1 assist, 103 successful passes: 39-year-old Real Madrid star turns back the clock to put in another dominating performance – Analysis | OneFootball

Real Madrid seemed to have lost the opportunity to get to the top of the La Liga table, after winning their game in hand against Valencia, on Wednesday as they lost to Athletic Club, while Barcelona won their game against Mallorca to go 4 points clear of the Merengues.

However, the weekend turned out to be quite in favour of Los Blancos, as the Blaugranes dropped points with a draw against Real Betis, while they themselves got a convincing victory over Girona. With this win, the Vikings are once again only two points behind the Catalans in the league table, while still having the game against Valencia in hand.

But beyond this advantage that they got in league standings, this win over Girona was also significant as Real Madrid put in quite a good display, after their rather toothless performance against Athletic Club. Jude Bellingham continued with his goal-scoring form in this game, while Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler also scored goals which will help them get their confidence back after a hard start to the season.

But another player who really stood out for the Merengues in this game was Luka Modric, who started this game position deep in the midfield, and absolutely dictated the tempo of the game to remind every spectator of his former self when he was still at the top of his game.

There is no doubt that this was an amazing performance, especially from a player who is already 39 years of age. But no one could have guessed his age, as he played for the full 90 minutes in this match.

In these 90 minutes, he showcased his best skills, completing a whopping 103 – which is higher than what any other player has completed in a single match in La Liga this season – of his 112 attempted passes, according to Sofascore. He thus retained a 92% passing success rate despite playing against a side as good as Girona.

His passes were quite decisive as well, as he got 1 assist, which was finished by Kylian Mbappe, and 4 key passes in this game. He also completed 8 of his 10 attempted long balls and also created 2 big chances.

He made his set of defensive contributions as well, as he had 2 clearances, 1 interception, and 1 tackle to his name.

Hopefully, the Croat will continue to defy his age by putting in such performances in the weeks to come. He will have a significantly sterner test up ahead as Real Madrid face Atalanta in a crucial UEFA Champions League match, and hopefully, he will be able to help his team get a win and ultimately advance to the next round of the competition.