Real Madrid dominated Getafe in their 2-0 win over the weekend. Before the Whites’ away trip to Girona, we have a look at the brilliant setup they fielded…
Real Madrid got a comfortable win by a 2-0 margin over their neighbours Getafe on Sunday night. Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale were on target as Madrid completely dominated their Azul opponents. Los Blancos boasted 78% possession in Lopetegui’s first outing as La Liga manager, which was higher than Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid ever managed. It was mainly down to their tactical set up under the new boss, which deserves praise.
Julen Lopetegui went with a very much first team quality squad, only with the exceptions of Casemiro and Luka Modric whose places were filled by Dani Ceballos and Isco. Toni Kroos fell back to play as defensive midfield in most parts of the game. However, Madrid played a common 4-3-3 formation against their opponent but still dominated impressively.
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Real Madrid pressed high up the pitch as they did under ZIzou but managed to play possession based football in this one. Their statistic speaks for itself. Sergio Ramos and Nacho were usually positioned near the centre circle when Madrid had the ball, while Dani Carvajal, Kroos and Marcelo played a little higher than their central defending teammates.
Just ahead of them were Dani Ceballos and Isco were who were behind the frontline of Bale, Benzema and Asensio. A 2-3-2-3 set up on the eye meant that every Real Madrid in the front three and Isco and Ceballos were able to get into the box for chances.
In turn, this resulted in the absence of useless crosses flying in from either flanks to try and meet one or two heads present in a box of four defenders. In addition, Kroos was used like the distributor of the time in Luka Modric’s absence and Lopetegui’s set up certainly managed to get the best out of the Germany international. With a central position, Kroos was able to complete 116 out of 118 passes with a 98% success rate.
The switch of wings from Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio at short intervals meant that Getafe’s fullbacks never got a correct hang of the men they were tasked with marking. As he would under Zidane, Benzema also dropped a little deep to help out in the build-up play. While the striker did not score a goal, he certainly did the ‘dirty work’ and deserves a mention for this match.
Possession play and a smart offside trap due to the high line that Madrid held on the pitch also meant that most of Getafe’s attacks were nullified in due time which ensured a clean sheet and practically no work for Keylor Navas who had a spectator’s night.
Lopetegui’s substitutions too were spot on when he got in Luka Modric for Dani Ceballos with the score at 2-0. The Croat just helped Real Madrid in improving their share of possession and all but seal the game due to his added defensive contribution as compared to the man who was sacrificed for him.
In his attempt to grab a third goal and probably match Barcelona’s goal difference of +3, Lopetegui introduced Lucas Vazquez for Gareth Bale. The Spaniard was down the right wing since his unleashing and Asensio would play on the left in an attempt to tee up one of Benzema, Kroos or Modric for a third goal in the central area of the Getafe box.
Earlier before the hour mark, Casemiro was also introduced for Isco who had a quite night. The Brazilian flew in with strong tackles and all but put the attack of Jose Bordelas’ side to bed.
All in all, the tactics were perfectly executed from Real Madrid’s newly elected coach. With that said, I would give him a seven or eight out of ten. This is because, with all due respect to the opposition, a performance against a minnow from the La Liga. However, with his main squad back to full fitness and probably the addition of a lethal goal scorer, Lopetegui’s system will start to work against better opposition as well.