Keys to the city: Benzema, Zidane and Ramos instrumental as Real Madrid wrap up title no.34

Real Madrid are champions again. As we review the title race in La Liga here are four key contributors to their title triumph…

When the whistle blew on Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Villarreal to secure a first La Liga title in three years, the celebrations were about as surreal as could be expected.

The players donned t-shirts to mark Real’s 34th league title, threw their manager Zinedine Zidane up in the air and lifted the trophy in an explosion of ticker tape. But the effects of the pandemic meant there were no fans in the stands at their training ground Alfredo di Stéfano stadium, at their usual Santiago Bernabéu home which is under construction or at the Cibeles fountain where they usually mark these occasions.

Even so, it made perfect sense for Madrid to claim the trophy there given they turned their last 11 games of the season into training matches. They barely broke sweat as they went on a 10-game winning streak en route to the title, only broken by Sunday’s draw to Leganés when La Liga was already sealed. Zidane’s men didn’t hit top gear for a full 90 minutes because they didn’t have to, aided in part by Barcelona’s incompetence and marginal decisions going their way.

¡Algunas de las mejores fotos de la celebración!
¡ENHORABUENA CAMPEONES! #34Ligas | #RealFootball pic.twitter.com/wSJuPl3Cxp

— Real Madrid C.F. (34) (@realmadrid) July 17, 2020

Key to Real Madrid’s success is they became very hard to beat, as evidenced by the fact they didn’t go behind in any of their games following the restart. While naturally the entire squad and collective take both the credit and medals, Real Madrid’s success is also largely thanks to these four figures without whom the title win would not have been possible…

Benzema takes centre stage

If there is one man on the pitch who the title belongs to, it is Karim Benzema. This was the season where the striker who José Mourinho once labelled a ‘cat’ in reference to his lack of ability in front of goal wrote his name into Real Madrid folklore.

#HalaMadridYNadaMas #Nueve #MejorJugadorDeJunio pic.twitter.com/OxBOp88fYa

— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) July 18, 2020

He did that with 21 goals and eight assists, more than any Madrid player in either department. He became Madrid’s fifth highest goalscorer when he overtook the great Ferenc Puskas with his brace in the 3-0 win against Valencia. More importantly, his finishing compensated for the lack of output from Eden Hazard and Los Blancos’ other attackers.

But his two finest moments of the campaign, and perhaps of Real’s, showed he is worth so much more than those statistics. If his sumptuous goal of the season contender in the win over Valencia wasn’t enough, his instinctive back-heeled assist for Casemiro in a tough game at Espanyol was Benzema at his very best.

Benzema backheel-nutmeg-assist for Casimiro goal. As you do.pic.twitter.com/NnGptwUc4B

— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) June 28, 2020

His blasé response to a post-match question about his volley summed up how he sees the game differently to others.

“Pfff…,” he tried to explain to Madrid’s in-house media channel. “Everything goes really quickly, you know? It’s a cross from Marco [Asensio], I control it, the ball comes up nicely for me and then I shoot with my left and it goes in. It seems easy when I explain it.”

Even then, it was unusual to see Benzema steal the limelight with those two inspired contributions. Too often his intelligence in creating space for his teammates or laying the ball off at the right time has gone unappreciated in the Spanish capital when set against his scoring records. This was the first time since the 2011-12 season that he struck 20 or more goals in a single campaign.

Without Cristiano Ronaldo around to take the spotlight Benzema has stepped up to the plate. At long last, the Frenchman has the raw numbers to back up his importance to the team. Not that he ever really needed them; Madrid have never been happier with their cat in attack.

Courtois banishes Atlético memories

At the other end of the pitch something remarkable happened this season. Real Madrid became an excellent defensive unit and conceded a record low 25 goals.

Thibaut Courtois should take much of the credit for that measly goals against column, with 18 clean sheets. It has been some transformation for the Belgium no.1 who started the season being substituted at half-time to the soundtrack of boos in a Champions League group stage match against Club Brugge.

It cannot have been easy for the man who let in Sergio Ramos’ 93rd minute equaliser for Atlético Madrid in the 2014 Champions League final to establish himself at the Bernabéu – especially when a photo of the goal hangs on the walls of Madrid’s dressing room – but Courtois has done just that since that low point early in the campaign.

Enhorabuena a @thibautcourtois por lograr el trofeo Zamora!#RMLiga | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/iWbuh40cVA

— Real Madrid C.F. (34) (@realmadrid) July 20, 2020

The 28-year-old’s saves were crucial following the break in play, particularly as six of Madrid’s 10 wins were decided by one goal. It could have been a very different end to the season for Los Blancos had Courtois not diverted Rodrigo’s shot onto the post with his fingertips when the game against Valencia was goalless and Barça were still clear at the top of the table. That was one of many what-if moments where Courtois cleared up any doubts during that winning streak.

