Liga: Real Madrid torpedoes Marcelino’s Villarreal and regains the lead!

Runner-up to Girona, Real Madrid could overtake the leader this Sunday evening for the 17th day of La Liga. The Merengues hosted Villarreal (14th), a team in difficulty only three points ahead of Celta de Vigo, the first non-relegation team. For this match, Carlo Ancelotti bet on a classic 4-4-2 diamond where Andriy Lunin was preferred to Kepa Arrizabalaga. In the middle, we found a lot of people with Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, Luka Modric and Jude Bellingham while Brahim Diaz accompanied Rodrygo Goes in attack. For its part, Villarreal relied on a flat 4-4-2 with an Aïssa Mandi – Raul Albiol hinge. The double pivot consisted of Dani Parejo and Étienne Capoue with Ilias Akhomach and Alex Baena on the wings. Up front, Gerard Moreno and José Luis Morales were associated in attack.

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After a fairly calm start to the match where the two teams measured each other, Real Madrid decided to slowly gain momentum. First of all, Luka Modric armed a heavy curling shot from the right which hit the crossbar of a Filip Jørgensen who was very happy at the time (22nd). In the process, Real Madrid managed to force a solution. On the right, Lucas Vazquez launched Luka Modric whose cross towards the opposing area found Jude Bellingham who victoriously deflected the ball (1-0, 25th). A new achievement for the Englishman, his thirteenth in La Liga, and which allowed the club from the Spanish capital to continue the meeting with great peace of mind. From a corner, Toni Kroos sent a dangerous ball into the area. What then followed was a mess where Rodrygo Goes, the man in form of recent weeks, would double the lead without trembling (2-0, 39th).

A Real Madrid that is simply too strong

The Brazilian even came close to the double in the process. Launched in depth by Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes was nevertheless well blocked by Aïssa Mandi (44th). Returning from the locker room, Real Madrid regained control of operations and continued to dictate their tempo. However, a deep pass from Dani Parejo put the Casa Blanca defense in difficulty and José Luis Morales would finish to reignite the suspense (2-1, 55th). A reaction far too short since Real Madrid accelerated again. Rodrygo Goes once again fell on Filip Jørgensen (57th) but his friend Brahim Diaz came out of Carlo Ancelotti’s hat. Less visible at the start of the match, he was going to offer himself a magical breakthrough where he made Jorge Cuenca his toy before adjusting the Danish goalkeeper of Villarreal (3-1, 65th).

Real Madrid seemed to have done the hard part with this third goal and Luka Modric came to extinguish all suspense. Served by Rodrygo Goes who took advantage of a disagreement between Étienne Capoue and Dani Parejo, the Croatian was quick to conclude and further weigh down the result of this game (4-1, 68th). From then on, the rest of this part was much less lively. With its advantage, Real Madrid found itself more in management. Finally, the Merengues won 4-1 and climbed to first place in La Liga. The Madrid club is one point ahead of Girona (which plays tomorrow evening against Alavès), seven points ahead of FC Barcelona and eight points ahead of Atlético de Madrid (one game in hand). Fourteenth, Villarreal remains three lengths from the red zone.