Real Madrid's Clean Sheet at Villarreal Is a Positive Step for Ancelotti's Side
Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over Villarreal at the Estadio El Madrigal on Saturday wasn't the sort of vintage attacking performance we've witnessed from the European champions in recent weeks.
In consecutive thrashings of Basel, Deportivo La Coruna and Elche—a trio of outings that resulted in an absurd tally of 18 goals—exhilaration had been the theme of Los Blancos' displays.
Saturday's performance, however, stood in stark contrast to the three that preceded it. This was not a supreme exhibition of offensive fluidity, not a 90-minute romp awing onlookers with a typical Real Madrid cocktail of flair, ingenuity and swagger.
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Yet, in a season that has been defensively perplexing for Carlo Ancelotti's side, Saturday's resilient showing was perhaps their most significant of the campaign thus far.
Notably, the clean sheet was achieved with that troublesome one-way midfield of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez. More encouraging still was that Real Madrid displayed a capacity to alter the game's tempo, quelling the home side after halftime by sitting deeper, attacking more conservatively and maintaining their shape.
The afternoon's numbers were telling: The men in white conceded 19 shots to their own 11, conceded seven corners to their own six, were forced to make 29 clearances to Villarreal's 16 and split the possession battle 50-50, per WhoScored.com.
It wasn't as though Real denied the hosts of an opportunity to impress—the Yellow Submarine most definitely did, breaking down both wings in a bright first half, finding pockets of space between Los Blancos' midfield and defence, forcing Iker Casillas into action regularly.
What the capital club did do, though, was conjure a calm and organised response to the onslaught, showcasing the composure that was alarmingly missing when Real Sociedad poured on the pressure at the Anoeta in late August.
"The best thing is that we won a difficult game against a team that played well, we controlled the game," Ancelotti said of his team's performance after the match, per AS.
"We suffered when we had to suffer defensively and we played when we had to play. The match was good. We had a good attitude and deserved to win," the manager added, acknowledging the test his team endured.
Ancelotti is extremely familiar with defensive principles as an Italian. And it was the typically unmoved boss who was key to Real Madrid's adapted approach in the second half that allowed his team to ease to a third consecutive league victory.
Asier Illarramendi replaced Rodriguez to "help defend the lead," and "to control the game," as Ancelotti explained.
Nacho, too, came on for the attack-minded Marcelo, compressing the back four as Villarreal looked for late answers.
Pleasantly, it all felt rather measured—a term that hasn't been applicable to Real Madrid this season until now.
By no means, though, does Saturday's win suggest the team's unbalanced existence has been rectified. This is an outfit that's still attack-heavy, lacking an evenness that will be exposed by elite opponents.
The side's 4-3-3 with Modric, Kross and Rodriguez in midfield is still too easy to blast through, leaving the back four—which itself contains free-wheeling full-backs—isolated.
"Clearly it gives us less cover but we must take these risks because we have more opportunities in attack," Ancelotti said of his preferred formation. "We have to assess the risk and control it."
It's the manager's last point that holds context after Saturday's controlled performance—the threat from Villarreal was obvious, but through the team's adjustments, that threat was handled and dealt with.
Prior to the implementation of Real's adapted second-half approach that saw them sit considerably deeper and tighter, however, it was Raphael Varane who was instrumental. Outshining Sergio Ramos, the 21-year-old put together the sort of commanding performance that will demand his inclusion in the coming weeks, whether or not Pepe is available.
As the home side rushed forward in the opening half, it was the Frenchman who kept them at bay, seemingly possessed as he blocked, cleared and tackled everything but the advertising boards around the pitch's edge.
Such a display will no doubt be encouraging for Ancelotti, but as he looks ahead to a five-game stretch that includes clashes with Athletic Bilbao, Liverpool and Barcelona, the essence of Real's collective effort on Saturday will mean considerably more to the manager than individual brilliance.
He'll feel his team has progressed, taken a step forward. He'll feel his players have edged fractionally closer to escaping the paradoxical contradiction that surrounds them—who else can plunder 18 goals in 270 minutes of football with the world's most fearsome squadron and still be engulfed in doubt?
Only Real Madrid can, but the 2-0 victory at Villarreal has shown the script can be changed.
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