In an eternal night Modric had one of his most memorable performances in white. His spectacular gallop in the second goal still remains in the retina of any madridista, before taking a ball out of his hat behind the defense to enable Vinicius, before receiving the leather again and invent an assist between Kimpembe’s legs. It was an absolutely inexplicable minute for a footballer who continues to add to his records. Because the numbers reflect how important it was in Real Madrid’s comeback against PSG.
In the assists section, he gave one and a half: the one that will quote you will be the one recently mentioned, that ball between a tangle of legs that is already football history. The picture of Benzemasurrounded by up to six Parisian players and completely alone inside the area, was the portrait of a canvas where it seemed impossible to draw. But Luka invented that ball and Karim did the rest. Just two minutes later, after losing the ball Gueye, the 3-1 play started with the ball towards Vinicius that the Brazilian would serve towards the front.
His offensive numbers are spectacular. He made 69 passes, one every 1′ and 20 seconds, of which he hit 85% (He only made mistakes in 10, most of them in the first part, when Madrid walked through stretches of little control and many doubts). There is a fact that enlarges the quote: of the 69 passes, 42 were in the opposite field, where he achieved a success rate of 79%. With Madrid stepping on the rival field in the second half and overwhelming, Modric was the monopoly of possession, the axis through which all actions passed.
As far as ones against ones is concerned, he also got an outstanding, winning 11 duels in total. He tried to play whenever he could, well in 90 minutes he only cleared two balls. In defensive matters there is a spectacular statistic: had a 100% hit on tickets. Whenever he put his leg in to recover a ball, he did it successfully. One of the most remembered will be, without a doubt, when he mowed down Messi avoiding a counterattack with the match 1-1. For many, at that time Madrid made click and the avalanche began. That image was a morale booster.
Modric, with a mow, stops Messi when he armed the counterattack with 1-1.
Javier Soriano (AFP)
soul of leader
His route to the dressing room, filmed on video, has caught on with thousands of spectators, knowing that Modric is not only a reference on the pitch, but also a leader off it. “I don’t know what else to say about him, sometimes I put him more to the right, others to the left… And he always delivers,” Ancelotti said of his figure in Press conference. Luka had to play without his two usual squires of his: Casemiro was penalized and Kroos, more disappeared than normal, only lasted an hour. In that context, he proved to understand himself wonderfully with Valverde and even with Camavingawhich led to a game of notable high coming off the bench.
A renewal… On track?
At 36, his contract ends this summer. But his contract extension may be close. In the press conference prior to the match, several phrases escaped him about his illusion for what could be the next season in white. When asked about these same ones and, more specifically, about whether there was already an agreed or signed renewal with the club, he cleared balls: “I don’t want to talk about this issue now. There are more important things, like tomorrow’s game”. For Ancelotti he has no replacement and he, with gasoline, is still plenty. Like soccer. Before PSG he sat a chair.