The Real Madrid match was summed up by Joselu punching the grass when he scored 2-0. It was his seventh attempt, several very clear ones. But nothing. Until then. Hence the outburst, the defeated frustration. On the way to victory, Ancelotti’s team only ran into themselves, one ball after another into the body of the rival goalkeeper. UD Las Palmas offered very little opposition, until Brahim unlocked a match that allowed Real to surpass Barça in the standings and find themselves in a position to regain the lead on Saturday in Girona, now first. This time Bellingham was not needed.
2
Arrizabalaga, Alaba (Lucas Vázquez, min. 40), Nacho, Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy (Fran Garcia, min. 76), Camavinga (Kroos, min. 76), Brahim Diaz (Dani Ceballos, min. 56), Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Rodrygo and Joselu (Vinicius Junior, min. 57)
0
Álvaro Vallés, Saul Coco, Julian Araujo, Daley Sinkgraven (Sergi Cardona, min. 45), Curbelo, Munir, Cristian Herrera, O. Mfulu (Kirian Rodríguez, min. 45), Jonathan Viera (Máximo Perrone, min. 76), Javi Muñoz (Enzo Loiodice, min. 76) and Sory Kaba (Marvin Olawale Akinlabi Park, min. 57)
Goals 1-0 min. 47: Brahim Diaz. 2-0 min. 53: Joselu.
Referee José Luis Munuera Montero
Yellow cards Saul Coco (min. 78)
After the Metropolitano’s setback, and with many games in sight, Ancelotti shook up the lineup and sat the Englishman down for the first time. It hadn’t even happened in the preseason. He also changed the two full-backs (Fran García and Lucas Vázquez), and two others in the midfield, in addition to the Englishman (Kroos and Modric). Despite Bellingham’s absence, the Italian coach kept the diamond, with Brahim in the midfield. The man from Malaga moves with enormous skill in that tight area between the lines.
Once the geometric issue was cleared up, the game generated a disturbing sensation. In the course of the Champions League comebacks, Ancelotti spoke a lot about the magic of the Bernabéu. Against UD Las Palmas, as the minutes passed, that magic turned more black. There was no way they were going to hit Álvaro Valles’ net. It is true that García Pimienta’s team appeared in La Castellana with a very notable defensive record, the fewest goals scored in the League, with four, like Athletic. But the resistance they offered did not even qualify as ephemeral.
Madrid immediately detected the space left behind a very advanced defense, and opened the box for long passes. The deliveries complied with all the canons, but on the other side the first inaccuracies emerged: one less step that prevents reaching the ball, poor control when the area was already stepped on, misfortunes like that.
Real reached the area also by other means, many facilitated by Brahim, who appeared to clarify ideas when the attack was dulled. Other times he came through runs from Valverde, or with crosses from the wings. But there the enchantment appeared. Joselu, Rodrygo, and even Nacho found themselves in comfortable positions inside the area, and all their shots fell to Valles. Always to the body, to the hands, to one foot, always within a radius that hardly required even extending an arm.
Between those almost point-blank attempts and others that died blocked further away, Madrid was accumulating frustrations. It was played almost only on the Las Palmas field. It was the team with the fewest goals scored, but also the lowest scorer: with two goals it had managed to add five points in six games.
García Pimienta’s team conducts itself with the desire to develop that the coach brought from La Masia. Jonathan Viera and Javi Muñoz, a white youth player, provide order, ideas and calm in the center, but that is where their game usually dies, also because Madrid came out this time to the match at the moment it started, and not five or ten minutes later as was doing. He defended high, with energy, and many attempts by the Canaries did not even reach the line of Viera and Muñoz.
It was not difficult for Madrid to arrive, but arriving barely served to make them desperate. There were 17 unsuccessful shots before Lucas Vázquez, who had just entered for Alaba, injured, advanced down the right and created a lethal space in the area by stopping for a moment. Brahim only received the penalty close to the penalty spot, which gave him time to control and aim before shooting. Finally, the ball went in, after lightly touching Julián Araujo, on loan from Barcelona. Brahim’s relief was definitive. From the goal, to the locker room.
Upon returning, the stands were excited to see Vini run again on the Bernabéu grass. And that was just warming up. But Madrid has greatly missed the Brazilian’s gift for disconcerting defenses and breaking scripts. And when the other day he was about to return from the month injured, before the Metropolitano derby, gastroenteritis thwarted his return.
Under that breeze of optimism, Joselu’s night unblocked. Of those 18 Madrid shots in the first half, six, the clearest, had been theirs. On the seventh attempt, he managed to head a Rodrygo cross into the net. Freed from the bad spell, Ancelotti removed him from the field to give Vini just over half an hour. The stands were overdue for the Brazilian, and he celebrated every stride. He lacks rhythm, and some precision, but he retains that penetrating aroma of permanent threat. When the ball approaches him, everything vibrates around him, from the stands to the defense. He has arrived in time for the assault at the top of the League and the visit to Naples on Tuesday in the Champions League.
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