Goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos turned out to be enough for Real Madrid to see through Barcelona in a crucial La Liga game at Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano on Saturday. After finding themselves two goals down in the first half, Barcelona gave a good account of themselves by scoring a goal in the second half, but it was still not good enough on the night to match Real Madrid.
Real Madrid Hit top Form at the right time of the season
After a crucial midweek victory in the Champions League against Liverpool, Real Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title by defeating Barcelona 2-1. On the back of the victory in El Classico, Real Madrid has just lost one game in the last 20 league games making them one of the most In-form teams in Europe. After a poor start to the season, it seems like Real Madrid has picked up the pace at just the right time.
Real Madrid Squad depletion
Even though Real Madrid Form right now is absolutely staggering, there is no denying that they have a major challenge coming their way in the upcoming weeks. The list of absentees has increased after the El Classico. Real Madrid already played the last couple of games without Sergio Ramos, Rafael Varane, Dani Carvajal, and Eden Hazard.
After the events on Saturday, they will also not have Casemiro for the next league game and Lucas Vazquez may have to spend some days if not weeks on the sidelines due to an injury. Zinedine Zidane has been grinding out wins despite numerous players missing games due to injuries, so it will be intriguing to see how he goes about the business next week.
Is Barcelona out of the title race?
Barcelona’s unbeaten run of 19 games finally came to an end and now they find themselves in a situation from which winning the league is not entirely in their hands. .Barcelona now depends on both results of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, since they are third in the table. The Catalan club is one point behind Atletico Madrid even after playing an extra game. Mathematically it is still possible, but Barcelona will need few results going their way in the next six weeks. The title race is beautifully set up while going into the final stretch of the season.
Real Madrid midfield ageing like a fine Wine
The trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos once again dominated the middle of the park making Barcelona’s midfield look below average. The way they controlled the ball reminded everyone of their 2018 form of these three midfielders.
Even after turning 35, Luka Modric tracked back and helped out the defenders. Kroos showed his usual calm in tight situations and Casemiro did the dirty work when required because of which Barcelona was not able to find a stable rhythm in the game. The midfield trio needs to play as many games as possible until the end of the season for Real Madrid to succeed in La Liga and Champions League.