Real Madrid Show They Can Also Win As A Collective United Group As Napoli Are Made To Rue Missed Chances.

Real Madrid showed exactly how champions react to setbacks after going one goal behind in the 18th minute having seen Lorenzo Insigne curl the ball into the far corner from 35 yards after catching Keylor Navas out of position. Napoli might not boast the World stars that make up Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid but  with the likes of Dries Mertens,Jose  Callejon, Lorenzo Insigne and Marek Hamsik all in attack for Maurizio Sarri, it was expected to be a fair and entertaining contest at the Bernabeu with Napoli and Argentine legend Diego Maradona watching from the stands on the night.

Gareth Bale would have been in contention to start if he wasn’t  lacking match fitness which made it  shocking to see James Rodrigues start on the right side of attack for the capital side considering how he has struggled with game time with either of Isco or Lucas Vasquez often preferred ahead of him by the Frenchman meaning the coach instead opted for experience sensing the importance of tonight’s game. From the start, Napoli enjoyed most of the possession  playing a quick and short passing game which suited their 4-3-3 formation, while Madrid on their part were patient in their build up; often targeting the right side of Napoli’s defense as Christiano Ronaldo exposed Albanian versatile defender Hysaj on several occasions before Karim Benzema rose highest from a Dani Carvajal delightful outside of the right foot cross 10 minutes after Napoli’s opening goal to score his 51st Champions League goal surpassing his compatriot’s (Thierry Henry ) goal scoring record  and also making it four goals in his last four Champions League games (scored in each game) .

Having lost to Celta Vigo and Sevilla some weeks ago which halted their record unbeaten run, Madrid showed that they are the favorites to retain their title considering their league form which has seen them a point ahead of second placed Barcelona despite playing two games less. With Napoli unable to sustain their early goal threat, Madrid went for the kill as they duo of Khalidou  Koulibaly and Raul Albiol showed they have a long way to go to be considered effective against top quality sides. As Madrid intensified attack, Toni Kroos will made it two from close range before defensive midfielder Casemiro scored a goal of the season contender to wrap up the game for Los Blancos with Madrid having the record of all 20 outfield players scoring this season across all competitions with the exception of left-back Fabio Coentrao, although Ballon d’or winner Christiano Ronaldo experiencing his longest goal drought at the moment having played over 500 minutes without scoring a goal in the Champions League.

With a return leg to come away in Naples (Italy), Zinedine Zidane’s charges will have to avoid conceding more than one goal if they are to progress from the round of 16 having shown that they can also win crucial  games  united and collective as a group without relying on the individual brilliance of Ronaldo or Benzema which has characterized their season so far.