand, should just rejoice.
Real Madrid’s midfield is back in form at the perfect time
This is what I wanted to see! I haven’t seen a performance this dominant from Real Madrid’s midfield since last season. Luka Modric, again, proves to us that he’s not human. The man is doing all this at the age of 36, it just seems unreal. He had an amazing assist as I talked about in previous slides. Beautiful.
I don’t remember seeing Modric get dispossessed even once, because each time he just managed to find a way to get out of the press or through the opponents. It was great to watch. He ended with three key passes, four shot-creating actions, one goal creating action, and nearly 96% passing accuracy on 70 passes.
As for his partner in crime, Toni Kroos, this game felt more like a return from injury for the German, than the one against Espanyol. Toni Kroos looked like his usual self, and that’s just what Real Madrid needed to go from good to great. It’s exceptional how simple Kroos’ moves look on the eye, but not many people realise how hard it is to do it consistently like he does, which makes him one of the best players in the world.
For Casemiro, it finally looked like a return to form. He has definitely been struggling a lot this season, and most of it had to do with a lack of rest, a lot of responsibility and a limited skillset that he didn’t use to its full potential. In this game, he changed all of that. This was the Casemiro we’re all used to. Six tackles, four interceptions, 25 presses, one block, and just good vibes all around. He didn’t take many shots either, which is always a plus. Was it a coincidence that Casemiro had the best game when he was playing with Modric and Kroos sitting in front of him? I don’t think so.
Ferland Mendy made an instant impact upon return
I am just going to leave this tweet here:
Mendy don't you dare ever miss a game again
— Kiyan Sobhani (@KiyanSo) October 19, 2021
Mendy’s return to the Real Madrid starting line-up was more important than most fans thought. It gave the team some much needed defensive stability, it allowed the creative midfielders to do their thing in the offense without having to worry about the defense. Vinicius Jr tracked back lesser than he used to when Mendy was on the sidelines, and it helped him in preserving energy for the attack. We all know how well that worked out.
It was a fantastic return game from Ferland Mendy who just proves once again that he is the best defensive full-back in the world. He didn’t even need a few games to settle in. He fits like a glove, which makes me think how good this Real Madrid side can be once Dani Carvajal and Eden Hazard attain full fitness. Keep in mind, we still haven’t seen Real at their best, with all their players being fit, so seeing them play under Carlo Ancelotti would certainly be a very interesting thing to watch. But, if this is as close as we get to it, then it’s pretty darn good.
Mendy had two tackles, seven presses, one clearance, one interception, and just a lot of good decision making in the defensive third, which made it very difficult for Shakhtar’s attackers to get anything done (which makes sense, considering their xG was 0.3, and Mendy had a big part to play in that regard).
Real Madrid’s build-up play seemed so smooth and effortless
This was just so nice to watch, finally. This is like, a combination and result of all the points I mentioned in the previous slides. I haven’t seen Real play this smoothly in a long time. By that, I mean especially the second half, because there was so much off-ball movement in the second and it made things really tough for Shakhtar.
Of course, Shakhtar didn’t help themselves by defending terribly, but this game is all about taking advantage of the opponent’s weakness. Real Madrid did that perfectly. They moved players in and out of the box, we saw wingers cut inside whenever they saw an opportunity to, we saw Kroos and Modric press up high so that the ball stays with Real.
Most of this is also linked to Ancelotti finally letting go of all the experiments, and sticking with what works fine. As he got his preferred midfield back, he felt it was right to only go ahead with the 4-3-3 formation from now on, something he was vocal about in the press conference before the game. And, it worked. Kroos and Modric, as I said, didn’t have to do a lot of defensive work with Casemiro’s return to form and Mendy’s return from injury.
The centre-backs also played well and progressed the ball up the pitch very nicely. It all just seems like good football for now, and we hope to see more of it, and we hope it keeps improving, obviously. Real clearly need a bunch of good results, and this could be the start of that streak. The next game is very important, and we shall see if this was more about Shakhtar being bad, or more about Real Madrid looking like Real Madrid.