Real Madrid Fail to Impress vs. Basel but Grind out Yet Another Win

Real Madrid equalled their all-time longest winning streak by grinding out a 1-0 victory away to Basel in the Champions League on Wednesday.

It was their 15th consecutive triumph in all competitions, matching the runs of the 1960-61 and 2011-12 seasons—the latter under Jose Mourinho.

Madrid had scored 56 goals in their previous 14 victories, winning by three or more goals in 10 of those matches. But they found the going tougher on Wednesday against a well-organised Basel side who pressed well and maintained a good defensive shape.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side were already guaranteed of their place in the knockout rounds prior to kick-off, and there was therefore little imperative for them to come out and take the game to their hosts.

The Italian coach will, however, have been far from happy with the number of times his side gave the ball away. They have frequently controlled the centre of the pitch through their use of possession in recent times, but that was certainly not the case on Wednesday.

Toni Kroos’ pass completion rate of 91.3 percent, as per WhoScored.com, was well below his previous Champions League or domestic averages. His midfield partners Isco and James Rodriguez were also unable to wield their usual influence.

It was the first indication of the effect the absence of Luka Modric will have when Madrid face higher quality opposition.

Ahead of them, Cristiano Ronaldo was guilty of ceding possession with a number of sloppy lay-offs and passes—finishing the match with a completion percentage of just 75.7 percent—while Gareth Bale had a very quiet night, as illustrated by his FourFourTwo Stats Zone attacking dashboard for the encounter.

Courtesy of FourFourTwo Stats Zone

But it only took one good move to get Madrid the goal they needed for victory. Karim Benzema took advantage of some slack defending to drive to the byline and pull the ball back for Ronaldo to finish.

The majority of Madrid’s chances then came in the final 20 minutes as their hosts pushed extra numbers forward in search of an equaliser. Both Bale and Ronaldo went close to doubling their advantage.

Basel had some spells of good pressure throughout the match, but most of the dangerous situations Madrid faced were of their own doing.

Sergio Ramos had one of his odd crazy matches, carelessly gifting the ball to Basel in the attacking half on at least three or four occasions, committing a couple of rash fouls and missing one or two clearances.

In addition, Fabio Coentrao was very ragged at left-back and Raphael Varane, while generally solid, lost track of the powerful Breel Embolo on occasion. Alvaro Arbeloa allowed Schkelzen Gashi to move inside from the left and take four efforts on goal.

Keylor Navas was the one figure of calm in the Madrid defence. He displayed remarkable coolness to take a touch and then turn away from Embolo after receiving a back pass during the second half. The Costa Rican made an excellent diving save to keep out Embolo on 67 minutes and displayed good handling to deal comfortably with other shots on target.

Ancelotti admitted after the match, as per Inside Spanish Football, that his side did not meet their usual high standards.

He is, however, unlikely to be unduly concerned after one below-par performance. Indeed, his side may take further confidence from achieving victory in a match in which they were far from their best.

They have often scintillated with their slick movement of the ball through midfield and clinical final-third play during their winning streak, but Wednesday’s result showed a different side to Madrid. While they didn’t click going forward and made some preventable errors at the back, they nevertheless emerged victorious thanks to hard work and resilience.

Ancelotti’s side will have the opportunity to set a new club record of 16 consecutive victories when they travel to Malaga at the weekend.

Forthcoming club histories may not reserve as much space for Wednesday’s win as they do for the Clasico victory over Barcelona, the comprehensive away win over Liverpool or the spectacular 8-2 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna, but it was just as important in its own right.

On Wednesday evening, Real Madrid showed that they can also win ugly. That should prove highly worrisome to any team hopeful of challenging them for domestic or European honours this season.