Taking a welcome break from La Liga duty, Real Madrid travelled to Girona looking to see out a comfortable 4-2 lead in the quarter-final second leg of the Copa del Rey. They did the job and returned to the Spanish capital with a 3-1 win.
Karim Benzema’s first-half brace gave his team a vital lead, though Girona pegged one back thanks to Pedro Porro before the break. Finally, Marcos Llorente notched his second Real Madrid goal, and his second in the last two games he has started, with an effort from long range to put the game to bed.
Here, our tactical analysis will use statistics to identify what key points Real Madrid can take from the game as they secured safe passage to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey with a two-legged win over Girona.
It’s all about confidence
The results are finally coming for Santiago Solari and Real Madrid and it’s beginning to show. Confidence is bringing free-flowing football to the fore and it is for the benefit of all. After struggling to dominate possession against the likes of Villarreal and Real Betis, things have changed. This match against Girona was the fourth consecutive game in which Los Blancos had over 50% possession and completed more passes than their rivals, again making over 25% more passes than Girona over the 90 minutes.
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