day 17
The victory against a Valencia in free fall leaves Ancelotti’s team behind by five points compared to Barça, hit by injuries to Militao and Benzema
Real Madrid continues to claim the right to fight for the League against a full-fledged Barça at the end of the first round. Carlo Ancelotti’s team defeated Valencia in the relaunch of Voro on the black-and-white bench with goals from Asensio and Vinicius, leaving their disadvantage with respect to the winter champion by five points.
Stuck in a first half in which they displayed energy and good play, the whites found gunpowder after passing through the changing rooms to achieve a victory that is vital in the pursuit of the Barca team, but which led to worrying injuries to Militao and Benzema. Undisputed leaders of the areas and essential for the upcoming curves, the extent of the ailments with which the Brazilian central defender and the French striker withdrew early will determine the real cost of three points that seemed unavoidable for the Chamartín team .
Despite the whip of a calendar that offers no respite, Ancelotti only contributed two novelties in his eleven compared to the one he arranged four days earlier against Real Sociedad: the return of Modric to the detriment of Valverde and the entry of Asensio for Rodrygo. Voro changed four cards in his eighth start as a coach on Gattuso’s last deck, but without being able to reverse the dynamics.
Barça’s assault on Benito Villamarín redoubled the pressure on the whites, as harassed by the calculator as Valencia. For this reason, Ancelotti’s team came out with impetus, although without tact. Modric left Asensio hand in hand with Mamardashvili as soon as the curtain rose. The game was won by the Georgian archer pulling out a titanium hand.
Real Madrid, with Kroos as the anchor and a Ceballos who ended up being applauded by the Bernabéu leading the charge, assumed command with poise and verticality. A heel shot from Benzema enabled another great chance for Asensio, blinded again in the shot, this time by Paulista’s spur.
Valencia, beaten in their self-esteem, sought refuge by lowering the block, but suffered with Vinicius’s cylinders, Camavinga’s casting, Benzema’s game between the lines and Asensio’s attacks. The good intentions of Real Madrid were reduced by two factors: the lack of efficiency in the definition and the injury to the adductor in Militao’s right leg.
more bait
All in all, the whites were able to go into the break with a smile from ear to ear. Technology prevented it, which sometimes turns into fraud what the old testament of football established within the legal channels. Rüdiger headed into the net at the exit of a corner, but the VAR warned the referee of an alleged previous foul by Benzema on Musah. It seemed like another dispute. The slow motion can be as perverse at times as pernicious the suspicion that criticism about supposed arbitration favors to the greats make a dent in the establishment.
Real Madrid could not afford to lament, as they returned from the intermission with sixth gear on. A left-footed shot from Asensio from the edge unblocked the match and freed Ancelotti’s pupils, who finally showed off their arsenal in the blitzkrieg.
Benzema immediately released the tie to Vinicius, who stepped on the accelerator to beat Mamardashvili and celebrate his 200 appearances with Real Madrid, raising his goal tally to 49 goals since he wore white. Only Raúl and Casillas reached double hundred games earlier than the new pretty boy at the Bernabéu. A myth in the making.
The 2-0 was a huge slab for Valencia, unable to intimidate Real Madrid and definitively condemned by Paulista’s untimely kick to Vinicius that cost the Brazilian center-back a red card, already with Benzema on the bench as a result of a fortuitous mishap . In numerical superiority, the final stretch served as a massage for Ancelotti’s troops after a game that, however, could break his planning in the face of the all-out war that he will wage in the coming weeks. We will have to be attentive to the news that comes from the infirmary.
#Asensio #Vinicius #Real #Madrid #fight