Guillem Balague takes a closer look at Real Madrid's ability to raise their game for their big Champions League ties, despite their current domestic form.
Guillem Balague takes a closer look at Real Madrid’s ability to raise their game for the big Champions League ties…
Real Madrid may be out of La Liga’s title race but their impressive 3-1 win over Paris St-Germain last week in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie was a reminder of how much they love that competition – and their ability to raise their level for the big moments in the season.
This is a team full of players who have had huge success in the Champions League. Just look at their remarkable recent record in the competition. In the past seven seasons they’ve reached at least the semi-final stage – regardless of how well they’ve been doing domestically.
There’s no question, this has been a very poor season for Real Madrid in terms of La Liga. They don’t win the ball high enough up the pitch, their counter-attacking is no longer as dangerous, their defence can be vulnerable and they’ve misfired in front of goal. Despite all the success he’s had, Zinedine Zidane’s future has been in doubt because of that form.
But the Champions League could be his salvation. And once again, Real Madrid are stepping up to the challenge. As you can see from this table, in each of the past four seasons, they’ve overcome a poor start to the new year and ramped up their levels in time for the Champions League knockouts.
Ronaldo sums up Real Madrid’s love of the Champions League. He scored nine goals in six group stage games earlier this season, having scored just twice in 10 La Liga matches over the same period. His two goals against PSG took him to 101 goals in 95 Champions League appearances for Real Madrid. Incredible.
He now has 11 goals in this season’s Champions League and he’s scored over 10 in each of the past seven seasons. To put that into perspective, no other player has done that in more than two seasons. With 21 goals in his last 12 Champions League games, he is going to be vital to Real’s hopes of winning a third-straight title.
Gareth Bale will have to play a part, too. The good news for Real Madrid is that Bale looks to be getting back on track after his injury problems and is returning to peak condition. He’s scored more goals in the last month and a half than he did in the entire first half of the season. So the signs are good.
But ultimately, it is about the mentality of this Real Madrid side. After so much recent success – and they’ve won eight out of a possible 10 titles under Zidane – it is usual to have a drop off. But Real continue to deliver in Europe, where they believe the Champions League is their competition. They are able to shake off poor performances and results in La Liga and raise their level for the Champions League.
It’s a unique attitude in football but, because of the star names Florentino Perez has cultivated at Real, their squad has the ability to produce these big performances out of nowhere. Their record of scoring 17 goals in the final 15 minutes in Champions League games over the past two seasons underlines that desire. It’s the most late goals scored by any team.
It is two attempts and two Champions League titles for Zidane. But it is a reminder of the extremely high standards at Real Madrid that he may need a third title in a row to keep his job. He’ll take encouragement from his side’s improving form. But more importantly, he’ll know their big-match mentality could take them to even more success.
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Sourse: skysports.com
