At the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid won convincingly by a 2 – 0 margin against Levante to seal out the second round of La Liga. This was a match that required composure, patience and clinical finishes much more so than skillful performances.
Right from kick-off, Madrid had complete domination of possession. However, they could not produce any fluidity in their last third. Levante arrived to this contest with an obvious strategy; maintain a tight compact shape defensively, deny Madrid opportunities for counterattacks and make Madrid very frustrated.
For large parts of the initial half, there were few opportunities being created for either team. Therefore, Madrid fans began to grow restless as the first half went on. Real Madrid produced neat passing sequences into midfield areas but they did not present themselves with many genuine attacking threats. Despite dominating possession in the first half, Real Madrid lacked pace, finesse and creativity and failed to produce anything of note prior to halftime.
Tense First Half – Limited Opportunities Created
Although Madrid possessed the upper hand throughout most of the first half of the contest, Real Madrid were unable to show precision to penetrate Levante’s defense. The tactics employed by Levante proved highly effective in limiting Madrid’s options and stifling the attacking movement of Madrid. Although Levante created some rare attacks on goal during the first half, they were generally unsuccessful in creating enough pressure on Madrid to create further attacking threats.
The score remained tied at zero through the end of the first-half and Madrid clearly needed something – a different tactic or an individual player – to stimulate them and unlock the game.
Second-Half Breakthrough
Real Madrid gained momentum and urgency upon returning to action at the start of the second-half. Their high-pressure approach and increased tempo resulted in Levante having less time to organize. The breakthrough arrived in the 58th-minute when Kylian Mbappe calmly dispatched his penalty past the Levante goalkeeper and sent him the wrong way.
Mbappe’s goal completely altered the dynamics of the contest. With a small amount of space available behind their defense, Levante had no choice but to push up which allowed Madrid to capitalize quickly.
Only seven minutes after Mbappe opened the account for Real Madrid, Raoul Asencio extended their lead to two goals when he headed home a quality delivery from the cross-bar area with power and precision and got above his marker.
This decisive second goal made sure that the result was secured for Real Madrid.
Game Effective Game Management and Defense and Defensive Control
Following Asencio’s second goal, Madrid continued to demonstrate excellent game management skills. Vinicius Junior and Arda Gulcer maintained their threat on both flanks and caused problems without taking un-necessary risks.
On defense, Real Madrid were solid and composed. The visitors, Levante, fought hard but found it difficult to create serious opportunities in front of goal due to a very organized Real Madrid back-line who successfully restricted the number of shots on target and controlled most of the transitions.
An Important Three Points
Although this performance was not particularly impressive, it was certainly effective. Matches such as these can be pivotal in determining whether teams have what it takes to challenge for titles.
In addition to showing maturity and patience throughout the contest, Real Madrid demonstrated that they are capable of producing results even when brilliance is not evident.
Final Whistle
As a result of demonstrating superior dominance over Levante during this contest, Real Madrid earned a convincing 2 – 0 victory. A disciplined 2 – 0 victory was built around a couple of key moments when Real Madrid were able to take full advantage of every opportunity presented to them.
Ultimately, sometimes three points are all that matter and Real Madrid were able to deliver precisely that.
Sometimes, three points are all that matter — and Real Madrid delivered exactly that.
