Real Madrid's Draw with PSG Hardly Pretty, but Benitez Has Every Right to Smile

Twenty-four hours earlier, Rafa Benitez had cut a frustrated figure, but not anymore. "I'll be leaving here a very happy man," he said late on Wednesday, according to the club website, ready to jump on a plane back to Madrid with both a point in his pocket and a smile on his face.

If Benitez was wearing a smile, however, he was probably the only one. No players were smiling. No commentators were smiling. No officials were smiling. No presidents were smiling. No fans were smiling. 

In fact, still echoing around the Parc des Princes now are the sighs of the most underwhelmed audience in Europe this season. An audience who had come to see an epic clash between two true heavyweights but who ended up wishing they'd gone out for Thai instead. 

Not Benitez, though. 

If the Real Madrid boss was enthused, it was in great contrast to the mood he'd been in prior to Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain. In his pre-match press conference he'd been repeatedly forced to answer questions on the issue that continues to linger over him: defensive football.

"I don't know what you mean," an exasperated Benitez had said, pointing to his team's record in the league and Europe, where Real Madrid are top of the pile in both and the leading scorers, too. PSG boss Laurent Blanc hadn't helped his opposite number either when he'd said earlier that the game would be "a clash of two styles," his suggestion being that his team was the attacking one. 

Yet, that didn't turn out to be true. And Benitez has every right to be smiling. 

Thibault Camus/Associated Press

In Paris on Wednesday, it was Madrid who led the shot count, 18 to 11. It was Madrid who led the shots-on-target count, four to one.

It was a night when the best chances fell to Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese. It was a night when Casemiro and Toni Kroos controlled the midfield. It was a night when PSG's glamour trio of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria, playing at home, were so anonymous that two of the three were on the bench after an hour. 

What's more, it was a night when the visitors' starting XI was missing four of its six best players. For Benitez, there was no Karim Benzema, no Gareth Bale, no James Rodriguez and no Luka Modric (the latter came on late, not fully fit).

Against one of the competition's favourites, this, in attack at least, bordered on Real Madrid B—a point emphasised by the presence of Castilla squad members Marcos Llorente and Borja Mayoral on the bench. 

It might have been ugly, then, it might have been attritional and it might have ended 0-0, but it's Paris—not Madrid—who came away with questions over their ambition and style.

Though Marca said the visitors failed "to leave mark," that's not true; they did. Not on the scoreboard, maybe, but in the bigger picture, yes: Benitez's side went into a big away game significantly depleted and ended the contest both with a point and as the better team.

AS called it "a point's worth of optimism."

Correct.  

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Optimism, remember, is a relative concept; it exists because what's ahead looks brighter than where you've been. And that's the point here: Given where Real Madrid have been, they should be optimistic after their tussle with the French giants. 

Last season, Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid squandered titles in outings like Wednesday's. In the league, their three biggest away games against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Valencia all resulted in defeats. In Europe, it was the same when they travelled to Turin to take on Juventus. In those games, the scorelines read 1-2, 0-4, 1-2 and 1-2, respectively—the wrong way around every time, despite Madrid scoring in three of them.  

But what if they'd managed to avoid defeat? Simply secure four draws? Well, the league would have been theirs, for starters. They probably would have secured a Champions League final berth, too. 

Fine margins, huh?

This season, though, Benitez's side is undefeated in big away games. Prior to the trip to Paris, they'd already taken a point from the Vicente Calderon, and before that, they'd taken three from San Mames, where they departed from with nothing last term. 

In all three outings, Real Madrid have been pragmatic and less cavalier. Against Athletic, they attacked with venom when the opportunities arose but also altered their method and system to handle the hosts' strengths. Against Atletico, they dominated early before largely repelling a late surge from the home side. On Wednesday, they did the same. 

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Significantly, this is no longer an outfit getting burned by counter-attacks. No longer an outfit being caught with nine men ahead of the ball. No longer leaving the goalkeeper isolated. No longer playing without balance in midfield. 

In short, Real Madrid are no longer playing without thought for consequence. Suddenly, there's a sense of risk management within this team. 

Admittedly, Benitez's incarnation of Real is hardly fluent or swashbuckling right now, but that will come. When stars return from injury, once this transitional period is completed, more can be expected from Madrid. There's too much talent for it not to. 

But in the meantime, what this team is doing is giving itself more margin for error. By swapping a bit of sex appeal for a bit of safety like an impressionable teenager fresh out of health class, Real Madrid are steadily addressing last season's fatal flaw, ensuring titles aren't squandered in the same fashion. 

Before Wednesday, they'd done that twice. Now they've done it three times. 

"We lacked that little something in attack, but the overall performance was exceptional," said Benitez in summary. Though "exceptional" wasn't the right word, "effective" probably would be—the sort of word not uttered once about Real Madrid after big away games last season. 

Benitez, then, even if he's the only one, has every right to smile. 

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