The 5 most defining moments to Real Madrid winning LaLiga in 2021/22
2. Real Madrid’s 2-0 win, away at Real Sociedad, December 2021
As I have mentioned in the previous slide, Real Madrid was pretty much a team that was completely reliant on Benzema’s presence in the attack. It was difficult for the team to cope with his absence in some games, with his back-ups Luka Jovic and Mariano Diaz not being good enough to compensate for his absence. Benzema also deserves a lot of credit for maintaining his fitness well over the last few years.
But he was being overworked by both Carlo Ancelotti and Didier Deschamps, and the impact was inevitable. He eventually suffered an injury in December 2021 and was subbed off in the 17th minute against an in-form Real Sociedad, at their home. He was replaced by Jovic, but losing him in a big game was a huge blow to the team’s ambitions.
Real Madrid had to learn how to survive without their talisman, and what can be a better occasion than a tough away game. Los Blancos couldn’t find a way in the first half, but they broke the deadlock in the second half, as Vinicius Junior scored a goal after combining well with Luka Jovic. The Serbian doubled the lead after some minutes, and it also gave him a slight confidence boost.
Jovic and Vini stepping up in Benzema’s absence was a beautiful sight, but Eder Militao produced a defensive masterclass against the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal and Alexander Isak, displaying a performance that deserved to grab the headlines. Militao’s shift ensured that the team didn’t have trouble at the back in a game where they didn’t have their best player available in attack.
Real Madrid did struggle in some more games without Benzema in the season, but they did take a step toward reducing their overreliance on the Frenchman. Even Militao’s performance sent a message to the league that there’s a new defensive beast in the business. That too against a team that knew how to trouble Real Madrid. Such a massive result deserves to be on this list.