On Saturday, Santiago Solari's quest to add skeletal frame to a falling Real Madrid side got another ovation, as the three consecutive European Champions grabbed another La Liga win against a not too clinical Valencia side. Indeed, the new manager was the lucky guy yesterday, as Valencia failed to take advantage of their chances in front of goal.
Prior to his arrival as an interim manager after Lopetegui was fired, The once glorious Real Madrid lay in ruins. Abandoned by Christiano Ronaldo and Zidane, the team never remained the same. There was great fear and trembling that the European Champions may not make it to the top four, as all hopes almost died with each dawn.
With Lopetugui given his marching orders, Solari was put on trial as an interim manager by the Madrid Management board to prove his mettle. The Argentine was perfect, as he went on to win all his matches in all competitions, of course, he passed the test and was given the job as Madrid's new manager. Since then, he had embarked on resuscitating the team and giving it a new drive.
How will the story sound, that a whole Real Madrid team could not make it Champions League next season, trust me, even Barcelona fans won't be happy to hear that. The team now looks auspicious with hopes of even winning the champions league again.
They've witnessed a rise in the league table and would soon break into the top four, and if possible, become a contender for the La Liga title. Solari's quest is on a rollercoaster ride. After defeating Valencia 2-0 at home on Saturday, the new coach has recorded six wins out of seven games in all competitions since he took over the mantle of leadership.
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Not A Bad Run So Far
For me, I believe new Madrid manager deserves some accolades and perhaps an ovation for lifting Madrid from the mud that Julen Lopetugui left them in. It's not easy to coach a star studded team like Madrid, where one needs to manage the team play and also the ego of these stars.
Managing high profile players like Bale, Ronaldo, Messi etc was one of the ineptitude of Jose Mourinho at Madrid, and even currently at Manchester United. However, since Solari has been able to curb these and get results from the team, then it's high time we started according him a full blown respect.
In his short reign so far, the European Champions have netted 19 goals and have conceded only five. Though September 24 came with an unsettling hit on the new manager, as he watched his side humbled by Eibar in a shocking 3-0 defeat. Apart from that loss to Eibar, Solari's reign have been a success when it comes to numbers and facts.
As we speak, Madrid sits tentatively at the fifth position in Spanish league table, and have qualified for the round of 16 in the Champions League. The win over Valencia have raised lots of lost hope at the Santiago Bernabeu, especially with Dani Carvajal putting up a stunning display to drive the team from the right flank.
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His return from injury has really added flesh to the Madrid team, as Valencia found it hard to keep him at bay during the match. He was involved in both goals against Valencia on Saturday, and Solari is glad to see him fit. It was his cross that forced Daniel Was to score an own goal.
The first half saw The European Champions dominating with their usual touch of class and status. Valencia's impact was very limited but not without ruffling few feathers every now and then. The rather disturbing thing was Madrid's inability to crown their sterling dominance with another goal after the own goal by Daniel Wass. The second half saw Valencia pull some strings of attack that forced the Belgian goalkeeper to make some few good saves.
Solari will indeed have Courtois to thank after yesterday's encounter with Valencia, as his gloves ensured that Real Madrid grabbed the full 3 points of the game. He will also be grateful to his stars that Valencia was wasteful in the game, it could have been a different result if they had met a more clinical team. With player like Santi Mina that have been a good form blasting the ball over the bar when sent through on goal, and Courtois denying Batshuayi from close range, Solari is indeed favoured by Fate.
I was really glad to see a Madrid team that could dominate a game without the likes of Marcelo, Tony Kroos, Casemiero etc, it shows that the new coach is bringing out the best in these players. Another good stuff that caught my attention yesterday was seeing Isco introduced later in the game. With 13 minutes left, the Spaniard was allowed to go and join his colleagues in the game. We all know that he hasn't been in good terms with Solari, so I was surprised to see him play. That's a good Omen for the team.
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