Real Madrid threw away a first half lead to draw 3-3 with minnows Legia Warsaw
Madrid scored their fastest Champions League goal of all time after a brilliant volley from Gareth Bale with just 58 seconds on the clock. Karim Benzema then doubled the visitors lead, but the story changed after half-time, after goals from Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Miroslav Radovic and Thibault Moulin nearly led Legia to a historic victory.
Mateo Kovacic scored with 87 minutes on the clock to snatch a 3-3 draw and spare Zidane the embarrassment of a shock loss on the night he took charge of his 100th game at Real.
We look at some of the key talking points from the game :
Gareth Bale was excellent again
After signing a massive new contract on Monday which will see the Welshman earning £346,000 per week, Bale followed it up with a brilliant goal that would have had Zidane nodding his head in approval.
The Welshman’s goal was quite similar to the one Zidane famously scored against Bayern Leverkusen to win the Champions League for Real Madrid. Bale also now has the honour of having scored the fastest Champions League goal of all time for Real Madrid, having scored just 58 seconds into the match.
Bale was Madrid’s best player on the night, and was a constant threat from the right hand side. He even grabbed an assist for Benzema’s goal, and did everything he could on a night that Cristiano Ronaldo will be eager to forget
Ronaldo was awful, and should be suspended
Cristiano Ronaldo was terrible last night, blasting shots over the crossbar and misplacing passes. The Portuguese captain was visibly frustrated, and should really be suspended for what looked like a deliberate stamp on a Legia Warsaw player. Reports have surfaced that Ronaldo has been pipped by Lionel Messi to the Ballon D’or, and many will cite performances like this one as the reason.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Legia Warsaw – Individual Highlights.
Give him the Ballon d'or already pic.twitter.com/imn57O6X7C
— Barça ❤️ (@VlSCABARCA) November 2, 2016
As captain, Ronaldo needs to be more of a positive influence in games like these. Instead, he pouted, complained to the referee, and showcased just how petulant he can be when things aren’t going his way. It was a far cry from the inspiring captain we saw during Portugal’s successful Euro 2016 campaign.
Zidane got his tactics wrong
Zidane was overly confident and completely underestimated Legia Warsaw. The Frenchman tried to squeeze Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema into the side, changing from his preferred 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2. This exposed the back four – without Sergio Ramos – and it is no surprise they conceded 3 goals in the nature they did.
3 – Real Madrid have conceded three goals in a competitive game for the first time with Zinedine Zidane as manager. Shock.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 2, 2016
It is simply not good enough drawing with a side they had already beaten 5-1. There is no excuse that they were away from home either, seeing as Borussia Dortmund thrashed the same side 6-0 in the same stadium. Zidane must gauge games like this better if he is to mount a serious defence of the Champions League trophy.
Mateo Kovacic put in a complete performance
Kovacic was possibly the man of the match, but it is a coin toss between him and Gareth Bale. Kovacic ended the game with a 97 percent pass accuracy. He also made a crucial intervention on 17 minutes to thwart a Legia break.
He played an excellent ball between the lines having spotted Gareth Bale’s run past the defenders while under pressure from a Legia Warsaw player, and it was this ball that led to Karim Benzema’s goal.
It was also his equaliser – a brilliantly placed shot from the edge of the box – that rescued the points for Zidane’s side. This was an all action performance from the midfielder, and Zidane will be hoping for more of these.
Madrid are no longer favourites to top their group
Borussia Dortmund have already sealed qualification from Group F with 10 points, and Real Madrid sit below them with 8 points and two games – one of which is against the Germans – left to play.
The previous fixture ended 2-2 at the Westfalenstadion, and Real Madrid will likely need a victory against Thomas Tuchel’s side to top the group.
This is going to be no small feat, as the Germans are a side that could pose serious problems to Madrid’s shaky defence. One assumes that both sides will likely beat Sporting CP, who have won only one game in the group stage, losing all three of their other fixtures.
This makes the game against Dortmund on 7th December a crucial one, as Madrid will be hoping to top the group to avoid a tough draw.
