The 2020 / 21 season is at its hindmost. It’s been a roller coaster of a season for all top 5 leagues of Europe; From Fc Porto’s ridiculous 58 game unbeaten run in the Liga Primeira to Barcas amelioration we’ve seen it all.
Laliga has really upped its level in recent years.“Every match in LaLiga is complicated, but this time we’ve got the difficulty of facing in-form teams, who aren’t just winning matches comfortably, they’re playing well and putting in top performances.“ – Julien Lopetegui. And there’s no denying that, even with the likes of PSG , Bayern Munchen , Juventus and other star studded clubs competing in the UCL, 2 out of 4 semi finalists in the Champions League are Spanish, let alone speaks volumes for itself.
One of the semi finalists are Real Madrid. Who have had arguably one of the most entertaining runs in this year’s Uefa Champions League. It all started off with the ‘remontada’ at Santiago Bernabeu. A performance for the history books as Karim ‘the dream’ Benzema came in clutch with a hat-trick to knock the Mighty Parisians out of the league. A huge test awaited for Los Blancos at Stamford Bridge against The defending champions in the quarters, yet again Madrid with their ebullient football were able to get a dominant 3-1 win. Although the second leg proved to be quite tough, with Tuchel and his men putting in a great shift. Yet, in the end it was the Royal Whites who claimed victory . While later this month Peps City are ready to go head to head with Madrid in a two legged semi final . Whereas for laliga, Los Blancos have been quite consistent having lost only three games out of 33, which includes the recent 4-0 humbling by arch rivals Barcelona. Regardless, they stand 12 points clear at the top of the table, eyeing for their 35th La Liga Trophy.
Delving more into Madrid and their recent accolades. They started the year with flying colours by winning the Super Cup in Riyadh, beating their more illustrious compatriots in a rather convincing fashion. But that is not how the season started for the men in white. Sergio Ramos ‘el capitano’ announced his departure from Madrid in the summer transfer window along with Raphael Varane (his defensive counterpart) which left Madridistas shattered and despaired, ambivalence surrounded the Bernabeu, no new signings were announced while other La Liga clubs were strengthening their respective squads. Amidst the humdrum, Carlo Ancelloti was brought back into the dugout to rejuvenate Los Blancos and take them back to winning ways. And the Italian national never disappointed, he completely revamped the left flank and lost once in the first four months of his tenure. However, Carlo and his men were never deemed as favourites to even win La Liga and the champions league with major analysts pointing out major flaws in the team itself. Unfortunately, we are yet to see Madrid’s labefaction.
“When everyone feels we are dead and buried, we go and win the champions league” -Alvaro Arbeloa
See, football has been revolutionised over the past few years and it is quite discernible how every team’s acclimating itself to today’s football (explained really well in ‘Liverpool Vs Man City; The greatest PL rivalry’ by Ali Rasheed). Whether its setting up a high line or having the most attacking momentum, ultimately the goal is to make the ball go into the net and whichever team does that the most, wins. And that exact skill is what Los Blancos have mastered. Week in week out we see a colossal number of football clubs ‘seemingly’ tactically outclass Madrid, still when the final whistle is blown it’s the boys in white who come out victorious. Now call it luck, individual brilliance or haji magic, one thing we need to admit is that Real Madrid knows how to put on a show!