Real Madrid's Title Bid Continues to Strengthen, Even If Equation Hasn't Changed

The night had ended as it had started, the equation unchanged. Going in, it was always likely it would go this way, but still, in doing so, it was curiously compelling and anticlimactic at the same time.  

"Nothing has changed," said manager Zinedine Zidane in the aftermath of Real Madrid's 3-0 victory over Villarreal on Wednesday night, "we are one point away from them." Them, of course, are Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who also recorded victories on Wednesday—the Catalans annihilating Deportivo La Coruna to the tune of 8-0 at Riazor and Atletico edging past Athletic Bilbao 1-0 at San Mames. 

This was a night that had been billed as huge, potentially decisive. As the games approached, the table had read Barcelona 76 points, Atletico 76 and Madrid 75, and here they would all feature on the same night, one after another, with the sequence building from tricky (Barca vs. Depor) to trickier (Atleti vs. Athletic) to trickiest (Madrid vs. Villarreal). 

In Catalonia, the cover of Sport had read "The league in four hours." In Madrid, the covers of Marca and AS had conveyed the same message. 

There was anticipation for swings, drama and major change. With the games unusually congested, one sensed this was a night for the momentum and advantage to go back and forth, goals flying in to alter the complexion of everything by the minute. 

Instead, much the opposite unfolded: Barcelona found themselves again, Atletico did an Atletico and Real Madrid continued on their way; by the end, the message was "as you were," with Barcelona and Atletico going to 79 points and Madrid to 78.

"Nothing has changed," said Zidane, repeating himself. 

He was right. And yet despite that, for Real Madrid, Wednesday might have strengthened their title bid. Only a little, yes, but just enough to be significant.  

In months gone by, this was the very type of clash in which Madrid would often struggle.

When Los Blancos met Villarreal at El Madrigal in December, they were thwarted by an outfit with stronger senses of clarity, purpose, organisation and identity. Their weapons blunted, Madrid fell apart; their response to going a goal down was muddled and chaotic.  

For large portions of the campaign, it's been a theme: well-drilled opponents have bothered them; the need to respond when kicking-off last has burdened them. It was that way last time against Villarreal, but also against Valencia, against Atletico and Sevilla the first time, against Real Betis, against Granada and against Las Palmas. 

But Wednesday was different. 

From the outset at the Santiago Bernabeu, the hosts were dominant even if they weren't spectacular. Pressing up, closing space, denying time, their work collective rather than individual, Madrid suffocated Villarreal and pushed them back, completely quelling a side that can attack with as much speed and efficiency as anyone. 

"Defensively it was an almost perfect game," said Zidane afterwards, and though his side needed time to get going in attack, it was notable that a clear structure and balance was evident throughout, panic non-existent, composure triumphing.  

Thats relatively new; when Madrid haven't got off to flyers this season, when the scoreboard has lingered at 0-0, the opposite has often unfolded. But here, Madrid's superiority was striking.

Possession-wise, Madrid owned a 60 percent share of time on the ball, per WhoScored.com. The shot count read 20 to five, six on target to two. The visitors were forced to make 24 clearances to seven. In the aftermath, Villarreal's official website described it as "a match that just got worse and worse." 

Progress for Madrid? Definitely. 

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Of the league's three title candidates, Zidane's side unquestionably has the toughest run-in remaining. Of the four games left to play, three are away from home, one of which is against a resurgent Real Sociedad, while the solitary outing at home is against Valencia. 

For much of the season, you wouldn't have trusted Madrid to march through that completely unscathed, but now you might. Madrid are building a real head of steam: first it was the victory over Sevilla, then the Clasico, then the "remontada" against Wolfsburg and the thrashings of Eibar and Getafe. 

And now this. 

On Wednesday, much of what this side has excelled at recently stood out again, it being significant once more because the identity of the opponent was so.

In attack, Karim Benzema was impressive again, scoring the first and being involved in the other two, his link-up work brilliant. Alongside him, Lucas Vazquez again proved himself a coach's delight in a back-up role, while Cristiano Ronaldo continues to look more comfortable in what Madrid are trying to achieve stylistically. 

Behind them, it's a similar story: The ongoing presence of Casemiro is giving Madrid a midfield that's finally functional, and because of it, Toni Kroos looks like Toni Kroos again, roaming, running, probing, shooting. 

The noises emanating from Real Madrid reinforce the sensations. 

"Obviously in every game we face tough moments," said Zidane, "but I'm very satisfied with my team because I see them improving every day." Such lines often strike as mundane or forced, trotting out the usual, but you sense it's different in this case. Everyone is buying into an idea, the feeling shared, the purpose very real. 

"The team is full of confidence," said Vazquez. Luka Modric said the same. "We're in good form, physically and tactically very good," added Raphael Varane. "We are growing a lot," asserted Casemiro. 

On recent evidence, most agree: Madrid are building and progressing, the sense of change around them undeniable. On Wednesday, victory over Villarreal might not have altered the complexion of the table, but ahead of a testing run-in, the nature of it might have just strengthened their credentials in the title race. 

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