Although Real Madrid were able to get a win over Osasuna, one can argue that this November international break has come at an opportune time for them.
Since the end of the last international break, the Merengues have faced two disheartening defeats to FC Barcelona and AC Milan, and the overall mood of the team has been rather glum.
With this international break, most of the players have been able to get a change of scenery and rediscover their form while playing away from the pressure cooker of Real Madrid.
Although he was injured for most of this phase, and did not really play a part in the two defeats, the player who has taken the most advantage of this break has been the Moroccan Brahim Diaz.
The former Manchester City forward has really excelled in this break, as he scored 5 goals in 2 games against Gabon and Lesotho in the Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.
Two of these goals came in the game against Gabon, in which the Real Madrid forward played for 64 minutes. In addition to his two goals, he also recorded an 87% passing accuracy, provided 2 key passes, and put in 1 accurate cross. He had 100% shooting accuracy, as both of his shots resulted in goals. Overall, he had a Sofascore rating of 8.1 in this game.
Then, against Lesotho, he put in an even better performance, as he scored a first-half hat-trick. He opened the scoring only 5 minutes into the game, before adding another to his name 10 minutes later. Then he scored another goal in the 42nd minute to complete his hat-trick.
As was the case in the game against Gabon, Diaz once again registered a high pass completion rate of 85%, and put in another key pass in this match. He was also the MVP for this game and got a rating of 9.5.
However, there were some weaknesses visible in his game as well. For instance, he had only 1 of his 6 dribbling attempts successful against Gabon, and none of his 2 attempts successful against Lesotho. Similarly, he lost possession 10 times in the former match, while doing this 12 times in the latter.
Still these goals, particularly the hat-trick, will allow Brahim to return to Real Madrid with his spirits particularly high. Furthermore, Carlo Ancelotti will also be relieved to have him back from the international break without suffering an injury.
His chances of starting the upcoming match against Leganes are particularly strong now, as Rodrygo Goes is also not fully fit yet.
