After back-to-back draws against Valencia and Barcelona, Real Madrid secured their first run of two consecutive 0-0s since 2006 as they were held on home turf at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu by Athletic Club.
The Basque side came to town ready to put up a fight in the final La Liga fixture of the decade and they did just that, despite Real Madrid having plenty of chances to put the game to bed. Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Luka Jović all hit the woodwork but none of them could convert to give the hosts the crucial three points that they needed to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the table.
This tactical analysis of the La Liga fixture between Real Madrid and Athletic Club will provide analysis of the tactics of both teams as they played out a 0-0 draw which will have pleased Gaizka Garitano far more than Zinedine Zidane.
Line-ups
Zidane stuck to his preferred 4-3-3 shape but did make changes from the Clásico, with Casemiro forced out through suspension and Raphaël Varane also rested. In attack, Rodrygo Goes and Vinícius Júnior were preferred to Gareth Bale.
Garitano also sprung a surprise with his formation. Without the likes of Iker Muniain, he was always going to have the choice to mix things up but did so more than expected by fielding a back five, with Unai Núñez coming into the central three as the sweeper, with Dani García taking up the holding midfield role and Kenan Kodro joining Iñaki Williams in attack.
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