Real Madrid wanted to secure top spot heading into the international break up against an in-form Granada side who came to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu with nothing to lose, but it was Zinedine Zidane’s men who overcame injury doubts and midweek Champions League frustration to once again show their domestic confidence.
Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard, Luka Modrić and James Rodríguez were all on the scoresheet for the hosts, with the Belgian forward scoring his first goal for the club whilst the latter two made a strong impact as substitutes. Darwin Marchis’ penalty and Domingos Duarte cut back the deficit to 3-2 before James’ late decider, but it was not enough.
This tactical analysis will consider what Zidane and Diego Martínez can learn from the tie as Real Madrid once again strut their stuff in La Liga action with their tactics spot on up against Granada, as this analysis will explain.
Line-ups
Both Thibaut Courtois and Marcelo were ruled out in the run-up to this tie, forcing Zidane into changes to his line-up, deploying Dani Carvajal as a makeshift left-back. Elsewhere, Modrić’s starting return was held off longer while the Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard frontline was selected again.
Martínez did not make any changes to his line-up, though Yangel Herrera did play in a deeper, holding midfield role with Ramon Azeez also sitting back to a deeper position than the role he usually plays just behind Roberto Soldado in attack.
To read the full tactical analysis of this match – click here
Artwork by @chapulana
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