Visual Analysis: Real Madrid 2-1 Getafe; La Liga 2023 - 2024

Real Madrid made its home debut this season against a very annoying (for multitude reasons) Getafe side. While Los Blancos won the match, it was certainly a case of a game of two halves. Galactico signing, Jude Bellingham, scored yet again and had the fans in the brand new Bernabeu signing “Hey Jude!”.

Let’s take a look at some key numbers and performances from this game.

Real Madrid started the game with a midfield of Aurelien Tchouameni, Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga backing Jude Bellingham at the tip of the diamond. They tried to break down the heinous Getafe block without Toni Kroos in the lineup. Without the German the left side of the attack didn’t look as promising in the first half.

The second half however was a different story. Kroos was a different class in trying to break down the rigid defensive block of Getafe. His introduction, along with Rodrygo occupying slightly wider positions and pushing Alaba to left-back, reinvigorated Madrid’s left hand side and Carlo Ancelotti’s men started looking far more threatening. Madrid created just 0.72 xG in the first half compared to 1.68 in the second half with the German.

We can note Kroos’s influence in the passing network before and after his substitution.

The German World Cup winning midfielder was the game changer. Despite coming on at the break, Kroos led the charts in key passes (7), progressive passes (6), and the second highest touches (85) of all Madrid players in the game. His vision to spot the runs in behind from deep sliced through Getafe resolute block. His vision had execution to match, with a passing accuracy of 90%.

The boy from Birmingham who can do no wrong, scored yet again making it five goals in four games to start his Madrid career. The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder scored from his only shot in the game but showed excellent awareness inside the box to react to the second ball in the box. His personality has been the biggest standout and his quick adaptation period is no surprise given his talent. His touches in the final third were sublime and he found a way out of tight congested spaces.

Rodrygo’s performance was a dazzling one without the goal (he hit the crossbar once). Him drifting out to the left in the absence of Vinicius Jr was more prominent in this game. The Brazilian led the chart in progressive carries (17) in the game and consistently managed to get in behind with his trademark acceleration and shoulder drop.