Vinicius Jr resisted, but more in the role of a soloist. Back on the pitch six months following his last appearance, Gareth Bale was isolated up front. Without Luka Modric (who only came on for the last 15 minutes) and Karim Benzema (still injured and missing from the scoresheet), Los Blancos looked lost and uninspired. So much so that they only took one point from Villarreal. Attention: Sevilla FC is only four points away…
For his part, Eden Hazard was only allowed ten short minutes to try to make the difference. Surprising and, above all, significant given the context of the game. Who did Carlo Ancelotti prefer to call on to try to unblock the situation? Luka Jovic and Rodrygo. This shows how much the Devil, who had scored a saving goal in the King’s Cup at the end of January, has fallen back in the hierarchy in Madrid. Thibaut Courtois, he was at least able to keep his net clean. The goalkeeper even stood out on a try from Gerard Moreno just before the break.
Still, the performance of the leader of La Liga did not particularly reassure before the trip to Paris SG in the Champions League, scheduled for Tuesday. If Hazard will necessarily want to be entitled to more playing time, Ancelotti will especially hope to be able to count on the return of Benzema.
