Real Madrid came up short on their trip to Getafe. The LaLiga leaders were unable to add to their points tally in the opening game of the new year, as their opposition made the most of an early chance and hung on to take the win. Luck deserted Ancelotti's side, which came within the width of the crossbar to finding the back of the net through Luka Modrić. The madridistas were quickly facing an uphill battle before the ten-minute mark, when Enes Ünal robbed Militão on the edge of the box and beat Courtois in the resulting one-on-one.
With a quarter-of-an-hour gone, our team had a good chance to level the game. Modrić's fierce long-range strike was kept out by Soria at full stretch. Two minutes later, a carefully crafted team move found the Croatian free in the area, but his left-footed effort came crashing back off the bar. Real Madrid were beginning to look more likely now, and another fine chance presented itself with 20 minutes on the clock. Lucas Vázquez sent in a measured cross, where Toni Kroos was on hand to turn a half-volley just wide of the target. From that point on, the hosts tightened up at the back and defended their advantage astutely until the break.
After the re-start, Ancelotti brought on Hazard and Marcelo for Asensio and Mendy. Getafe continued to defend their lead comfortably, making it difficult for the Whites to carve out any chances. On 57’, Modrić tried his luck from the edge of the area, but Soria was untroubled and pulled off a comfortable save. The visitors continued to attack and two minutes later they almost found an equaliser. Marcelo, Hazard and Benzema linked up neatly and the Frenchman’s effort was headed out for a corner by Cuenca.
Madrid continued to pile on the pressure on the hosts’ defence. On 70’, Marcelo thought he should have had a penalty after being pulled back by Damián and six minutes later Cuenca cleared a cross which fell kindly to Casemiro on the edge of the box but the Brazilian’s effort was met by a superb Soria save. In stoppage time, Modrić fired in a free-kick which was headed goalwards by Isco, but the Getafe shot-stopper was once again there to deny the visitors and the hosts hung on to take the three points.
Ancelotti’s press after the match:
Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the press following the game vs Getafe, analyzing the performance of the team. He stressed that everyone including him were not concentrated enough. He said: "We have to deal with this defeat without overreacting. We're still top of the league and we're looking to the future with real motivation. We reacted well in the ten minutes following the goal. Then we got a bit nervous, lost the ball too often and were second best in our individual battles. We gifted them the first goal, through a player who is usually outstanding defensively. There's not a whole lot to say about the game, other than we seemed to take an extra day's holiday".
"It didn't look like the same team that finished the year before Christmas. We lacked concentration. We didn't deserve to lose the game, a draw would have been fair but we gifted them a goal and ended up losing it. The team were still on holiday today. It's not easy to play again after time off, but that's just making excuses. We didn't play well and as I said, we didn't deserve to win it, but I don't think we should have lost either. We dropped a point and now we have to look forward".
Lack of intensity: "I told the players yesterday how pleased I was with the training session because they all looked on it. Perhaps the coach was on holiday today as well".
The referee’s performance: "It didn’t come down to the referee. If we’d played well then it might have done, but that wasn’t the case. We finished the first half with two yellow cards. One for me, which I thought was unnecessary, and one for Rodrygo. He could’ve shown more yellow cards, especially in the first half”.
Players singled out: "None of the players will be singled out. Some players didn’t have great games. Benzema didn’t have his best game, but it would be harsh to single out anyone”.
On Hazard: "The decision to play Asensio and Rodrygo was down to technicalities from training. I knew that they weren’t going to last 90 minutes because they had COVID and so Hazard was fresher. He gave it his all, but we didn’t create many opportunities”.
On Marcelo: "He gives you something else going forward and that’s why he played in the second half”.
Below are the player ratings:
Starting XI:
Thibaut Courtois: 7.0
Can take no blame on the goal and only had 2 saves to make in the entirety of the match. Was put in some nervy situations by Alaba and Kroos with slow back passes, but kept his composure and successfully maintained possession despite the pressure.
Lucas Vazquez: 6.0
Despite the many poor performances on the pitch, Lucas stands out as one of the better performers. Was a constant option on the right flank, had 3 key passes, and won fouls in dangerous areas.
Eder Militao: 3.0
The Brazilian made the critical error in lead up to Enes Unal’s goal. Tried to dribble out of the back, but was overpowered by the Turk and instead of making amends, threw his hands up in the air and complained to the referee. The remainder of the match saw Militao untested, but that moment will mark his game and impact his rating.
David Alaba: 6.0
Was not at his absolute best, but still managed some precision progressive passes out of the back to find the likes of Kroos or Benzema in between the lines.
Ferland Mendy: 3.0
Failed to make any meaningful contribution in this match. Substituted at half-time by Ancelotti.
Casemiro: 5.0
With 73% possession, Casemiro ended up with the most touches on the pitch (110). The Brazilian was brilliant at winning his aerial duels and breaking up the odd counter attack, but lost the ball 24 times and had 77% pass accuracy from his 72 passes. Against a low block, players like Modric, Kroos, and Alaba should be the players with the most touches.
Toni Kroos: 4.0
When the most consistent performer (and one of the most important players) in the team has an off-day, trouble looms. The German had one of his worst games for years against Getafe. Both his performance and the team’s performance was summed up with a painfully wayward free kick after having plenty of time after a substitution to line-up a good delivery.
Luka Modric: 7.5
In a sea of bad performances, Luka Modric stands out as one of the best. Hit the woodwork with his left foot and nearly scored with another shot just a few minutes before his crossbar effort.
Rodrygo: 3.5
Started on the left in the first half and had a few good combinations with Benzema that nearly carved an opening. His bright start waned and his influence diminished the longer the match went on. Moved over to the right wing to accommodate Hazard in the second half, but was non-existent.
Marco Asensio: 3.0
Barely involved - his heat map and touches (22 total) are a testament to that fact. Never got going and will be disappointed to start the year with a performance that earned a substitution at half-time.
Karim Benzema: 4.0
This Getafe match may go down as one of Karim Benzema’s worst performances in years. His shots went flying over the bar, he took shots when better passes were on, his passing was way off the mark. Nothing clicked. Given the usual consistency of Madrid’s captain, the Frenchman and the team will just have to chalk it off to a rare off-day.
Subs:
Eden Hazard—3.5: Was brought on to be an impact substation, but made failed to provide any type of spark.
Marcelo: 3.5
Replaced Ferland Mendy at half-time to bring some creative spark down the left and good service with his crossing, but neither of those things appeared. Had 3 crosses in total and none of them connected with their target.
Mariano: 4.0
5 touches in 23 minutes. Mariano ran and ran, jumped for crosses, and tried to get involved but it never came off.
Isco: 6.0
16 touches in just 14 minutes, Isco got on the ball right-away and tried to pick up the rhythm of the match in a deeper central midfield position.
Peter Federico: 7.0
Credit to the kid, who with just 14 minutes to play tried to make things happen. Drew a dangerous foul outside the box after beating both Olivera and Cuenca with some skill on the wing.
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