Where Real Madrid Rank in Liga Team Statistics and What They Mean Under Zidane

Real Madrid sit second in La Liga as domestic clubs take a week or two off for the international break, following a three-match run of draws which have seen rivals Atletico Madrid overtake them in top spot.

Zinedine Zidane’s team have hit something of a wall in recent weeks after starting the season in good form, though they remain unbeaten and well-positioned to continue their title charge after the international break if they can get their frontmen firing and one or two key players back to full fitness.

While it’s obvious that the points tally is the most important set of numbers in any league season, the underlying statistics of the Real Madrid side can give indicators as to how well the side is doing overall, particularly when compared to the rest of the league.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats are from WhoScored (WS) or Squawka (SQ).

On the ball

Starting with the obvious, Real Madrid are not what most onlookers would label a possession-based side, yet they do have an extraordinary amount of the ball in most matches. Whereas some teams such as Barcelona, Celta Vigo or now Sevilla place a huge emphasis on ball retention in their overall approach, Real Madrid see a lot of the ball simply because they have better players than most teams they face, and opposition defences will often sit back to frustrate.

That’s reflected in Madrid’s possession on the road, where the home side would be expected to attack somewhat more: they average 55 per cent per game this term, the third-highest in La Liga, but 52 per cent away from home which is only fifth-highest. Barcelona and Sevilla rank as the top two both at home and on the road (WS).

Real do, however, have a better overall pass success rate than anyone else in La Liga, coming out on top with 87 per cent of passes finding their mark to date. Nobody in the league can match Toni Kroos on an individual level either, with a 93 per cent completion rate (WS). Half of the top 10 in that ranking play for Los Blancos, with Isco, Mateo Kovacic, Sergio Ramos and Lucas Vazquez being the others.

While there is no heavy reliance on continual passing in Real Madrid’s approach under Zidane, they do tend to move the ball quickly from back to front to try to open up teams with a first wave of attack. If that doesn’t create a chance, circulation outside the box is typically their next step, one which they have struggled to make use of in recent matches without Luka Modric in the team.

The graph below shows the top eight sides in La Liga by total number of dribbles (blue bar) for this season, and their respective completion rate (red line).

The low count of dribbles also hints at the team’s more direct approach—which is not to say a long-ball style, rather that the idea is to move the ball forward quickly into the final third. Indeed, Real Madrid have the joint-lowest long passes per game (WS), along with Atletico Madrid, and their average pass length is just 18 metres (SQ).

Defensive work

Considering the majority of their players are offensive-minded …

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