Credit goes to historic Madrid

As the final whistle blew at Estadio La Rosaleda it ended a game where Real Madrid had comfortably despatched Los Boquerones 2-1. Victory meant Los Merengues sat two points clear at the top of the table after Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 win against Deportivo La Coruna and Barcelona’s 1-0 win at Valencia thanks to Sergio Busquets’ 94th minute winner. But the real achievement lay in the milestone the club reached by defeating Malaga.

It meant Real Madrid had won 16 consecutive games [which includes La Liga, Copa Del Rey and Champions League fixtures] for the first time in their history. It is a statistic that represents how dominant they have been in recent months and is a far cry from their stuttering start to the season, where they lost back-to-back League games against Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid.

Praise must go to Coach Carlo Ancelotti, who kept his wits about him during that nervy period in September when Barcelona held top spot after winning five of their first six League games. When under pressure from the incessant Spanish media when results don’t go the right way, the Italian is the personification of calmness.

No doubt his finest hour this season was defeating Barcelona 3-1 at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Implementing Real Madrid’s dangerous pace in the counterattack to hurt La Blaugrana’s well-known weakness to the counterattack showed Ancelotti’s abilities in exploiting the opposition’s flaws.

But it is ultimately the players who should be praised. It’s they who have executed Ancelotti’s instructions to devastating effect. The statistics of Madrid’s season so far, let alone the 16 game winning streak, speak volumes. In 13 League games Madrid have scored 48 goals and conceded 12. They have also scored more than four goals in La Liga in five different games. Moreover, the defence has kept six clean sheets, even though the Press still pose questions about Iker Casillas.

At the heart of these excellent performances this season is none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. He has blitzed the goal scoring charts by scoring 20 times in 13 League games – seven ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. Prior to the recent weekend fixtures there had been 16 teams who scored less than 20 goals so far this season. Behind Ronaldo is a plethora of players in attack who have ably supported him.

Luka Modric had been a lynchpin for his side before his unfortunate thigh injury that will keep him out till early next year. However, Isco has been nothing short of brilliant in replacing Modric, but also when standing in for Gareth Bale, who was injured in October.

Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez has slotted in well to the side in his debut season while Karim Benzema is among the goals, scoring 11 goals in 11 matches so far in all competitions.

There is no Real Madrid are the pace setters so far this season and are favourites to win the League title. However, far sterner tests await Ancelotti’s side next year, especially when they face Valencia in early January. But until then Madrid will look to continue their excellent form.

La Liga - Club News