Real Madrid were able to survive a scare as they came out with all three points in a 3-2 win over Levante as they were leading 3-0 at half time.
Starting Lineup:
With way too many players on the injury list, Zinedine Zidane was able to come out with a strong but predicted starting lineup as he had one eye on the UEFA Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. The starting eleven consisted of:
Thibaut Courtois, Daniel Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos [C], Marcelo, Carlos Casemiro, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Lucas Vazquez, Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema
Scorers:
Real Madrid –
Karim Benzema (25′)
Karim Benzema (31′)
Carlos Casemiro (40′)
Levante –
Borja Mayoral (49′)
Gonzalo Melero (75′)
An Entertaining 45 Minutes:
Real Madrid came out extremely strong in the first half as they dominated the match from the opening whistle while Levante were unable to find any space to try controlling the game. Two goals by Karim Benzema (assisted by Carvajal and James Rodriguez) put a lot of pressure on the visitors before a great pass by Vinicius saw Carlos Casemiro with a tap-in to give Los Blancos a comfortable lead in the first half before they came out as a completely different team after the break.
James Rodriguez:
It’s quite shocking to see that Real Madrid were reportedly willing to let James Rodriguez leave the club for 40 Million Euros over the summer. Keep in mind that we would have TWO fit midfielders for this week if it wasn’t for him but other than that, what he offers on the ball is unbelievable. His decision-making was clear to see throughout the match while his work-rate is a joy to watch for any fan. The only thing more shocking that Los Merengues willing to let him go was that there were no clubs ready to pay the 40 Million for the Colombian!
Carlos Casemiro:
The amount of dependency the team has on Carlos Casemiro is massively worrying and the match against Levante made it clear. Yes, Real Madrid conceded before he was taken off but they were chaotic in the midfield once he wasn’t on the pitch anymore. They were unable to control the game and made a lot of questionable mistakes that they didn’t do while he was there. Given the fact that he’s our only defensive midfielder, Zidane will most probably realize that not signing another DM will be his downfall at the club…
Eden Hazard & Eder Militao:
It has been a VERY long time coming but we were able to witness Eden Hazard and Eder Militao both make their debut’s against Levante. Both players came on the pitch at the same time as Hazard replaced Casemiro and Militao replaced Sergio Ramos as Zidane wanted the to see the pairing of Raphael Varane and Militao for the PSG match since our captain and Nacho are both suspended. Hazard had an energetic match and could be considered a little unlucky not to score while Militao was solid at the back and it will be interesting to see them both start on Wednesday night in Paris.
RMadrid37 