Real Madrid’s victory over city rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga made them rise to second place in the league standings. That positive result shows that Los Blancos has been able to rise from adversity.
Sergio Ramos and colleagues are now just six points behind leaders Barcelona. Although there is still a large distance between the two teams at the top of the standings, the distance is much closer than in December.
Towards the middle of the season, Madrid look difficult to penetrate the Champions League zone because of a poor start to the season. After the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, Julen Lopetegui failed to boost Madrid’s performance and was eventually fired.
However, under the guidance of the new coach, Santiago Solari, Los Blancos slowly and surely has turned things around. Victory against Atletico Madrid in La Liga and Ajax in the Champions League and a draw with away goals against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey showed that Madrid’s performance has increased dramatically.
There are a number of supporting factors that support the moment of revival of Madrid. Here are at least three determining factors that make Real Madrid return to their best form under Santiago Solari as reported by Sportskeeda.
KEY PLAYERS FACTOR
One of the main reasons behind Real Madrid’s poor performance in the first half of the season was the poor performance of a number of players on the team. Players like Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Toni Kross and Marcelo appeared below standard while Karim Benzema failed to replace Cristiano Ronaldo.
Slowly but surely, the players have shown their caliber after the departure of Julen Lopetegui. For example, Karim Benzema continued to perform brilliantly and so far has scored 18 goals in all competitions while making 7 assists. Sergio Ramos returned to being a leader in the defense and also appeared to be quite fertile this season.
Good performances from Luka Modric and Toni Kroos have benefited Los Blancos a lot and it shows how important they are in midfield. The Madrid star has returned to show his class and that is needed to achieve positive results.
MENTALITY
Although they can’t be stopped on the pitch, Real Madrid are known for their mentality. The hunger, obsession, and determination of Los Blancos to become the best club in Europe made them able to get through all the toughest obstacles and challenges in recent seasons.
Under Julen Lopetegui, the players look very different compared to the past few years. But Santiago Solari plays a key role in motivating players so they can perform better on the field and achieve positive results.
Real Madrid has seen a drastic improvement in the second half of the season. It’s clear that players have found a figure that can motivate them in the past month and that encourages them to be more successful.
VINICIUS JR
The decision to enter Vinicius Junior in the first team benefited Real Madrid. Julen Lopetegui was reluctant to include Vinicius because he was only 18 years old. However, he could prove that Lopetegui’s decision was wrong by displaying sensational performance to support his potential.
Very rarely there are players who led the Los Blancos attack line at his age, but Vinicius managed to become the player Real Madrid needed to perform better. Even at the age of 18, he challenges some of the best defenders in the world without fear. Despite its shortcomings, Vinicius’s left-wing speed, energy and insistence helped Real Madrid find success in the final third.
In addition, the combination in front with Karim Benzema proved to be a deadly threat to the opposing defenders. There is no doubt that Vinicius played a key role in Madrid’s revival this season.
