Juventus and Real Madrid played to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday but the game was filled with far more interesting storylines. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale continued to score. Arturo Vidal continues to prove his worth as one of the best in the world. Fernando Llorente is finding his form. Paul Pogba was the best player in the game. All of these angles are compelling in their own right, but they were all overshadowed by an even better story - Iker Casillas.
All season long, the Spanish and Real Madrid Captain has been subject to embarrassment on the Madrid bench. He has played four games all season long and has been constantly insulted in the media for being in poor form and no longer being the top keeper in the world. Casillas' performance on Tuesday proved all the naysayers wrong as he made one terrific save after another to earn the 2-2 draw. If not for Casillas' heroics, Madrid loses this game easily.
Casillas made two tremendous saves in the first half that made him the player of the game by default. He made a sparkling reflex stop on his own player Pepe and then stopped a terrific headed by Claudio Marchisio that was a sure goal. He continued to play brilliantly in the second half and made a few tough stops with the game on the line.
He did concede two goals but neither could be pinned on him. No goaltender could stop Vidal's perfect penalty and the headed by Llorente to tie the game at two was the fault of poor coverage from Raphael Varane.
Carlo Ancelotti has repeatedly chosen Diego Lopez to start for Madrid and while the netminder has been solid, he has made glaring mistakes at a premium. The two goals against Barcelona were stops that he could have and, in the case of the Alexis Sanchez tally, should have stopped. The five goals he has conceded in recent games (albeit three were on penalties) do not help his situation.
The defenders have been poor for Madrid and need a leader to put them in order. Casillas was unable to do that for most of the night, but Lopez has failed to do it consistently all season. Maybe having Casilla back there on a more consistent basis could help the team's defense find some rhythm and organization moving forward.
If Ancelotti cannot give him that chance, then Casillas needs to leave Madrid as soon as possible.