[ad_1]
Real Madrid finally scored their first Champions League win of the year 2020 on Tuesday night. There’s so much to talk about, so let’s go into three questions that were answered and three new questions that have emerged from this 3-2 win.
Three responses
1. What would the first part of Zidane vs Conte be like?
Zinedine Zidane and Antonio Conte go back. They played together for Juventus for five years, appearing together in 131 games. That means Conte is in the top 20 of Zidane’s most common teammates from his playing days. When Zidane was starting out as a coach, he even returned to Juventus to spend time in training camp learning from Conte. “The relationship is good, even if we don’t talk regularly,” Zidane said at his pre-match press conference while explaining the current state of the relationship. But, they are two football figures with a lot of history and they are two coaches with very different personalities and even tactics. So it was going to be interesting to see what their first competitive match as coaches would be like and it was actually a lot of fun in this five-goal thriller.
2. Did Lucas Vázquez make a full recovery?
Lucas Vázquez was doubtful for this game after suffering a problem against Huesca at the weekend, but he recovered enough to enter the squad and then start this game. But could he really do his best and deal with Ashley Young? Yes, was the answer. It may have taken him a while to react on Inter’s second goal, but otherwise this was another excellent performance by the Spaniard on the right side. He put so much energy and hard work into this game that you almost had to wonder if he was the perfect player to start this game against a team whose main tactical wrinkle is their love of lateral play.
3. Would Sergio Ramos score 100 goals?
He had been one goal away for more than a week and Ramos did not leave us waiting any longer. By scoring Real Madrid’s second goal against Inter, he scored 100th for the club in all competitions and became the 19th player to score a century of goals for the capital club. Most impressive is that he is the first full defender to achieve this milestone. Fernando Hierro did it too, but he did play some seasons in midfield. However, Ramos has been a defender during his 15 years at Real Madrid, be it on the right back or center back, and now he has added an extra layer to his already incredible legacy.
Three questions
1. What is the situation in the group?
With these three points in the bag, the focus is now on the general situation of the group. Borussia Mönchengladbach lead the way with five points after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 6-0. Then Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk are four points behind and Inter two. It’s so tight and that opens the doors for Real Madrid to even win the group. The fact that all four teams are so good means that they have been taking points away from each other and this means that the group could win with a very low point total.
2. How durable will Hazard be?
Hazard had to leave with a blow, something that Zidane admitted in his post-match press conference. He suffered three fouls in one hour and this follows 2019/20, when he received 4.1 fouls every 90 minutes. That was the root of his major injury problems last year, which were primarily contact injuries and primarily to his right ankle. So how long will this season be? Can you stay healthy and survive the constant fouling?
3. Where will this game be played in the future?
Including this match, the last four competitive matches between Real Madrid and Inter have been played at four different venues. This game took place at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium. Then the two previous matches were in the Champions League groups in 1998/99 and were held at the San Siro in Milan and at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in Seville. That’s because Real Madrid was banned from playing at the Bernabéu after the post incident against Borussia Dortmund. Then the previous meeting, in 1986, was at the Bernabéu in the UEFA Cup. So where will the next meetings be? We know they will play at the San Siro next, but where after that? Will the next meeting be held in a new stadium in Milan? Possibly.
The last four venues of this meeting
- November 4, 2020: Real Madrid 3-2 Inter. Say Stefano.
- November 25, 1998: Inter 3-1 Real Madrid. San Siro.
- 16th September 1998. Real Madrid 2-0 Inter. Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
- April 2, 1986. Real Madrid 5-1 Inter. Bernabeu.
