The 34th round of La Liga was revealed in the early hours of the morning, with Real Madrid defeating Osasuna by a score of 2-0. Although the outcome of the Barcelona match is still unclear, if Atletico Madrid fails to beat Barcelona next week, then the title race this season will fall into the hands of Real Madrid. Is this the curtain call for the title race?
The light is on and the dream lives on. Real Madrid's 2-0 victory has put them in full focus for the upcoming battle at Stamford Bridge, where the ultimate test is about to come. Militão has transformed himself from a defensive warrior to an offensive pioneer, scoring a crucial goal that will take him one step at a time on the road to superstardom. Meanwhile, news of Ramos' contract extension has come in, but he will face stiffer competition.
Zidane announced a rotation strategy, but in reality only benched Kroos and Modric for 90 minutes, leaving no one else in the position. He adjusted his formation to an aggressive 4231, with Asensio, Azar and Vinicius lined up behind Benzema, and Casemiro and Blanco partnering at the back. Zidane's choice proved to be the right one.
The first 30 minutes of the match saw the skills of both goalkeepers on full display. Thibaut Courtois had a curling shot knocked away, while Osasuna's goalkeeper Sergio Herrera made three stunning saves in a row, two of which were against Militão's shots. Since becoming a debutant a month ago, Militão's confidence has grown by the day.
Real Madrid were quite wary of Osasuna's quick counter-attacks, especially with the comeback of Argentine striker Chimi Avila, who could always instantly get away from the defense to find an opening. This prevented Real Madrid's formation from completely overpowering their opponents. When Casemiro went forward, Blanco broke the back, and his veteran performance did not look like a newcomer at all. Nonetheless, the opponents still played a few fast counterattacks, but fortunately individual players made mistakes in technical details, so the chances were dashed.
Militão also almost made a fool of himself with a return pass that was too strong. Seeing that Courtois is not in the starting lineup, he covered his face and exclaimed, fortunately, this time the protagonist has good luck with the company. In the 75th minute, Real Madrid, who hadn't had a threatening attack for a long time, suddenly seized a corner kick, and Militão headed Isco's cross into the goal. Perhaps it was Casemiro's back-row insertion that disrupted the goalkeeper's judgment, and this time Herrera didn't react to the incoming ball. It was Militão's first La Liga goal and second of the season.
Real Madrid broke the deadlock in the 75th minute with a header from Militang off a corner kick from the left.
In the 80th minute, Benzema sent a direct ball that Casemiro touched into the goal.
The goal brought an instant collapse to the Osasuna defense, which had been stout for most of the game. Only 5 minutes later, Real Madrid made a comeback, Benzema sent a direct ball, Casemiro did not stop the ball, but the ball is crooked trips into the gate. It was a surprise, and Zidane was overjoyed on the sidelines. However, the situation of Varane is worrying, he only played the first half of the game was replaced by Nacho, and still do not know if he can make it to the game against Chelsea. If not, Zidane won't be able to play a 3 at the back, and Militão plays significantly better in a 3 at the back than with Nacho.
In addition to the 3 points, Real Madrid this game harvested a lot. The original state of uncertainty of Azhar and Asensio debut this game have a high level of play, substitutes Rodrigo also live and let live, a few transferred into the second team of young players have played a tactical role. Not to mention injuries and fatigue, Real Madrid once again burst out of the adversity of the fighting spirit. Regardless of the outcome of the next day's match in Barcelona, if Athletic Madrid fails to beat Barcelona next weekend, the initiative for the title will be transferred to Real Madrid. The curtain has finally risen on this title race.
