On how Real Madrid clinched LaLiga

Real Madrid celebrating another title. Photo c/o LaLiga

Earlier this week, Real Madrid clinched their 34th league title, doing so with a 2-1 victory over Villarreal. But the road to clinching #34Ligas can be distilled to about five things.

• Zidane’s positivity

They say it starts with the manager. Zinedine Zidane is now a double LaLiga winner as well as three-time Champions League trophy-holder. The former French international not only is an excellent tactician and man-manager, but also has a knack to generate and maintain a positive mindset in the locker room.

Fresh from a season where they finished nineteen points behind FC Barcelona, and an imperfect summer transfer window, Zizou remained optimistic for the season ahead, keeping it in place even with the campaign being interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

• The focus after the COVID-19 break

Since the restart, Real Madrid has yet to lose a game, winning all ten matches with one more matchup remaining in the schedule.

Against SD Eibar to re-open their season, German international Toni Kroos kicked off scoring a couple of minutes in, highlighting a focus which would reflect in their subsequent games.

Real Madrid never trailed at any point during the restart, with Zidane maintaining a quality rotation of players in this frenetic pace to finish the season before the UEFA-mandated deadline for the conclusion of leagues across Europe. On-field lapses of judgement from the players were kept at a minimum, and came during situations that they could have afforded to. According to Zizou, the restart is akin to a format like that of a World Cup.

With the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu already underway with its upgrades, matches were played at the Alfredo di Stefano training ground, and with fans not being allowed during the resumption of the season,  there was not much of a transition necessary.

• Defensive strength with the ‘Fantastic Four’: Courtois-Ramos-Varane-Casemiro

Defense wins championships, a motto that holds true not just on the basketball court, but on the football field as well.

Real Madrid allowed just 23 goals with one game remaining, the fewest in La Liga Santander, which can be attributed to two stretches, one back in autumn where they pulled off seven clean sheets in eight games, and this current stretch, where they only conceded four goals and Belgian international Thibaut Courtois going over a season-best five hundred minutes without conceding a goal. Courtois is the last line of defense of a rock-solid spine, with the centre-back duo of team captain Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, as well as holding midfielder Casemiro forming a so-called "Fantastic Four."

In addition, an emphasis on effort, whether on and off the ball, also helped with the improvement on the defensive end. Zidane has even benched certain players whom he feels fell short on that particular instance.

• Benzema’s oustanding 21 goals, along with a record 21 different goalscorers

The sport of football is basically distilled into how a team will be able to score. Real Madrid managed a two-pronged approach to that objective, netting themselves 68 goals in 37 matches, second-best in the league behind FC Barcelona's 81 matches.

First, they have a multitude of players with the ability of putting the ball at the back of the net. Out of the 26 players who managed to get pitch time this season, 21 of those managed to get themselves on the scoresheet, which is a record. Among those who have netted a goal this season are Marco Asensio, who would have missed the season if not for the pandemic-caused break, as well as Ferland Mendy, who scored his first-ever LaLiga goal against Granada CF earlier this week.

Second, the team rides on Karim Benzema's offensive coattails. The Frenchman scored a team-high 21 goals this season, and has a good shot to claim the Pichichi on the final day of the season. Karim is just two goals behind Lionel Messi and there is an indication that the team will try to get him that particular award.

• A victory in El Clásico to overcome FC Barcelona

Compared to most leagues, LaLiga utilizes a different tiebreaker, using head-to-head matchups as the main factor instead of goal difference.

Before the league went on the pandemic-caused break, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona faced off for their second meeting of the season, with the former securing a 2-0 victory over the latter. Vinicius Junior and Mariano Diaz scored the goals.

Combine that with a goalless draw in their first meeting back in December and it allowed Zidane's side to have a psychological advantage of having the head-to-head tiebreaker in their favor.