The turnaround was complete by the time he pulled off a brilliant double save in stoppage time against Villarreal, palming away an in-swinging cross and blocking Bruno Soriano’s follow-up with his legs. By then it didn’t matter anyway: Barça had lost 2-1 to Osasuna and Courtois was on his way to his first La Liga crown at Madrid as well as the Zamora trophy for the keeper with the lowest goals conceded-to-game ratio in the league.

Ramos steps up when it counts

Sergio Ramos tends to inspire strong feelings in those who aren’t Real Madrid fans. Opinion is divided between those who see Ramos’ sportsmanship as a necessary evil and those who feel his larger than life personality distracts from his lapses in defence.

This season even the Bernabéu faithful have been forced to contend with these questions as more and more errors have slipped into Ramos’ game. Madrid’s captain turned 34 in March and there are question marks as to whether he will finish his career with Los Blancos given their policy of only handing out one-year extensions to the squad’s veterans.

Once again, Ramos continued his habit of becoming indispensable when it matters most. Eleven back-to-back games to decide the title suited the centre-back with an eye for the big occasion perfectly.

Estoy muy orgulloso de este título. Porque a la victoria, en el fútbol y en la vida, se llega así: luchando juntos hasta el final. Mi recuerdo especial a todos nuestros aficionados fallecidos o que hayan perdido a seres queridos por el maldito virus. Va por vosotros.#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/vyQeERTyDU

— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) July 17, 2020

Ramos finishing the season as Madrid’s second top scorer is not normal, but then again he is not a normal defender. Six of his 11 goals were penalties slotted away effortlessly as Real marched to the title, many of them after marginal decisions went their way. His header against Leganés made him La Liga’s highest scoring defender and went some way to explaining why fans have overlooked his other unwanted record of 20 La Liga red cards.

Defensively he showed he is still an asset, too. His goalline clearance when Madrid were holding a shaky 2-1 lead at Granada was just as vital as any contribution and summed up this side’s best qualities. He will never please everybody, but there is nobody Real would rather have marshalling their defence at the sharp end of a season.

Zidane’s title

There are so many players who dragged Madrid to the brink of the title, but the man who is most responsible was not one of the 11 players who started against Villarreal.

This was Zinedine Zidane’s second La Liga title as a manager and there were plenty of similarities with his first in 2016-17. The intelligent use of a deep squad, the lack of any one set formation and Real somehow winning games out of nothing were elements of both wins. Local media dubbed the latter phenomenon ‘La flor de Zidane’ – Zidane’s flower.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE, REAL MADRID ROYALTY! #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/dud2ZKH91r

— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) July 16, 2020

And yet this was a far greater achievement for Zidane. This time there could be no accusations that his success was intertwined with Ronaldo’s brilliance as the Portuguese star was gone. Hazard scored one goal as he struggled with injuries in his first season at the Bernabéu and Benzema was the only forward who consistently delivered across the campaign.

Instead he made Madrid difficult to beat after a galling 7-3 defeat to Atlético Madrid in a New Jersey pre-season friendly. Marca called the result ‘A whitewash for the history books’ in a great example of the Spanish press jumping to hasty conclusions, but it changed Zidane’s mentality ahead of the new season.

Too often Zidane has been labelled a cheerleader for his policy of using almost every player in the squad in a bid to keep everyone happy, reflected in the 21 different scorers in La Liga. But many Madrid managers have inherited talented squads and failed to do anything apart from succumb to the will of the dressing room. Keeping the superstars motivated is an underrated quality in a Real Madrid head coach.

¡Zidane, 11 títulos como entrenador del @RealMadrid!#34Ligas | #RealFootball pic.twitter.com/zXZXJFDui8

— Real Madrid C.F. (34) (@realmadrid) July 17, 2020

As for questions over his lack of tactical knowledge, it is true that Zidane does not seem to have one preferred way to play. But what is good management if not reacting to the situations which arise on the pitch by adapting your tactics? The Frenchman is a far more sophisticated coach than many give him credit for.

Zidane was characteristically self-effacing in the interviews after the Villarreal game. “The players are the ones who have fought for this,” he said. “It’s true I’ve played my role but they are the ones who believe in what they are doing.” Zidane’s flower is alive and well and Real Madrid are champions.

SEE ALSO: ARCHIVE – Is Zinedine Zidane up there with the best managers in the world?

Words: Tomás Hill | Main image credit: Real Madrid official via Twitter

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