Real Madrid lifting the Chamlions League in 2018.
By João Cunha
This season for Real Madrid was one for the history books. Real somehow despite all the struggles won 4 out of 6 trophies on offer. That despite all the struggles Real won the team’s third consecutive Champions League. A season where Real has their worst league season in 11 years in terms of points, and finished a distant 3rd place in La Liga. A team that managed to blow a 1-0 away lead to lose the Copa Del Rey quarterfinal to lowly Leganes on away goals. A season where they failed to beat either one of their main rivals Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in the league. They even lost another home Classico 3-0 to the Cules, although that might have been a good omen. The last 4 times they lost to Barca at home Real went on to win the European Cup, 13/14, 15/16, 16/17, 17/18. This team was a rudderless ship in late January. Out of the Copa Del Rey, 35 points after 19 games only 1 point above 5th places Villarreal. The fans thought for the first time in 21 years that Real could miss out on next season’s Champions League. Toni Kroos admitted as much after a tough defeat at home to Villarreal. The only hope of salvaging a lost season was to win the 13th Champions League title. No one thought they were capable in early February but they did it the hard way.
Real eliminated PSG 5-2 on aggregate winning home and away. They squeaked by a tough Juve side 4-3 on aggregate with a last minute Cristiano Ronaldo penalty. In the semi-final they were batters, bruised, outplayed but not beaten. They beat Bayern 2-1 away and somehow drew 2-2 at home to win the semifinal 4-3 on aggregate. The final which was memorable if ugly Real won again. 3-1 was the score with goals by the oft criticized duo of Benzema and Bale. And with the help of Karius on 2 goals it must be said. Real were once again Champions of Europe. Through some magic, Ronaldo and Bale’s bicycle kicks. Some luck, bizarre knee goal by Ronaldo vs, PSG, the penalty not given to Bayern on Marcelo’s handball, the injury to Salah in the final, Karius’s concussion. Also some other remarkable errors by the opponents, Ulreich’s gift to Benz in the semis, Rafinha’s giveaway that led to Asensio’s goal, Dybala’s stupid red card, and Karius gifting Benz and Bale goals in the final. This wasn’t a particularly great Real side but they found a way to win. They dug in and eliminated the French, Italian, and German Champions just to reach the final. They defeated the highest scoring team in CL history in the final Liverpool. They probably had the toughest draw any team has had in the history of the competition. Their group consisted of Spurs, Dortmund, and APOEL which wasn’t easy. Real won in Dortmund, Paris, Turin, and Munich to reach the final. They beat Liverpool in Kiev with a mostly pro-Liverpool crowd to win their 13th CL title. They may have not been a classic Real side but they are worthy European Champions.
2nd half of the season Real finished with 41 points from 19 games easily finishing in a top 4 spot and pipping Valencia yo finish 3rd. They won at Valencia 4-1, drew against Barca and Atleti and had the 2nd best campaign in the second half of the season. Still they finished 17 poimts behind Barcelona and that was a failure.
This season felt like an end of an era in many regards. In the champions league they gave their all and squeezed out one more title. But in the league the team was unmotivated and listless. There needed to be changes and Zidane resigned soon after the season ended. There has been much speculation why Zidane left but I have two main opinions why he left. First he was tired of the club’s draining culture. It’s hard to be a Real manager and give your all to win all the tournaments, especially when dealing with a tough media, fans, and club officials. Secondly the league performance exhausted him. Zidane always wanted to win the league, he says it’s the hardest title to win, in his exit interview to the press he admitted that his proudest moment was winning La Liga. He wants and values consistency, and Real’s players let him down in that regard. While he can take some blame for his tactics at times this team shouldn’t have finished with 76 points. It’s a gross indictment of these players that they finished 17 points behind Barca yet can win 3 CL’s on the trot. That drove Zidane to leave, he knows that this model of winning Champions League to salvage the season is unsustainable long term. He left at the right time before the club could fire him. With the uncertainty surrounding Ronaldo, Bale and their new manager it seems like this might be the end of a glorious era. But Real are a dynasty now and shouldn’t feel too bad about the future. With young talent on the team and their core at their peak Real will be competitive for a few years yet. But Real Madrid need to be better in La Liga and dominate Spain again. From 1994-95 to 2007-08 Real won 6 La Liga titles to Barcelona’s 4. Since 2008 Real have won 2 league titles to Barca’s 7. That balance has to be redressed. But despite this up and down season it has been a success. They have another CL which is 13 now which is more than other country except Spain. If you add the titles that AC Milan, Barcelona and the whole of London it would equal Real’s 13 titles. That’s how remarkable this number is. They have 7 CL’s in 20 years which no club can match. This season is a success and Real left the rollercoaster ride on a high.
Top 10 players this season.
- Marco Asensio: Real’s star young player this season, he had a big impact in Liga early on but fell off post December. Still scored crucial goals in the SuperCopa vs. Barca and the winner at Bayern in the Champions League semi final. He had 2 assists vs. PSG which transformed a 1-1 game to a 3-1 Real win. His improvement defensively was obvious in the second leg at PSG, and in the second leg vs. Bayern. He worked hard and delighted in equal measure. Just needs yo be more consistent,
9. Raphael Varane A player who has great games and maddening games at the same time. He didn’t have a good La Liga season but was magnificent in the CL. His performances against Juve, PSG, Bayern and Liverpool were excellent. But he makes too many mental mistakes and his passing has regressed oddly enough.
