Kroos defends an action against Héctor Herrera in the presence of Zidane and Mendy.AFP7 via Europa Press / Europa Press
Real Madrid was a
bon vivant
for years
.
He went through the fields shirtless, devoted to the joyous life of his attackers.
He didn't mind getting messy because, in melee, few could keep up with him.
But these are austere times, for him too.
In the opposite area, he is no longer left over and he can only survive delivered to the application, the caution and the sobriety to manage what he has.
Until further notice in the form of the signing of a scorer, the resurrection of Hazard or the appearance of Mariana by Jovic, this is the only way to success he has had since Cristiano resides at the foot of the Alps.
Thus he raised the
coronaliga
and only thus has he been able to rearm himself in these last critical days.
For the first time so far this year, he has linked three consecutive games without conceding a goal, the best thermometer of the step in front of the squad in this situation.
When he traveled to Pizjuán eight days ago, he accumulated an average of 1.4 goals received per match in all competitions, more than double that of the last League (0.65) and almost four times above the 10 post-confinement crashes that they decided the domestic title (0.4).
In those 15 previous games, the whites suffered 9.7 shots per day, of which 3.7 ended up between the three sticks of Courtois, forced to work overtime.
Betis threw him 15 times;
the Cádiz, 14;
and Alavés, Valladolid and Levante, 11. And in the Champions League he had received nine goals in the first five days of the group stage, something never seen in his European record.
It was a team in the open in both areas, without a deck in the rival and exposed in their own.
However, in these three recent duels, against Sevilla (0-1), Gladbach (2-0) and Atlético (2-0), with the water up to their necks, the statistics have been reversed: the number of shots on goal in the Belgian's goal has collapsed to almost a third (1.3) and the total shots have remained at eight.
Against Sevilla, Gladbach and Atlético, the number of shots on goal received plummets to almost a third
The improvement transcends the defensive line, despite the return of Ramos, who is increasingly essential.
It has to do, above all, with a greater collective application in every corner of the field.
With Modric and Kroos at their best, Zidane's men have enjoyed more control of the game and, as the coach likes to say in a clear legacy of his past in the Juventine steel industry, they have not risked anything.
The reaction is impossible to detach from the practically emotional bond that the coach maintains with the hard core of the dressing room, which has made him win so many things, as he himself confessed before traveling to the Camp Nou and after the double blow against Cádiz and Shakhtar.
It was the first serious corner of the year and the Frenchman proclaimed: "I will always be to death with them."
The pending challenge
And now, at another even more extreme juncture, with the noise of sabers in the background at the possibility of a European failure and also - albeit to a lesser extent - an early farewell to the League, those same players - except Isco and Marcelo, at the shadow— they have recovered the virtues of the
coronaliga
to continue all together.
Coincidentally, last year, the best streak of matches (5) without fitting outside of the post-confinement took place in another similar crisis, in the midst of the urgencies in the Champions League and with the name of Mourinho screeching in Zizou's ears .
"This means a lot to the coach that I am," ZZ gratefully summed up this Saturday.
He was referring, in particular, to the few occasions that his team conceded, to good defensive work, to “the help of the wingers to the wings”, to the “pressure and overwhelm up”, and to “keeping the rhythm in the second half ”.
No reference to virtuosity.
All signs of commitment that reassure the coach and make him see that his message is still valid in the locker room.
Now, after the hot flash, comes the test of routine, check if this extraordinary reaction has continuity in the fatigue of day to day, without poster rivals or agonizing scenarios.