Real Madrid 2-2 Club America: Karim Benzema scored a superb goal as Hazard and Vinicius Tobias shines: here are stats from the draw.
The second preseason match between Real Madrid and Club América in San Francisco concluded in a 2-2 stalemate, but it seemed much more hopeful for Los Blancos with an upped offensive threat, helped by the return of Karim Benzema to the squad.
Real Madrid was obviously out to prove a message against the Mexican opponent after the 1-0 loss to Barcelona on Saturday night. They managed an outstanding shot every 5 minutes and 18 seconds.
Here, we examine some of the crucial data to better comprehend the game itself and Carlo Ancelotti’s team’s preseason performance.
The amount of games in a row without a victory on American soil is 5.
Real Madrid’s preseason trips to the United States are about so much more than just the on-field performances, but after this tie with Club América, the team’s streak of games without a victory in the country increased once again.
The last time Real Madrid triumphed while on a US tour was a 2-1 victory against Roma on August 7, 2018, thanks to goals from Marco Asensio and Gareth Bale. Since then, it has hosted a 1-0 Classico loss from the weekend before tonight’s game, a 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich, a 2-2 tie with Arsenal, a 7-3 derby loss to Atlético, all of which occurred in 2019.
If we go back to 2016, which is the six years Real Madrid has only played preseason matches in the US or stayed in Spain because to Covid-19, Los Blancos have a record of four victories, four draws, and five losses from 13 games played there.
Results don’t matter much in these games, as Thibaut Courtois and Ancelotti both emphasized in their postgame comments, but it’s an interesting statistic that the US has welcomed Real Madrid considerably more warmly off the field than on it.
Without Benzema, Madridistas may have been hoping for a return to normalcy when the Frenchman curled a beautiful finish in from 20 yards out at a challenging angle to equalize on 22 minutes after racking up 0.73 xG without converting against Barcelona.
Benzema made a solid start in his first game since the Paris Champions League final, being his typical clinical self. Prior to halftime, his only other shot on goal, which came from outside the box in a crowded area, went just wide of the post.
KARIM BENZEMA GOLAZO! pic.twitter.com/Qi1EIUR9Dx
— TC (@totalcristiano) July 27, 2022
Given that Hazard’s goal came from the penalty spot later in this match, this goal remains Real Madrid’s only one from open play in preseason to date. Nevertheless, Ancelotti’s team looked much more dangerous against América, as they had seven shots on target from 17 attempts as opposed to 0 from 10 against Barcelona on Saturday night.
Surprisingly, Rodrygo Goes had the most shots from a single player with three. The Brazilian seems to be in good shape and will be aiming to keep up that form from the end of last season, but it is obvious that his confidence is still at an all-time high.
The majority of Real Madrid’s most recent goals conceded come in the first half (4 out of 5).
One of the game’s most concerning moments came with just four minutes remaining when deputy Andriy Lunin was defeated by Henry Martin, who converted after some shoddy positional defending.
However, when considering Real Madrid’s recent goal-scoring history, the early goal allowed was not all that unexpected.
This dates back to 2021–2022, when Rubén Sobrino of Cádiz and Yannick Carrasco of Atlético were the last two players to score against Real Madrid. Martin and Raphinha also scored in the first session during the preseason.
That statistic might not be alarming on its own, especially in light of the preseason’s excessive use of substitutions, but it becomes more so when taking into account how this game is progressing.
Mexican players dominated the attacking flow of the game against Club América in 20 of the first half’s 45 minutes, as opposed to 13 for Real Madrid and 12 for the opposition.
This was reversed in the second half, with Real Madrid winning for 25 minutes, América winning for only 8, and the remaining 12 minutes remaining neutral.
That could surprise some people considering that Ancelotti’s first-half lineup was perhaps the better of the two teams he fielded in San Francisco.
It’s possible that América’s own substitutions—seven at the hour—have contributed to this, but it’s obvious that Real Madrid’s starting lineup needs more time to catch up this preseason.
