Eder Militao shows Real Madrid the way in the hunt for national title

Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 10:48 PM• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 23:00

Real Madrid did not make a mistake in LaLiga on Saturday evening. The team of trainer Zinedine Zidane again struggled to find the enemy goal in the home game against Osasuna, but in the last fifteen minutes the reigning champion forced a solid victory: 2-0. For the first time since July last year, four LaLiga duels in a row have not been awarded a goal, and that before the start of a crucial week. Because of the victory, the two points gap on leader Atlético Madrid, which won 0-1 at Elche on Saturday, remains intact: 74 at 76. Barcelona and Sevilla will play on Sunday and Monday respectively.

Real Madrid’s predominance in the first half at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano was obvious, but Zidane’s team had to deal with an inspired Sergio Herrera. Osasuna’s goalkeeper defused a shot by Eden Hazard after 25 minutes of play and in the following minutes he also had an answer to headers from Eder Militao.

Despite the home team’s dominance, Osasuna made a solid impression in the back and Jagoba Arrasate’s team improved as the first half progressed. Just before half-time, the visitors from Pamplona even got the ball behind Thibaut Courtois, but the goal was rejected due to Ezequiel’s clear offside. Chimy Ávila.

Even after the interruption, Real Madrid’s shortcoming, where the injured Raphaël Varane was replaced by Nacho Fernández at half time, became visible: a lot of possession, but not enough finesse in the last meters. It was again Militao who was close to an opening goal after a far free kick by Marco Asensio. Not much later, a powerful shot from substitute Rodrygo also went wide of Herrera’s goal.

Militao and Real Madrid got the well-deserved goal fifteen minutes before the end. After a corner from Isco, the Brazilian headed the ball into the goal outside Herrera’s reach: 1-0. Less than five minutes later, the second goal of the home team followed: after a pass from Karim Benzema, Casemiro actually wanted to control the ball first, but he worked the ball into the goal. That was also the final score. Zidane’s team now awaits the midweek reunion with Chelsea in the Champions League and next weekend the top match against Sevilla is on the roll.

No. Team M. W. G. V. +/- Pnt
1 Atlético Madrid 34 23 7 4 39 76
2 Real Madrid 34 22 8 4 34 74
3 Barcelona 33 22 5 6 46 71
4 Seville 33 22 4 7 23 70
5 Real Sociedad 34 14 11 9 16 53
6 Real Betis 33 14 8 11 -3 50
7 Villarreal 33 12 13 8 12 49
8 Granada 33 13 6 14 -11 45
9 Celta de Vigo 34 11 11 12 -5 44
10 Athletic Club 33 10 12 11 7 42
11 Osasuna 34 10 10 14 -10 40
12 Levante 34 9 11 14 -10 38
13 Cadiz 33 9 10 14 -21 37
14 Valencia 33 8 12 13 -7 36
15 Getafe 33 8 10 15 -13 34
16 Alavés 34 7 10 17 -24 31
17 Huesca 34 6 12 16 -18 30
18 Real Valladolid 33 5 15 13 -14 30
19 Elche 34 6 12 16 -21 30
20 Eibar 34 5 11 18 -20 26