Maybe not everyone would agree with me on this but do not allow the 1-0 score line deceive you, Real Madrid improved much from their disappointing performance against Mallorca past weekend.
Typical Zidane surprised everyone with his line up today as Areola who I expected to replace the under fire Thubiat Courtois was benched by the Belgian. Alvaro Odriozola who was red carded in the La Liga encounter last weekend was replaced by Dani Carvajal. Raphael Varane returned in place of Eder Militao and formed his normal central defensive partnership with Sergio Ramos while Marcelo retained his left back spot.
Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Valverde filled the three man midfield while Zidane’s most surprising inclusion was Brazilian youngster Rodrygo Goes, who usurped a number of starters to get the nod in attack alongside Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema.
The match began with Real Madrid playing a panicking football and almost conceded in the 10th minute if Thubiat Courtois haven’t made the save. They would eventually find their foot when Kroos’ deflection shot got past Galatasaray’s keeper and into the net to take Los Blancos one up in the 18th minute.
The return of Eden Hazard and Toni Kroos to the starting line up played a huge part in handing Real Madrid a win and an imporved performance from an attacking standpoint tonight. Real Madrid broke the Galatasaray 5 man defence time and time again and even hit the crossbar through Eden Hazard but they couldn’t find the second goal.
Galatasaray on the other hand were poor going forward and would have been severely punished by a more clinical Real Madrid forwards.
Zidane is going to breathe a sigh of relief on this one as it takes Real Madrid two steps forward in the race to knockout stages.
Thank You for Reading
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