Round 29 La Liga: Real Madrid – Granada: Continue to chase?

(Baonghean) - Real's reign at the top of the rankings is over, not only that, "Los Blancos" are also 4 points behind their arch-rivals Barca. Therefore, hosting Granada at home is the best opportunity for Ronaldo and his teammates to maintain a 4-point gap after this round.

In terms of strength, the home team is much better than the team ranked 2nd from the bottom, but fatigue and reduced motivation will certainly be a big obstacle to the royal team. However, fans still believe in a victory for the home team so that they can continue to chase Barca, because if they continue, the rest of La Liga will be very boring...

Last season, the royal team Real Madrid with excellent performance won the historic quadruple (Spanish King's Cup, Champions League, European Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup), when fans gave them the phrase "perfect winning machine". That "machine" worked even more perfectly when at the beginning of this season, after losing to Real Sociedad with a score of 2-4 in round 2, there was a series of 22 consecutive wins that made all opponents afraid. And the fans always had the feeling of "elated with victory". However, when the wheel turned, it was also the time when Ronaldo and his teammates declined miserably. Since the beginning of 2015 until now, the team at Bernabeu has had to accept 5 defeats and 1 draw. In the last 8 matches alone, coach Ancelotti and his team lost 4-0 to their neighbor Atletico, drew 1-1 with Villarreal at home, and suffered an unbelievable 0-1 defeat to the weak Bilbao - a team whose goal is always to be in a safe position, which is considered a success. Those bad results caused Real to be surpassed by Barca in the rankings, not only that, the gap between the two teams has increased after the 263rd El Clasico match in the history of the two teams.

Real just suffered a humiliating defeat against Barca in round 28. Photo: Getty Images

To be fair, in that match, Real was the better team, the players from the capital Madrid took the initiative completely in the first half and if luckier, the first half score of that match would not have been 1-1 when superstars Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema did not miss delicious opportunities in front of the home team's goal. However, returning after the break, fans witnessed contrasting images. Carlo Ancelotti's students played sluggishly, which made them unable to control the game and almost only knew how to endure and resist the opponent's attacks.

So what made the "White Vultures" lose themselves so quickly? It was certainly not due to the problem of Carlo Ancelotti's tactical system in that particular match, nor was it that their level was inferior to their opponents. The problem was physical strength, since the beginning of the season, most of Real's key players rarely had a rest. Statistics show that Real had 6 players who had to work hard for more than 50 hours since the beginning of the season, including: Kroos (3,524 minutes), Ronaldo (3,410), Bale (3,381), Benzema (3,312), Marcelo (3,247)... Meanwhile, their opponent only had Messi who played for more than 3,000 minutes (equivalent to 50 hours). Therefore, physical strength is not guaranteed, and when physical strength is not guaranteed, the motivation to compete is also lost.

Therefore, in the next match, they only have to host Granada at home - the team is only second from the bottom and is struggling with the relegation battle, a victory, even a victory with a large difference is certainly the goal that has been determined. If they win, Carlo Ancelotti and his team will regain confidence, and more importantly, not be left too far behind by their opponents to continue to cling to the race for the championship this season.

South Scene