ANDhe Madrid responded to Barcelona’s demand by vindicating its squad. Marco Asensio took out his left foot for a walk to break up the game, but it was Ceballos who led the team until Bernabu was recognized. A response at the height of a club with the highest demands, where renewal is earned with effort and football. Both marked the differences. Voro’s Valencia resisted for almost an hour, orderly, without attacking, but collapsed after 1-0. Paulista resigned with a very fair red for kicking Vinicius. It looks ugly for those of Mestalla.
In a game with no margin for error, after Bara’s victory in Seville, Ancelotti surprised with the line-up. He planned to control the duel with Modric and Kroos, but Valverde and Rodrygo did not appear, but Ceballos and Asensio. The first has become inevitable due to his dynamism since the comeback of La Cermica, and the second received the prize for his previous, darker contribution. Well, he was the one who starred in the best chances of the first half, opening the duel with a one-on-one. He received a pass from Modric at the right end after an error at the start of Paulista. He finished with his right foot, first, crossed, and Mamardashvili answered with a wonderful hand. He had another two, both after exquisite passes from Benzema, the first on heels. Paulista took him out under sticks.
Asensio’s three chances did not respond to Madrid’s continuous play. It was diluted as the minutes passed and Valencia de Voro was settling down. Valencia’s miracle coach stopped telling stories, put his most reliable men together, joining lines without the ball and trying to take advantage of the lack of white pressure. He did not force more than a couple of corners and a break from Lino aborted by Nacho with a yellow card, but he controlled his plot well, which was clearly the priority. Especially on the right, where Foulquier beat Vinicius. In his 200th game, he reminded more of the version of the first hundred, stubborn and they fought. He had a shot that he handed over to Mamardashvili and a handful of discussions, including the last one, on the way to the locker room, as if he was looking for the fifth yellow card that would eliminate him from the trip to Mallorca.
So much noise in recent days with the arbitrations against Madrid at the Bernabu exploded in the extension of the first half. A corner kick taken by Modric was headed into the net by Rdiger. The linesman raised the flag and immediately lowered it, indicating the center of the field, while Yunus appeared lying on the grass. Medi Jimnez called Alberola, who had given the goal, to the screen so that he could see the American’s struggle with Benzema. Lack in attack. If it had been the other way around, the scandal over the penalty in favor of Madrid would have been epic. The story and such.
Valverde and Tchouamni warmed up at halftime, but Ancelotti made no changes at halftime. He didn’t need it. Asensio uncorked the game with his steel left foot. First he put in a diagonal that Benzema could not take advantage of. Then he broke the game with a dry, crossed, devastating left-footed shot from the right sector. A dog. The extraordinary goal shook both rivals. Madrid got loose and Benzema served for Vinicius, who escaped alone and resolved low with temper. Foulquier and Diakhaby doubted in the coverage and Mamardashvili at the start. 2-0 and game virtually resolved, although there was still wax.
First, Benzema was injured, who joined the casualties with Militao, relieved in the final stretch of the first half. Two worrisome mishaps less than 20 days before the duel against Liverpool. Then Gabriel Paulista resigned from the party due to a clamorous and meaningless kick to Vinicius without the ball. Manual red. The winger turned around, but it was another Brazilian, Militao, who scolded his compatriot on the way to the locker room. Valencia is at that moment in which everything that can go wrong, goes worse. The heater led the way to shouts of ‘Second’, ugly in the Bernabu and in any other stadium. With the party liquidated, they both dedicated themselves to not hurt each other any more than they had already done. Madrid complied with its obligation and closed the first round to five from Bara. It has a cut, but it has found good answers for the current moment. They are offered, above all, by Asensio, Nacho, Camavinga, spectacular, and Ceballos, for whom Bernabu requested the renewal. He’s earning it hard.
