Villarreal vs. Real Madrid: Winners and Losers from La Liga Game
Real Madrid recorded their third win in a week with a hard-fought 2-0 victory away to Villarreal on Saturday.
Villarreal had held Madrid to a draw at El Madrigal in each of their last two top-flight seasons and again gave the reigning European champions a good run for their money.
The quality of Madrid's finishing was the only difference between the sides.
Villarreal created some good chances, particularly during the first half, but they were unable to produce a decisive touch in front of goal. At the other end, Luka Modric and then Cristiano Ronaldo produced superb finishes into the corner of the net.
Here are the winners and losers from Real Madrid’s 2-0 win away to Villarreal.
Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo
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As promised, a group of Manchester United supporters funded an aeroplane that flew over the stadium during the first half with the message “Ronaldo Come Home” trailing in its wake.
Ronaldo likely felt just fine where he was. Per AS, he had scored in all four of his previous visits to El Madrigal with Real Madrid, and he again found the back of the net on Saturday.
Karim Benzema raced onto a nice diagonal pass from James Rodriguez, turned inside his marker and laid the ball back into the area, from where Ronaldo finished precisely into the corner of the net.
Ronaldo had a relatively quiet match otherwise, but his strike extended his run of consecutive goalscoring appearances to five following the rest period he enjoyed through the last international break.
He looks sharp and ready to take on the various club scoring records that still lie in front of him.
Loser: Gareth Bale
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Gareth Bale did not enjoy the best of matches for Real Madrid. He was well marshalled by Villarreal’s makeshift left-back, Gabriel Paulista, and failed to produce a telling contribution throughout the 90 minutes.
He slipped to allow the ball out of play for a goal kick in the fourth minute, and the rest of his match followed a similar pattern.
He wasted a good counter-attack opportunity by running into trouble with team-mates well-placed to his left towards the end of the first half and sliced well wide from the edge of the area early in the second.
Per WhoScored.com, all four of his attempted crosses were unsuccessful, while he was also guilty of turning over the ball on two occasions.
He also failed to provide much support to the full-backs, who were regularly outnumbered by their overlapping Villarreal counterparts.
With only two striker spots available whenever Carlo Ancelotti elects to use the 4-4-2 formation he implemented against Elche on Tuesday, Bale will need to produce better performances if he hopes to be picked ahead of Karim Benzema when that system is utilised.
Winner: Raphael Varane
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Raphael Varane was handed his third consecutive start in the centre of the Real Madrid defence in place of the injured Pepe.
Against difficult opponents, the 21-year-old produced an excellent performance. He showed good acceleration to cover off runs in behind from Ikechukwu Uche and Luciano Vietto and made a number of good clearances from crosses into the area.
His fellow centre-back, Sergio Ramos, was caught out by both of Villarreal’s tricky strikers on occasion, but Varane was strong and solid throughout.
Per WhoScored, he completed all of his 12 attempted clearances—double that of Ramos—made five interceptions and won five aerial duels.
The French international is certainly making a good case for continued inclusion once Pepe returns from injury.
Loser: Madrid’s Wide Defence
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Villarreal somehow went in two goals down at the break after creating countless good situations down the flanks during the first half.
A couple of instances of poor finishing, allied to some solid clearances from Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos, prevented the home side from turning those opportunities into goals.
They had particular joy down the Madrid left, with Mario Gaspar regularly overlapping Cani into space. Marcelo’s positioning is often called into question, but he received little support from those in front of him on this particular occasion.
There were times when the same situation occurred down the right, with Villarreal striker Luciano Vietto regularly moving wide to link with Moises Gomez and left-back Gabriel Paulista. Again, Dani Carvajal received little support from those ahead of him.
It must be noted that Villarreal are one of the best teams in the league at working overlaps in wide areas, but it will still have concerned Carlo Ancelotti just how easily they were able to create opportunities to get the ball into the box.
Villarreal continued to look dangerous down the flanks during the second half, albeit without creating any chances of particular note.
The limited threat Elche posed to Madrid on Tuesday also came from balls in behind the full-backs, and it is something Ancelotti will need to find a solution to sooner rather than later.
Winner: The Spectators
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Villarreal are a side who are comfortable taking the initiative and controlling the tempo of a match. From the opening whistle they showed little inclination to sit back and allow Real Madrid possession of the ball.
The home side’s ambition produced an open, even and entertaining encounter that will have been enjoyed by both the spectators inside the stadium and all those watching on television around the world.
It was a fast-paced, end-to-end match with slick passing, clever movement and numerous chances at both ends of the pitch. There were good saves and some excellent last-ditch blocks.
The large difference in quality between Madrid and the majority of their domestic opponents can often produce one-sided and fairly dull matches. Saturday’s game, on the other hand, was a captivating encounter that served as an excellent advert for La Liga.
