beIN SPORTS

In theory, Sunday night's 1-1 with Villarreal at the Bernabeu saw Real Madrid drop two points. Madrid expect to win every game they play in their own stadium and their first draw of the season was greeted with a mixture of surprise and frustration by the fans and local media alike. 

"Stopped" was the one word headline on the front cover of Monday's edition of Marca, with the hyperbolic suggestion being that Los Blancos' title challenge had somehow ground to a halt with the picking up of a solitary point. 

While the result was disappointing from a Madrid perspective it was not as unexpected as had been made out, and although Villarreal made seven changes to their starting line up, the side play the kind of football that is able to trouble the biggest teams in the division. Tactically Marcelino's men were perfect, closing down spaces, pressing high up the pitch and breaking with speed and precision.

It was extremely similar to their performance at the Vicente Calderon earlier this season which saw them inflict a first home league defeat on Ateltico Madrid in a year, or their showing at the Camp Nou where they twice took the lead in a 3-2 defeat to Barcelona. Over the last five years Villarreal have recorded two draws with Barcelona, three draws with Real Madrid, three wins and a draw with Atletico and three wins and three draws with Valencia. 

While everybody was expecting Madrid to record a tenth straight home league victory on Sunday, the important point seemed to have been overlooked, namely that Villarreal are simply one of the best teams in the top flight, especially against the top sides.

The last time Real Madrid took the lead at home in a league game and failed to win was back in August 2012 and it is to Villarreal's immense credit that they managed to get themselves back into the contest after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring from the penalty spot with his 30th league goal of the season.

That the visitors were able to level and indeed threaten to snatch all three points was due in large part to the introduction of top scorer Luciano Vietto. The young Argentine started the game on the bench, with Villarreal's midweek Copa Del Rey semi final in mind, but had an enormous impact in the half an hour he was on the pitch. His movement, skill and confidence showed why the 21 year old is unlikely to be at El Madrigal next season. One wonders if the final result might have been even worse for Madrid had Vietto played the entire game.

It should of course be pointed out that Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo made a hat-trick of exceptional saves to deny Cristiano Ronaldo a second goal and on another night, the Ballon D'Or winner would have buried the chances. That he failed to do so was indicative of a Madrid performance that no only lacked intensity for an hour but precision, both in their finishing and in their passing.

And yet despite the setback Madrid remain top of the table two points clear of Barcelona. The old adage claims that the sign of a title winning side is to win matches when you are not playing well. Madrid did not play particularly well on Sunday, but in this most competitive of La Liga seasons perhaps not getting beaten against an excellent side when you are not at your best also has a worthwhile merit.