Karim Benzema continued his blistering form as his hattrick led Real Madrid to a 3-1 victory over the reigning champions. With the three goals, he became the first-ever player to score a hat-trick against Chelsea in a European competition.
The first leg was all about breaking age-old curses. Real Madrid had never beaten Chelsea in a competitive fixture or scored two or more goals against the London side. Adding the fact that Thomas Tuchel was unbeaten against Los Blancos prior to the tie, sweetens the plot.
Karim Benzema added another momentous performance to what seems to be a season that clinches him the Ballon d’Or. Regardless, this wasn’t all about individual brilliance. Carlo Ancelotti got it right, finally. Madridistas got what they were waiting for all season; Fede Valverde on the right-wing. Safe to say the wait was more than worth it.
Ancelotti selected the ideal lineup, and made timely substitutions, while consequently making sound tactical decisions. One can only wish that the Italian has realized that Valverde and Camavinga are pivotal to the sustainability of Madrid’s midfield. Present and future. After the Getafe game, it’s safe to say that he has.
Here are 3 things Real Madrid must do in order to advance past Chelsea.
Real Madrid must keep a sound, solid defensive structure
While it sounds broad and generic as a factor, a poor defensive structure is what cost Real Madrid the tie last season. I’ve said this before in my articles, nothing besides a back four works for Real Madrid. Definitely not with Carlo. Resorting to anything other than that usually leads to a disaster like that of El Clasico.
Zidane opted for an unorthodox approach vs Chelsea over both legs. Well, a back three is not orthodox, but for a man who relies on 4-3-3 all season, it certainly is. He resorted to what felt like a 3-5-2 over both legs. A back three without a natural right-wing-back can make a team’s defensive structure awfully vulnerable. That is exactly what happened last season. The structure invited unnecessary, treacherous attacks from Chelsea’s front three.
It’s vital for Real Madrid to learn from last season’s mistakes, and go for a traditional back four. Militao’s absence will make things harder, but I fully trust Nacho to do the job. He’s made for games like these. Ancelotti’s tactical decisions post-Clasico have been idyllic, he’ll surely get this right.
Fede Valverde needs to start
If there is one thing that the first leg showed us, it’s that Fede Valverde must be an undisputed starter. He’ll either assume the RW role or replace someone in the KCM trio. I’d personally want him to occupy the right side of the pitch, for now. It’s his time. With him, for arguably the first time this season, it felt like Real Madrid’s right-wing exists. Unrelated or not, Carvajal’s performance was his best in recent months, owing to Valverde’s support.
His performance appears even more instrumental when we look back at last season’s tie vs Chelsea. Kante and Kovacic ran circles around Madrid’s midfield over both legs. Chelsea outclassed Los Blancos in all dimensions, but more prominently, Chelsea were physically superior. One can’t go head-to-head against a Premier League side without a player like Valverde in the starting line-up.
The Real Madrid players seem to agree. According to a report from Marca, ”Real Madrid players talked to Ancelotti about how they got ‘ran over’ during last season’s tie vs Chelsea and that Valverde needs to start.” Knowing Carlo, there’s a good chance this report is true.
Fede starting again in the second leg is imperative. It should be Fede Valverde and 10 others. Period.
Real Madrid must keep Reece James in check
Reece James is one of the best full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues, and I’d give anything to have him at Real Madrid. He’s the one that scares me the most out of Chelsea’s squad, even more than the Kante-Kovacic duo. He had little sparks of brilliance in the first leg, but he’s much better than that. I’d be a lot more worried if Mendy wasn’t Madrid’s left-back. It’s fundamental that Los Blancos keep the right-wing-back in check.
James came off the bench in both legs last season, Real Madrid wouldn’t be so lucky this time around. While he has always been good defensively, his end product this season has been astounding. In the Premier League this season, Reece James accounts for five goals and six assists in 19 appearances, per FBRef. In addition, he makes 1.94 tackles per game and has a pressure success rate of 38.5%. These numbers are tremendously good. Both Vinicius Jr and Ferland Mendy have huge tasks at hand.
Reece James is a player that can single-handedly create havoc around a team’s defense, while consequently pocketing the opposition’s left-winger. Sustaining him would solve most of the problems Real Madrid are bound to face in the second leg.
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Real Madrid will be heading to the second leg on the front foot, but the tie is far from over. 90 minutes is a long time in the Bernabeu. It goes both ways.