How Julen Lopetegui has changed Real Madrid after Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane exits

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Ben Hayward22 September 2018

Real Madrid are making headlines for all the right reasons. All the pessimism from the summer following the departures of Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo, plus the lack of major signings, has gone.

In its place, there is a new-found optimism and a somewhat satisfying surprise for fans at the spectacular football on show so far.

Against Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday night, Julen Lopetegui’s side swept away their rivals with an exhibition of attacking play which featured 30 attempts on goals – and those from 12 different footballers. Only goalkeeper Keylor Navas and centre-back Raphael Varane failed to register a shot for Los Blancos.

It is still early days, but this team is different to Zidane’s already. And while they may not go on to emulate the success of the French coach, who won three successive Champions League crowns in his two-and-a-half year tenure, there is the feeling that this team is a superior side in pure footballing terms.

Bale one of the many thriving under the new leadership.
AP

So what has changed? A look at the opening games from last season shows some significant changes. A few of those are noticeable to those who watched both Zidane’s side and this team under Lopetegui; others are reflected by the statistics.

In their opening four league games in 2018-19, Real’s possession has been a great deal higher than it was at the start of last season. In La Liga, Lopetegui’s side have averaged around 70 per cent possession overall, with a high of 77.9% in their opening home game a 2-0 win over Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Even away to Athletic Club at San Mames last weekend and without Casemiro to win the ball back for the first half of that match, Madrid still ended with 60.1% possession. Meanwhile, the highest figure from the start of last season was 68.2%, in the 3-0 win away to Deportivo La Coruna. The lowest from those games? Under half (49.7%) in the 3-1 victory at Real Sociedad.

Even Pep Guardiola has been quick to point out that possession does not win football matches, but it can give a team the chance to dominate and create more chances over a long league season. With Zidane’s side, there was often the feeling that they were capable of more.

AFP/Getty Images

Under Lopetegui, Real look to be playing closer to their potential and the rise in possession has seen an increase in the amount of passing as well. Last season, Madrid made 645 passes in that win at Riazor. This term, they made 723 against Getafe and 799 in the 4-1 at home to Leganes.

Ronaldo’s sale explains part of the shift, but not all of it. Last season, the Portuguese was actually suspended for the first four fixtures in La Liga after his red card in the Spanish Supercopa against Barcelona at Camp Nou, anyway.

This term, be it with Isco in the team or Marco Asensio alongside Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, there is move movement between the forward players and against Roma, that helped to pull rival defenders out of position.

Bale’s goal showed that Real can still attack on the break as they have so successfully in recent seasons, but there is a more varied approach now and the presence of Isco, Benzema and the Welshman on the edge of the box all together forced Daniele De Rossi to concede the free-kick which led to the first goal on Wednesday.

Overall, it is a more subtle build-up than before. Against Leganes, for example, Madrid’s players touched the ball an astonishing 1,039 times between them across the 90 minutes, over 200 more than the highest figure from the start of last season (826 against Deportivo).

Julen Lopetegui's influence already playing a pivotal factor.
(GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)

Zidane even admitted himself that he was not the game’s greatest tactician and one of the criticisms of the Frenchman’s side is that they continuously sent in crosses instead of attempting to play their way through, especially against more defensive-minded opponents.

At home to Levante last season, for example, Madrid sent in 37 crosses. Figures this term are significantly lower, with just 17 in the win over Getafe. Again, part of that was due to Ronaldo’s strength in the air, but the change is not only down to his exit, but also Lopetegui’s preferred style of play this term.

In terms of chances created, the numbers are similar so far. However, the new style should help to break down teams defending deep or putting nine or 10 men behind the ball. With Zidane, there tended to be a lack of ideas against such sides. And last season’s campaign in La Liga, in which Madrid finished in third place and 17 points behind Barcelona, was desperately disappointing.

Lopetegui has survived the fallout from his Spain sacking, plus defeat to Atletico in the UEFA Super Cup. Instead of criticism, the Basque is earning rave reviews for the way Real are playing and on Friday, Marca even asked if the trio of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro was the club’s best-ever midfield. High praise indeed.

“We don’t live by the critics,” Lopetegui said on Friday. “Be it good or bad. The team played a good game (against Roma), but that game is in the past.”

And after that match against Roma, he said: “We created many chances. We have been working for three months and the team is still growing and improving. But there’s a long way to go.

“The merit is with the players. They are training well, they have been working like animals since we arrived and that always helps. We are trying to improve with and without the ball and that is how we have to be in all the competitions.”

So far, it is working well, while results have been positive since the Supercopa loss (which owed more to individual mistakes anyway) and the fans are happy as well.

Time will tell whether the new style will bring a Liga title or a fourth straight Champions League at the end of the season, but if not, it will at least have been enjoyable for the fans to watch along the way.

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