Real Madrid legend takes affairs into his own hands to force a result against Girona | OneFootball

As a result of their 1 loss and 2 draws in their last 3 La Liga games, Real Madrid have lost all the advantage they enjoyed at the top of the league table around a month ago, and currently sit second after getting a 2-0 win over Girona last night.

The Merengues are engaged in a fierce three-way battle with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona for the league title, and could not have afforded to lose any more points as they faced Girona in their last La Liga match.

Both the Colchoneros and the Blaugranes had won their match in matchday 25, thus putting the pressure on Los Blancos to get a result from this game.

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti was also without one of his most important players, as Jude Bellingham served the first of his two-game suspension following his controversial red card in last week’s game against Osasuna.

Despite the plethora of options available to replace the Englishman, the Italian decided to tweak his system, playing in a 4-2-4 formation. Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe were the most advanced central players, while Rodrygo Goes and Brahim Diaz played on the wings.

In the midfield, Aurelien Tchouameni was accompanied by the legend, Luka Modric, and handing this start to the Croatian icon turned out to be the most decisive decision from Ancelotti for this game.

Despite nearing 40 years of age, the Real Madrid superstar was again the most compelling player on the pitch, and he was involved in both the goals scored by his team on the night.

He himself was the scorer of the first goal, and his technique in this goal poetically resembled the class and ability the Croatian legend has shown throughout his illustrious career.

He nicely controlled a clearance sent his way by a Girona defender from a cross with his chest, before taking the perfect volley to send the ball into the top right corner of the net from a significant way out.

For the second goal, he started a counter by sending a ball from deep in his own area to Vinicius, who broke away and ended up scoring another good goal after combining with Kylian Mbappe.

In addition to his involvement in these two goals, the midfielder was also influential with his all-round contributions from the middle of the pitch. According to Sofascore statistics, he got on the ball 126 times in total in the 86 minutes he played in this game.

Modric’s passing was once again top-notch, as has been the case for his entire Real Madrid career, as he completed 103 of his 112 attempted passes, recording a 92% success rate in this regard. He put in a whopping 6 key passes in this game, creating 1 big chance. The Croat also attempted 10 long balls, completing 7 of them, and 2 of his 4 crosses were also accurate.

Similarly, he also won 4 of his 5 ground duels and 1 of his only 1 aerial duel, while also getting the 1 dribble he attempted on the night successful. He was also active defensively, making 2 clearances, 1 interception, and 2 tackles.

Real Madrid fans would definitely have enjoyed this performance from the Croatian magician, who continues to perform at an amazing level.