We are in for a rollercoaster ride at Real Madrid as pandemonium filled their camp in recent weeks.
The 5-1 thrashing by Barcelona was followed by the sacking of the rather quiet than effective Julen Lopetegui and the Castilla(Real Madrid B) manager Solari was appointed as interim manager of Real Madrid.
Solari is looking forward to replicating the successes of Real Madrid’s former player and manager Zinedine Zidane, who was also called up to the hot seat from the B team after Benitez was sacked during the December period in 2015, he had just few months to turn things around in favour of Real Madrid. Zidane picked up the mantle half way through the season and three successive Champions Leagues and a La Liga trophy followed in his brief three year stint at the club. Solari would be looking forward to towing the same path of his former colleague or do better and hoping he gets the nod to fully lead the team next season.
SOLARI’S FIRST TEST
Solari’s first task was against Spain's third tier team, Melilla , in the Copa Del Rey’s round of 32.
He set out with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation, a formation he uses with the Castilla team. With Keylor Navas between the sticks, Sergio Ramos and Javier Sanchez partnering each other in centre defence, Alvaro Odriozola at right back and Sergio Reguilon at left back. In midfield, Dani Ceballos and Marcos Llorente played double pivot while Asensio played behind the striker. The flanks were occupied by Antoinio Vicinus(left flank) and Lucas Vasquez(right flank) while Benzema lead the team upfront.
As typical of Real Madrid in recent Copa Del Rey matches, they started out fairly bad. There were misplaced passes and poor combinations, which was as a result of Melilla’s high press. Melilla’s style of play kept disorganizing Real’s combination play until the first goal was scored. Lucas Vasquez combined greatly with Alvaro Odriozola and a pass was beautifully placed into the penalty area by Odriozola and was put into the net by Benzema to make it 1-0. That goal gave rise to Real Madrid’s morale as the gate was opened for more goals. Their play improved greatly as the connection between the midfield, wing and attack became more solid and effective. Vicinus who was very active on the left flank traded an outside of the boot pass to Asensio, who in turn played a curved ball into the net to make it 2-0 for Real Madrid.
They took the two goal lead into half time as Solari took off Karim Benzema for Fede Valverde for the second half and Nacho for Sergio Ramos. This change made Asensio play as a false 9 and Valverde took up the 10 role.
For the third goal, a slow possession football that started with Odriozola ended up at the left flank, with Vicinus displaying a little bit of skill to pass the ball to Reguilon, who in turn shot at the goal keeper, the shot from Reguilon was too strong for Melilla’s goal keeper as he parried it over his head and towards the on-rushing Vicinus. Vicinus’ name looked to be added on the score sheet but unfortunately, two defenders swept the ball away from his feet and Odriozola was on hand to swiftly play it into the net. The fourth goal came towards the end, as substitute Cristo Gonzalez, who came on to replace Asensio headed in an Odriozola cross.
SUMMARY..
The 4-0 score line is quite deceiving as Melilla put up a good fight and had several opportunities to put the ball at the back of the net including hitting the crossbar. Real Madrid’s effectiveness in front of goal was enough to hand them the win and an opportunity of giving more Castilla players game chances of proving themselves appeared positive. Several players were solid and impressive with their displays, example of such was Vicinus who was a constant threat on the left flank, he constantly ran at the defenders and most times came out on top with an assist to his name. Although his decision making in the final third appears to still be immature, he showed glimpses of what the fans are to expect as he keeps growing and matches like this, when he gets to play the whole 90 minutes will help in improving him.
Another impressive player of the Real Madrid team during that match was right-back Alvaro Odriozola. Not only did he score a goal and assist two, he was at the heart of majority of Real Madrid’s attacks. His crosses were inch-perfect and he justified the reason Real Madrid bought him as a substitute for Dani Carvajal.
Lucas Vasquez, Dani Ceballos and Marcos Llorente all impressed greatly and showed the coach why they deserve to be playing regularly.
Solari has won his first task and has Real Valladolid to play next in the league before travelling to Czech Republic to play Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League. These next two games, although not with tough opponents will show us more of what Solari has to offer with a probable tougher test coming up in the league against Celta Vigo. Until then, for now we will drink, laugh and enjoy Solari’s flying start and hope Real Madrid take on a winning streak.
THANKS FOR READING..
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