Real Madrid risked the Champions League and Zinedine Zidane the job in Istanbul, but the team reacted and beat Galatasaray (0-1) thanks to a goal scored by Toni Kroos in the first half. Los Blancos are now in the second position of their group, because PSG destroyed (0-5) Brugge, giving a hand to Real Madrid. With a victory at home against Galatasaray, the Last 16 round will be closer.
Despite the positive result, Real Madrid made again too many mistakes. Galatasaray had three clear chances at the beginning of the game to take the lead, but this time Thibaut Courtois held the team, with Andone trying several times to take the lead. Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane were a hole, and the Turkish team pushed hard in the first minute.
However, the midfielder Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Fede Valverde started to control the game and make the team play better. It’s difficult to imagine another three players for this position right now, clearly they should be the owners of those spots, with James Rodríguez as a third option. With this reality, Benzema started to have some clear chances but it was not his day. At least, he assisted Toni Kroos to tap in the first goal.
With the lead in the scoreboard, Los Blancos could kill the game in the second half. There were many chances, the most clear one was for Eden Hazard, who shot the bar after dribbling Muslera. We also have to highlight the game of Rodrygo Goes, the biggest surprise in the line-up, and the player who is overcoming Vinicius Junior, who looks stopped in his development.
In the last minutes of the game, Real Madrid suffered the last breath of Galatasaray, a team with many problems this season. Los Blancos again missed many chances and couldn’t kill the game. At least, the goal is done, now there are some days to recover injury players, and improve the performances because the team needs something extra from everybody.
