Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2 - 0 (Isco, Bale). Here’s our quick reaction. Still to come: Player ratings, tactical review, and post-game podcast. Zinedine Zidane’s return as Real Madrid’s head coach — which was a whirlwind of pre-match positivity and a refreshing jolt to the team atmosphere — begins with a win over Celta Vigo, and goal for Isco. It was a script almost too perfect to write. Zidane’s starting XI today was almost nostalgic. The Frenchman brought Marcelo, Isco, and Keylor Navas back into the fold, and rolled out a team that almost mirrored a line-up of players he coached prior — with the one exception being Alvaro Odriozola starting over Dani Carvajal, who wasn’t available for this match. This was a party upon kick-off, but it was a party that looked like a giant balloon in the sky that was getting slowly deflated. Real Madrid didn’t create much in the first half (although, there was a moment where Odriozola’s counter-press led to a brilliant through-ball from Benzema to Marcelo, who cut it back to a spinning Isco. Had that gone in, the universe would’ve broke). Zidane’s men didn’t control or dominate the play, had a messy defensive sequence that led to a brilliant Keylor Navas save, and their press was either non-existent, or bypassed easily — all this against the most free-falling team in La Liga. It wasn’t awful, it wasn’t great — it was somewhere in the middle. The biggest positive from the first half was Gareth Bale, who looked more involved than he’d been in a long time. He was playing as a two-way winger, was everywhere defensively (most of my positive notes in the first 45 minutes came from Bale pressing players into losing the ball, or tracking back to help Odriozola or Marcelo), and was putting in dangerous balls into the box. After around 21 minutes, he swapped flanks with Marco Asensio, and both players seemed to thrive in their respective flanks. In the second half, Real Madrid’s incisiveness improved. The first-half crosses turned into one-twos in the box before getting the ball played square to a white shirt. Asensio began to really take players on, and he was the architect of the team’s opening goal, where he broke Celta’s line for the third time in the early stages of the second half: Beautiful run of play by RM starting with a great run and through ball by Asensio to Big Benz and finish by Isco ✊ pic.twitter.com/iOqiwp8WMI — IZZYC (@ICotto12) March 16, 2019 The floodgates opened, somewhat, after that. Real Madrid didn’t sling a manita, but Celta, who had defended the final-third well for the majority of the game, loosened up, and Marcelo, Asensio, Modric, Bale, and Benzema started to increase their intensity. Marcelo set-up Bale for Real Madrid’s second goal: GOAL | Quel beau but de Gareth Bale! 2⃣-0⃣ #RMACEL pic.twitter.com/5vBeXCMKeI — Eleven Sports (FR) (@ElevenBE_fr) March 16, 2019 Zidane’s three subs: Fede Valverde, Dani Ceballos, and Mariano — just in case you were worried that the Frenchman would forget about the youngsters. We’ll break this down more in the coming hours.<doc-sep>For the last few weeks, Real Madrid has been on a hot streak. The team had not lost in LaLiga since January 6th, moved onto the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and are partly through their Champions League Round-of-16 match up. Within recent weeks, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Ajax were all defeated at the hands of the Whites but it was Girona who managed to finally serve Madrid only their second loss in 42 days. But what happened at the Bernabeu? Was it Solari’s changed lineup or should it be solely the players who take responsibility? Full ratings below: Thibaut Courtois - 6: Right from the start, Courtois was trying to prove himself as the better goalkeeper for the next round of matches but his performance was not the best. Managed to make use of his tall frame and forced Girona to take shots from tight angles (which included taking a ball to the face) but could have done better to stop the second goal from going in. Alvaro Odriozola - 6: Did very well in replace of Dani Carvajal. Had a lot of influence up front and worked well in tight spaces along the wings. Drew a few fouls which helped the team as well but would have been nice to see some attempts to assist his teammates. Raphael Varane - 6.5: The Frenchman was the only stable defender in Madrid’s backline. Always found himself in the right places and did well to mark Cristhian Stuani. Covered a lot of ground when his fellow defenders wanted to move up in attack and was a threat in the box. Decent match for the youngster. Sergio Ramos - 5.5: Not a very good game for the Captain at all. Had a handball in the box that lead to the penalty and was given the first of his two yellows because of that. Now set to miss the match against Levante with the red card. Marcelo - 5.5: Did well to try and make an impact after being selected to start over Sergio Reguilon but his vulnerability at the back was the reason for the second Girona goal. His playing doesn’t suit the team as well as it used too and costs the team as a result. Toni Kroos - 7: Without Luka Modric, Kroos managed to dominate the midfield for Madrid. Fully commanded the possession of the ball and worked well with Casemiro. Often took chances going forward when the team’s attack was lacking and dropped back to help defend Marcelo’s open gaps. All around excellence, MOTM for Madrid in my opinion. Casemiro - 6.5: Had a good game today and was an important player going forward. Scored the opening goal by being very fluid within the box, moving in and around defenders to find open space. Did well to help Kroos in the midfield but was booked in the second half for a flimsy foul. Decent game for the Brazilian. Dani Ceballos - 5: Absolute disastrous game for Ceballos today. Looked as though Madrid were only playing with 10 men on the pitch. Seemed very nervous whenever he had the ball and was routinely out of position. Was subbed off for Mariano Diaz as a result, surprised he was not taken off earlier. Lucas Vazquez - 5.5: Nice to see Vazquez back