Los blancos play out a disappointing 2-2 draw at the Ceramica. Carzola 4' 82', Benzema 7', Varane 20'.
A not so promising start to 2019 for Real Madrid as they were held to a 2-2 draw at the same stadium they drew with a 1-1 scoreline last time both teams met.
The Ceramica, home of the yellow submarines has always been a tough ground for Real Madrid, the last two matches between these teams prior to this current one saw Villareal win one and drew one. There was no doubt that a stern test awaits Real Madrid at the stadium but they were expected to start the year on a high and had enough quality to see off Villareal, it was not to be as a late equaliser and a second goal from Santi Carzola levelled the score.
Solari rolled out his normal 4-3-3 formation with the popular starting line up with the replacement of Marcos Llorente with Casemiro being the only change to the line up.
Dani Carvajal continued at right back, Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos partnered each other at defence, Marcelo at left back. The midfield saw Luka Modric and Toni Kroos partnering Casemiro. The attack featured Lucas Vasquez and Gareth Bale flanking Karim Benzema.
Coming into this match, Solari and Real Madrid were looking to close the gap on Barcelona to 5 points with this outstanding match. That hope was dashed in the beginning of the match as Marcelo was found wanting by a man of the match contender in Samuel Chukwueze of Villareal. The winger left Marcelo in his wake and provided a beautiful assist to Santo Carzola who brilliantly and cooly curved the ball past Thubiat Courtois to make it 1-0 under 4 minutes. The lead was not to last as Karim Benzema was left unmarked by the Villareal defence and cooly slotted in a header past the keeper's reach.
In the 20th minute, Los blancos had a freekick from the right hand side and a cross into the penalty area by Toni Kroos was headed in by Raphael Varane to turn the match on its head and take the lead.
Both teams had several chances to score. Lucas Vasquez missed a sitter and a goal from Luka Modric was ruled out for offside.
Real Madrid made series of changes and controlled play until the 70 minute when Villareal came out in search for an equalizer. Their faith and hard work paid off in the 88th minute after Santo Carzola was on hand at the end of the post to head the ball into the net to draw them level. The match ended with the same scoreline after some uneventful attempt from Real Madrid to stage for a golden goal.
Major Talking Points
This match was very important for both teams. Villareal were seeking to climb off relegation zone and Real Madrid were looking to close the gap on Barcelona and as well, start the year on a high. However, Villareal came out with a high-octane style of play, hoping to frustrate Real Madrid with the same pattern so many teams has frustrated them with all season. Most times Real Madrid passed their way through the high line played by Villareal but their poor/terrible decision making in the final third played a huge part in deciding this match.
The attack wasn't providing the adequate thrill needed to weaken the Villareal team and the defence wasn't any better. The Real Madrid flanks were defended poorly, especially the left flank where Marcelo was given a hell of a job all night marking out an in-form Chukwueze Samuel. The winger was a thorn in the flesh of both Sergio Ramos and Marcelo all night and would have produced a goal or more assists if luck had gone his way more.
Real Madrid would need to be more mindful of the defence and work on improving their decision making in the final third if they are to contest for the title for as it seems, they are still pretty much a failure on both ends of the pitch.
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