The Real Madrid midfield duo saw fatigue take over at the tail end of the season after barely missing a match during the course of the 2011/12 campaign.
Alongside http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Xabi-Alonso-c37045 and Mesut Ozil, found themselves racking up minutes in their successful domestic campaign.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 man by one game.
Physical limitations took their toll over their duos body, who saw a downturn in their performances at the tail end of the season.
The fact was evident in Los Blancos’ semi-final second leg fixture against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu as they were seen lumbering in the demanding match-up.
Xabi and Ozil have had to pay for Real Madrid’s lack of replacements in their respective positions, especially the Basque midfielder.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nuri-Sahin-c28251 was supposed to ease into first team fixtures and take off some steam of Alonso but the plan blew up in the face of Madrid.
The Turkish international’s first season at the Santiago Bernabeu was one to forget as he suffered from injuries and Jose Mourinho’s lack of confidence. Sahin made a paltry 10 appearances in all competitions and was the least utilized member of the first
team by the Special One.
On the other hand, Ozil suffered from Kaka’s ineffective displays in the white shirt. The German international had to push himself to the limits as the Brazilian international failed to enthuse Mourinho into giving him a greater role in the first team.
As the season came to its end, Ozil’s well documented physical problems began to give telling signs of fatigue. However, he had to continue and gave a good account of himself in Real Madrid’s route to UEFA Champions League semi-finals and La Liga title triumph,
including a heroic victory over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604.
Ozil 35 league outings resulted in a handsome return for the player and Los Blancos. The German international’s goal scoring rate was down; however, his productivity in terms of assists was unparalleled as he finished the season with 23 assists against his
name.
Angel di Maria’s lengthy injury lay off did not help the former Werder Bremen star. However, with the future in mind, Jose Mourinho will have to add to his roster to achieve greater things and not penalize his two players of talent and creative thinking
with lack of options.
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