Despite the absence of more prominent squad members, Madrid dominated the game in every area, keeping over 60% possession on average, and making things very difficult for the Melilla defense to handle.
Let’s take a look at how Los Blancos did in their differing roles:
Between the sticks
To be very frank, Keylor Navas didn’t have any work to do throughout the game. Apart from two shots that hardly disturbed him, nothing else came near enough to bother with. However, he put in efforts into Madrid’s attacking play by starting counter attacks with volleys and long throws.
Defense
The scoreline is a testament to the solid efforts of the Madrid defense. In the middle, Sergio Ramos, who captained the team, featured for only one half. He might not have had much action, but he dispossessed the Melilla players enough times to produce a solid performance.
His partner, Javi Sanchez, performed quite well on what was his debut for Los Vikingos. The 21-year-old Sanchez got action with attacking free kicks and corners and showed high confidence and composure at the back.
On the left, Sergio Reguilon had a much better display in this game compared to his last match against CSKA Moscow. In what was his second Madrid outing, he didn’t seem too confident in the first half, but put in a much better performance and display in the second half.
Playing from the right, Alvaro Odriozola simply had a beautiful game. In addition to fulfilling his duties at the back, the 22-year-old put his name on the scoresheet with a goal and two assists. His pace came in handy on more occasions than I could count, and he deserved his goal.
The middle of the park
Marcos Llorente just got his first start this season and used the opportunity well. The young defensive midfielder got a lot of action with Madrid’s consistent passing in the midfield, and he played a composed game. His tackling was good although there’s room for improvement. Overall, he put in a good performance.
On Llorente’s left side, the fluid-playing Marco Asensio put in a brilliant performance. In addition to his attacking exploits on the left midfielder role, he got on the score-sheet. On Llorente’s right was Dani Ceballos who has been amazing season long, and he put in a similar display of brilliance in this match as well. Pulling strings and dictating the play, Ceballos held the right side of the pitch and brought a lot of counter-attacks into play.
The attackers
Karim Benzema may have only played one half, but it was enough for him to make an impact and open the scoring. He aided movement from the middle of the park and played the central target man role.
Lucas Vazquez, playing in his preferred right wing role, had an all-round brilliant game. It is unfortunate that he could not cap his excellent performance with a goal. Vinicius Junior gave the Melilla defense numerous issues with his pace and dribbling, and he capped his performance with two assists to his name.
Substitutes
Nacho Fernandez came on for Sergio Ramos and put out a good display. Now that Vallejo and Varane are out with injury, he would have more opportunities to cement a better standing in the team.
Cristo Gonzalez came in for Marco Asensio and capped his short 15-minute performance with a beautifully headed goal during stoppage time.
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