Cadiz managed to register just four attempts on goal and none of them were on target whereas, out of the 36 attempts by Real Madrid, 9 were on target.
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Real Madrid were held to a goalless draw by relegation strugglers Cadiz in the La Liga fixture at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday. It was a gutsy performance from the lowly Cadiz at the league leaders as the Los Blancos bombarded Jeremias Ledesma’s goal with 36 efforts, but failed to find the back of the net. The result leaves Carlo Ancelotti’s side six points clear of second-placed Sevilla, who beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Saturday and have a game in hand, and 10 in front of Real Betis, who lost at Athletic Bilbao.
? FP: @realmadrid 0-0 @Cadiz_CF#RealMadridCádiz | #Emirates pic.twitter.com/efDTDgVXwl
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) December 19, 2021
After the match, Ancelotti spoke to the media in Santiago Bernabeu press room. The coach said: “I’m very happy when we win, even if we play badly. If we play badly and lose, I’m not happy. If we play well and don’t win, I’m still happy. So I’m happy tonight.”
“We tried everything from the first minute to the last. It didn’t work out for us today. We missed a little bit of quality in the final 30 metres, but there’s nothing to criticise. Games like these can happen sometimes. There’s a lot of positives to take from this match. The only thing that’s not positive is we didn’t get the 3 points. At times you don’t deserve to win and you win, we have to move on”.
It was literally Real Madrid’s attack versus Cadiz’ defense. The Southern club came out with a clear defensive plan and executed that pretty well. Cadiz managed to register just four attempts on Real Madrid goal and none of them were on target whereas out of the 36 attempts by the Los Blancos 9 were on target. It’s more difficult to win against a team who are playing for a draw.
“The team’s performance was good. It was a more difficult match in terms of our technical characteristics, more complicated, in which there’s no space, they let you play on the outside, we’re not the strongest when it comes to crosses because our forwards have got different characteristics.”
“These games are the hardest ones for us, but I’m satisfied with the team’s commitment, with how well we did with the ball. Casemiro won every ball, we got a lot of players involved when we attacked, I think we have to keep calm and focus on the next game, which is going to be difficult” the Italian tactician added.
Despite creating numerous chances it became a night of frustration for Ancelotti’s side. The front-three of Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior failed to get through the Cadiz defense. With Real missing six players due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the club, Hazard made his first start since September. But the Belgian forward was largely a peripheral figure.
After a poor first half, Ancelotti switched Hazard from right wing to a more central role, as an attacking left midfielder. That’s when the 30-year-old started to be more effective. He was linking up pretty well with Vinicius, finding the Brazilian in behind twice in a row. Benzema was another disappointment while Alvaro Negredo missed a late chance to give the visitors a winner that could have lifted them off the relegation zone.
Ancelotti on Hazard: “He struggled a little bit to get into the game in the first half, just like the rest of the team. He did better in the second half. You’re right when you say that he struggles a bit more on the outside and he’s not so used to playing on the right. He linked up well with Karim. Hazard is obviously another weapon that we’ve got now in the second half of the season”.
Real Madrid will host Athletic Club on Thursday before going into the break while Cadiz take on Sevilla on January 4.