on the pitch but he seemed very quiet going forward and was having trouble linking up with Benzema, Marcelo and Asensio. Didn’t seem to work well with the new lineup and was eventually taken off by Solari in the 58th minute. Karim Benzema - 6: Surprisingly, did not find the back of the net today but had plenty of chances to do so. Two good chances in the first half were squandered and missed clear opportunities in the second. Finishing definitely off-point today, hopefully it changes for the team’s next match. Marco Asensio - 6: Started off well and had a few direct shots on target but often found himself all alone with the ball up front. While that is good, he needs to find a way to incorporate other players into the game rather than be 1 vs. 3 against defenders. Nice to have him back in the squad and should improve with more playing time. Substitutes: Vinicius Junior - 6.5: Came on in the 58th minute for Lucas Vazquez and immediately had an impact. Started created space along the wings and took a few shots but they failed to hit the back of the net. Personally needs to improve on his finishing but did well when creating plays with his teammates. Gareth Bale - 6: Was Solari’s second substitution of the match and was expected to make an impact but failed to do so. Had a few good performances prior to today’s but still needs to work harder to get back to 100%. Mariano Diaz: 5.5: Came on for Ceballos but was only on the pitch for 15 minutes. Did not have much of an impact on the pitch and needs to work on his confidence because he’s very isolated on the pitch. Madridista’s all over the world were dreaming of Madrid coming from behind to beat Barcelona to the title but it looks as though that is no an option. They now sit nine points behind the current leaders. Going forward, the team has some important matches so it makes sense Solari opted for a change in the lineup. But was it worth it? We will never know.<doc-sep>
Real Madrid lose to Girona 1 - 2 (Casemiro; Stuani, Portu). Here’s our quick reaction. Still to come: Player ratings, tactical review, and post-game podast. After Marco Asensio’s encouraging cameo in Amsterdam, where he constantly moved behind the lines, worked hard winning the ball high up the pitch, shot on sight (a team-high five in shots in just 18 minutes), and scored the winning goal; Solari rewarded the young Spanish winger by starting him against Girona in a noon kick-off at the Santiago Bernabeu. While starting Asensio and Marcelo may have just been Solari’s way of rotating players in a difficult month — giving Vinicius Jr and Sergio Reguilon a breather — he got a lot of production from his left flank in the first half today. Everything offensively flowed through Asensio’s side, where he looked to continually make runs down the wing behind Ramalho — waiting for Marcelo to pick him out. Marcelo’s passes to Asensio were overhit a couple times, but the duo were dangerous on the left, and their movement, combined with Kroos, Casemiro, and Benzema all hedging over to the left side to provide outlets, made it difficult for Girona to defend that flank. That opened up space for cross-field switches to Lucas Vazquez and Alvaro Odriozola — theoretically, anyway. Real Madrid’s passes to that side weren’t that prolific (some inaccurate), but had they been able to hit passes to that side consistently, they could’ve shifted Girona’s defensive line to pull them out of shape. Portu, who spent a lot of time on the left side, actually went toe-to-toe with Odriozola for pace both offensively and defensively, which helped Girona zip up that wing. Real Madrid weren’t spectacular in the first half, but they were efficient in their press (bar three times were Girona broke through in their build-up, and twice where they had a chance on goal — mopped up by Courtois, Ramos and Varane). The passing improved as the half wore on, and Ceballos grew into the match after Real Madrid scored their goal through a Kroos diagonal cross and Casemiro header in traffic: Casemiro has put Real Madrid in front for the second weekend in a row! That's a lovely ball in from Toni Kroos pic.twitter.com/Ok0hCs3Wg8 — On The Continent (@otcpod) February 17, 2019 All of Real Madrid’s problems surfaced after half-time. The intensity in the press dropped, the defensive transition was frail, and Solari’s men ceded possession without closing vertical gaps. Girona sent their first alarm bell when Aleix Garcia’s rebound from a cross (Ramos and Varane couldn’t close Garcia in time, and had little help defensively) was missed point-blank. Then, on a similar sequence (cross to the far post from the right), Ramos was called for a handball in the box. Portu equalized from the spot: | | Sergio Ramos is shown a yellow card for a handball inside the box... Christian Stuani stepped up for Girona pic.twitter.com/crkMfIMXvW — Eleven Sports (@ElevenSports_UK) February 17, 2019 Girona kept coming, and they even started pressing high up the pitch to unnerve Real Madrid’s build-up — causing Solari’s men to (again) struggle dealing with pressure coming out of the back. Portu put Girona ahead in the 75th minute. Marcelo should’ve reacted quicker at the far post: Girona have come from behind and now lead Real Madrid! Sergio Ramos conceded a penalty, which Christian Stuani dispatched to bring Girona level. And now Portu has given them the lead! #RMAGIR pic.twitter.com/CbATZeYm4s — On The Continent (@otcpod) February 17, 2019 There was little from Real Madrid after that. They were more likely to concede a third than to score an equalizer, and apart from some dangerous dribbling and cut-in sequences from Vinicius, and the odd chance for Bale, Solari’s men just didn’t look great in the second half. Just to rub some salt into the wounds, Sergio Ramos picked up a second yellow card for a dangerous play — a harsh call where he attempted a bicycle kick and fouled Stuani in the process. The league deficit has now increased to nine points — not a great look, and not a happy morning for Real Madrid fans who woke up at the crack of dawn on the west coast. We’ll break this down in the coming hours.