After ending crisis talk, Real Madrid had a golden opportunity to go top of La Liga on Wednesday night when they faced Osasuna. Zinedine Zidane made several changes to his line-up but they proved that he was right to put faith in his players, running out 2-0 winners to make top spot their own.
Vinicius Junior broke the deadlock in the first half with a finish which deflected in from just outside the box. In the second half, another Brazilian teenager doubled that lead as Rodrygo Goes added a second. A fine dribble took him past several players before he sent a composed finish into the bottom corner.
This tactical analysis will consider what Zidane and Jagoba Arrasate can learn from the La Liga game as their tactics were key to deciding the battle which ended in a victory for Real Madrid.
Line-ups
With Ferland Mendy and Marcelo out injured, Zidane was always going to make at least one change. However, they were widespread. Alphonse Areola, Álvaro Odriozola, Éder Militão, Nacho, Federico Valverde, Lucas Vázquez, Vinícius Júnior and Luka Jović all came into the team, with Gareth Bale dropped from the squad entirely as Zidane kept one eye on the Madrid derby at the weekend.
Osasuna too made seven changes, two in attack, two in midfield and three in defence, as they looked to rotate a slim squad ahead of a much more winnable fixture against Levante at the weekend.
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