8. Marcelo A player that has had a very off season by his standards. He had a terrible first half of the season in La Liga making many defensive errors and having an awful Classico in Real’s 3-0 defeat. However he improved greatly post January. He had a man if the match display at home to PSG, scored against Juve, scored and assisted against Bayern, and had 2 assets in the final. He was excellent in the second Classico. For his all defensive faults he was a crucial member of the team when it mattered most.
7. Sergio Ramos Another player who had a rocky season. He played well in the first month then was inconsistent fir several months. Still he produced great performances in both Supercuts and Club World Cup final, scored a bicycle kick against APOEL. He was a beast in the Champions League playing excellently in all the matches in the knockout stages, the one he didn’t play in Real nearly blew a 3-0 lead and allowed 3 goals. He kind of injured Salah but he was fantastic in the final.
6. Gareth Bale I know a lot will now say Bale has had a great season but he was injured for 3 months and was a bit part player for half the season. Despite this he scored 21 goals in all completions, 16 in La Liga alone. He was fantastic whenever he played and if he weren’t injured Real might have actually challenged for La liga. He scored the winner in the club World Cup semifinal, assisted the winner in the UEFA Super Cup, assisted a goal vs. Atleti, scored an equalizer. Barca, scored a great volley at Dortmund, and scored 2 times in a CL final. Including that bicycle kick against Liverpool! Great season just needs to stay healthy.
5. Lucas Vasquez So often the shining light when Real were going through their bad spell hit he performed capably. He was excellent in La Liga and was crucial in big matches, he assisted CR7’s goal at PSG. He earned the penalty against Juve. He played auxiliary right back in both games against Bayern. He was the best player in Real’s ill-fated Copa Del Rey campaign. He was a titan and had his best statistical season by ;eading the team in assists.
4. Luka Modric He had a great start to the season but slows down after October. He was the best player in the Club World Cup. He fought like a lion on massive Champions league matches having great performances at Juve and in and helping Lucas in both semi rivals as a RB. His finest performance was in the final where he played a great game especially in the second half.
3. Toni Kroos He scored 5 goals this season and although he was below his usual standards still was more consistent than most. His general excellence was vital in La Liga and the CL. He played great in big games, Supercopa, Club World Cup, and the Champions League. He completed over 90 percent of his passes in the final missing one pass the whole game. Remarkable player.
2. Nacho A player that is consistently overlooked yet has had a remarkable season. He played over 49 games filling in at RB, LB, and CB. He was Real’s best defender this season and even scored 4 goals. He started against PSG and played well. He started at Barca and did well. He came in for Carvajal in the CL final and had a great final. He was better than Carva with dealing with Mane and Mane switched sides to get more freedom. What a player he is.
•1. Keylor Navas Was the most consistent player all season. Played great in La Liga making massive saves to win Real vital points. Made a big save vs Man United in the Super Cup nd shutout Barca to clinch another SuperCopa. While he made mistakes he was still excellent making big saves vs. PSG (home and away), Juve (away), Bayern Munich (too many yo count), in the CL final (vs Arnold). He made 8 saves to drag Real into the final brilliant player, but he’s just a normal player. The real winner is…
Real #1: Cristiano Ronaldo 44 goals 8 assists. Top scorer of the CL, 26 league goals. Scored the winner at Barca to win the SuperCopa as a sub, scored the winner in the CWC final, scored in 11 straight CL games. Including 3 goals and an assist in both the PSG and Juve ties. Including the most pressure penalty I’ve seen in normal time, a bicycle kick that Juve fans gave a standing ovation to. Scored at Valencia, at Barca, at home to Atleti in the league. Leader and beast, he’s been Real’s best player at 33 that takes some doing.
Top 5 goals of the season:
5. Gareth Bale’s goal against Dortmund: A great cross by Carvajal was brullliantly finished off by Bale on a volley. Real went on to win the game 3-1 for their first ever win at Dortmund.
4. Marco Asensio’s stunning goal against Barca at home: Real led the tie 3-1 heading into the second leg. Less than 10 minutes into the game Marco Asensio strikes the ball from 30 yards that flew past a helpless Ter Stegen. Real went on to win the game 2-0 and clinch their 10th SuperCopa.
3. Gareth Bale’s 2nd goal vs. Celta: he ran down the line cut back, beat his defender and hit an unstoppable shot past the despairing Celta keeper. The angle was against him yet he still scored. Great goal.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo’s bicycle kick: Carvajal sent a cross, Ronaldo scored a bicycle kick the rest is history. The Juve fans have him a standing ovation, the world stood still. Yet it wasn’t even the best goal of the season.
1. Gareth Bale’s bicycle kick against Liverpool: This goal wasn’t just a moment of individual brilliance. There was a 20 pass sequence that led to the goal. It was a team goal as much as Bale’s strive. Marcelo’s cross was a great one and Bale’s finish was incredible. The patience, class, and athletic ability of this goal was incredible. Maybe the best goal in the history of the Champions League.
That’s for this season, a crazy but in the end Real ended up in the ave they’ve been for 3 seasons now: on top.
realtakesite 