Madrid Superfly duo to star in Champions League
Real Madrid head into their second leg quarter-final match against Tottenham tonight knowing they have two of the tournaments top performers! Nike Superfly duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil have both enjoyed spectacular Champions League campaigns so far this season, that have helped launch their side towards a potential semi-final 'El Clasico' clash with Barcelona.
Jose Mourinho's side travel to North London tonight with a comfortable 4-0 advantage, knowing that they have not lost on their European travels this season and have only conceded two goals away from the Bernabeu. They are also Europe's joint top scorers with 23 goals and in Mesut Ozil, they have Europe's most creative player!
According to Castrol EDGE Performance Analysis, Tottenham must contain the creative threat posed by Mesut Özil if they are to avoid a repeat of their heavy defeat at the BernabeÚ.
The German midfielder set up two of Madrid's four goals at home, including the opener by Emmanuel Adebayor, but also assisted 12 shots in total in the match, the most by a single player in a game in the competition in the last five seasons.
Following his efforts in the home leg, Özil is now the most creative player in the Champions League this season, having assisted seven goals, and Harry Redknapp's side will need to ensure that he doesn't have the run of White Hart Lane in their next encounter.
Castrol EDGE Performance data shows that the majority of Tottenham's attacking play in the first leg against Spurs came down the left flank, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the charge.
In the 4-0 win at the BernabeÚ, 41% of the merengues' attacks came down the left-hand side of the pitch, compared to just 24% down the right flank with Cristiano Ronaldo often cutting in from this side to shoot.
The Portuguese winger had 14 shots against Tottenham, the most by a player in a Champions League match since KakÁ had 15 against Celtic in March 2007, in spite of his injury worries. This season Ronaldo has had the most shots in the Champions League, averaging just under seven per game, as Real Madrid use the left-sided forward as the focus of their attacking play.
Have your say on tonights big match and join the conversations with the SoccerBible community online, on Twitter and on Facebook.
