Alex Baena's Creativity, Real Madrid's Biggest Fear

VILLARREAL, SATURDAY – Real Madrid has a golden opportunity to reclaim the top position in the Spanish League standings from Barcelona. The condition is that "Los Blancos" must be able to defeat the host Villarreal at the Estadio De La Ceramica on Sunday (16/3/2025) at 12:30 AM WIB. Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena possesses a wealth of attacking creativity that could pose a significant threat to Real.

Although not a midfielder with star status, Baena's skill in creating opportunities this season is something opposing teams should fear. The Villarreal academy graduate has become the midfielder with the highest number of chance creations in the Spanish League so far. His presence will pose a challenge for Real in achieving their ambition of securing their first victory at De La Ceramica since 2017. Despite their success in dominating Europe, Real has consistently struggled to defeat Villarreal at their home ground.

Villarreal coach, Marcelino Garcia, tends to consistently position Baena on the left wing in a 4-4-2 formation. However, during matches, Baena frequently moves into the central area of the field to deliver key passes. So far, he has created 77 chances, the most by any player in the Spanish League.

The number of chances created by Baena even surpasses Real's creative midfielder, Luka Modric, who recorded 46 chances created.

In addition to playing as a left winger, Baena is also adept at playing as an attacking midfielder and right winger. Baena's fluidity and game vision have earned him a call-up to the Spanish national team under the guidance of Luis De La Fuente.

"We always have an obligation to strive and perform as best as possible, regardless of our opponent. This league demonstrates that if you are not at that level, you will not win. We have an exciting match against the reigning champions of the Spanish League and the Champions League. We will strive to compete at the highest level and achieve our goals. We know it is challenging, but that does not mean we will not make every effort with all our enthusiasm," said Marcelino, as quoted from the club's official website.

Baena's excellence in distributing the ball in midfield will be highly intimidating for Real. Especially considering that in the previous match, Real suffered a 0-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the European Champions League Round of 16. Atletico's solitary goal, scored by Conor Gallagher, stemmed from the lack of pressure from Real's midfielders on Julian Alvarez. As a result, Alvarez was able to freely provide an assist to Gallagher before scoring the goal.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti needs to remind his players not to repeat similar carelessness against Baena. By any means, Real players must limit Baena's movements, as he is the epicenter of Villarreal's attacks. To date, Baena remains Villarreal's top assist provider with seven assists.

We have to play smart to beat Villarreal.

Real players refuse to give Baena the freedom to be creative. Baena's creativity is Real's biggest obstacle to overthrowing the minor results at De La Ceramica since 2017. In addition, Real has an interest in winning there to overthrow Barca at the top of the standings. Real and Barca both collect 57 points. However, Barca is superior in goal difference (46) from Real (31 goals).

This is a golden moment for Real to launch a coup because Barca, in another match, will undergo a very tough match against Atletico Madrid. In the last meeting between the two teams, Barca experienced difficulties by being held to a 4-4 draw by Atletico. Thus, Real must take advantage of this momentum to surpass Barca.

"We have to play smart to beat Villarreal," said Ancelotti in a press conference ahead of the match, Friday (14/3/2025).

Meanwhile, Ancelotti complained about the tight schedule that could potentially make his players tired. Real just beat Atletico in a penalty shootout to secure a place in the Champions League quarter-finals. The break between the games against Atletico and Villarreal was only two days. According to Ancelotti, that time span is very inadequate for the recovery period of Real players.

"The minimum recovery period is 72 hours. That's the schedule we have. I hope one day we can change it," Ancelotti said.

The tight match schedule forced Ancelotti to give striker Vinicius Junior the freedom to not attend training sessions.

"We gave him an extra day because he was still very tired. He will be ready tomorrow and ready to help us. He has no particular problem, just fatigue. Vini is a key player for us. He may have better or worse games, but I never doubted him," said Ancelotti.