Despite Winning, Real Madrid Feeling the Absence of Midfielder Luka Modric

When Carlo Ancelotti sat down for his news conference after Real Madrid's comfortable but somewhat uninspiring victory over Getafe on Sunday, those in the room posing questions to the Italian wanted him to address two main points: When would Luka Modric be back, and what's been missing in the side in the early weeks of 2015?

"Modric needs more or less a month," Ancelotti told those in attendance, outlining that the Croatian's return was likely to be mid-February.

As for his team's sluggish start to the new year, the Real Madrid boss was happy to admit there's some work to do to reclaim the excellence shown during the 22-game winning streak that concluded 2014.

"In part, I think that the intensity with which we finished the year was better," Ancelotti said after guiding Los Blancos to a rebound victory following their Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid. "Little by little the team is coming back."  

But Ancelotti also succinctly explained the issue presently affecting Real's performances—something that was again evident against Getafe. 

"The rhythm was too slow," the Italian concluded. 

Though speaking only generally of his team, Ancelotti, by pointing out a deficiency, had neatly identified what the absent Modric brings to this Real Madrid outfit: rhythm. 

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

It's an interesting remark to reflect on, because it can often be hard to explain exactly what Modric does for a football team. Summing him up can be difficult.

He's not a prolific goalscorer. He rarely takes shots. He doesn't accumulate bags of assists. He doesn't tackle ferociously. He doesn't foul often. He rarely wins balls in the air. He isn't all that quick across the ground. And he rarely makes the highlight reel. 

Though we know he's excellent, accurately describing Modric's game can be hard. You're left with adjectives such as "smooth" or "poised" and football cliches such as "he controls the tempo," "he recycles the ball" and "he makes the system tick."

The problem is that none of those words and phrases actually means anything. They're trotted out as fillers when we're struggling to explain exactly what a player does for his team. And because we're in a statistical era, Modric's unspectacular personal stat line makes it harder again. 

So how do we know he's one of the world's best central midfielders? How do we know Real Madrid are missing him and feeling his absence?

Real Madrid's statistical performances as a team—not Modric's personal stats—before and after his injury give us some insight. 

Per-Game Stats	Before Modric Injury	After Modric Injury
Goals	3.8	2.9
Assists	3.4	2.1
Shots on Goal	18.1	19.4
Possession	55.7%	56.9%
Dribbles	23.1	24.7
Passes	563.6	493.3
Clearances	15.9	18.6
Blocks	12.8	14.9

Naturally, your eyes will gravitate toward the goal and assist numbers in the statistical breakdown above. But they're the end product; we're more interested in the process. 

As such, the most telling figure in the data above is that since Modric's injury in November, Real Madrid are making 70 fewer passes per game in La Liga. What makes that more notable is that it's happened despite a small increase in Los Blancos' average possession figure. 

But what exactly does that mean?

In short, Real Madrid, without Modric, are having more of the ball but doing less with it.

Instead of the ball fizzing around the pitch at speed with crisp and rapid passing sequences (the sort orchestrated by Modric), it's sticking at the feet of Ancelotti's players. Without Modric, the team's ball movement has suffered; their attacking moves have gone from swift to somewhat sluggish. 

Essentially, in the presence of the Croatian, Real Madrid stick to the golden rule of football: The ball travels faster than the player. 

But in his absence, they've drifted away from that concept slightly. The ball is moving less, being shared less and being dribbled more. 

You might even say they've lost their rhythm. 

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Real Madrid's efficiency in front of goal suggests much the same. Prior to Modric's injury, Los Blancos were averaging 3.8 goals per game in La Liga from 18.1 shots. But without the former Spurs star, their goalscoring has dipped to 2.9 goals per game despite taking more attempts (19.4). 

Because the ball has stopped moving as swiftly as it once was, and because they're lacking Modric's supreme ability to play the formation-splitting pass (think the one to Gareth Bale against Basel), Ancelotti's attack isn't enjoying the same quantity of clear-cut chances. They aren't opening up opposing sides like they previously were. 

The result is that shots on goal are becoming somewhat more forced, whereas with Modric in the XI, they were more often the seamless end product of swift and dynamic moves forward. 

What Los Blancos are missing is the presence of the one player who sharpens everything up. It's the speed, accuracy and incisiveness of his passing that can't be matched by others in the squad. Both the aesthetics of the team's performances and the numbers tell us that. 

It's why there's a laboured feel to Real Madrid at the moment. It's why El Mundo Deportivo, according to Goal.com's Ben Hayward, said neatly, "Real Madrid may be winter champions, but their football is still hibernating."

Ancelotti is right; his team is lacking rhythm.

Modric, still a month away from playing, is the man who will return to provide it.  

Follow @TimDCollins