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By Cillian Shields l @pile_of_huevos
When Real Madrid they’re in their prime, they’re comfortably better than Atletico Madrid. The problem is that they have not always been at their best this season, but in Saturday’s derby they put in a dominant performance that reduced the colchoneros in the shadow of their normal state.
Diego Simeone’s team had only conceded two league goals all season leading up to this weekend, both inconsequential goals in 6-1 and 3-1 victories when Los Rojiblancos were leading by more than two at the time. It took Zinedine Zidane’s team 15 minutes to end that wonderful defensive record and leave Atleti behind in a La Liga match for the first time this season. But even before Casemiro’s first header goal from a corner, and for the rest of the time, the Whites suffocated their neighbors with a level of intensity and possession control that prevented Atleti from getting into the match.
Madrid have an attitude problem, as was shown many times this season when they have not appeared in games that seemed simple on paper. The defeats at home to Cádiz, Alavés and a Shakhtar Donetsk devastated by the absences of Covid-19 prove it. But conversely, when presented with a marquee fixture, against a glamorous opponent or under the pressure of a need to win, they can become one of the best teams in the world, with the biggest difference seemingly little more than a change of pace. mentality.
A little over a week ago it was rumored that the next three games would be decisive for Zidane. They faced Sevilla at home, a Champions League clash against Borussia Mönchengladbach in which they could have been eliminated in the group stage, and the Madrid derby against Atlético, leaders of the league. The pressure was on, with the eyes of the world watching. Win. Win. Win.
Karim Benzema admitted this in comments after the midweek European game, saying: “When we feel like winning, you can see it, we score goals and nobody can hurt us.”
Although Madrid got away with a bit of luck against the Andalusians, their competitive attitude was palpable from the first moments against Borussia and Atleti. The Germans never took hold during the full game, and a similar story was unfolding against Simeone’s charges until some substitutions in the second half significantly changed the pace of the match.
The key to Madrid’s derby dominance was his masterclass as a midfielder with the ball. The classic trio of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were in top form, bonding with Benzema, who appeared all over the field to create overloads and help his team camp on the Atleti field. Zidane called his compatriot a “complete footballer” after the match in which Benzema surpassed Roberto Carlos as the foreign player with the most games in the club’s history, with 528. “What he is doing is tremendous,” praised his coach.
Often times throughout the years when Madrid need late rallies, Casemiro is always active in the opponent’s penalty area, winning heads, creating chaos, inflicting damage and deciding matches. For a defensive player, the Brazilian features very important goals and contributions to goals very often for his team.
The midfielders have certainly had their matches out of place this year, but on Saturday they were too fast and couldn’t be caught. “They hurt us with their intensity,” Simeone admitted in the post-match television interview. “We drown them in their own half,” added Dani Carvajal.
Midfield also successfully separated the Atleti forward pair of Joao Félix and Luis Suárez from the rest of their squad. The forwards, who have been in good shape this season, were completely ineffective and both were substituted in the second half.
The limitations of Luis Suárez were exposed with this game. One of the best shooters La Liga has seen was completely removed from the match, as he cannot affect matches when he is dragged into such deep starting positions, as required by Real Madrid’s territorial supremacy. The rojiblancos could not get balls into the Madrid area, nor at the feet of Suárez in the third attack.
Lemar, Lodi and Correa entered, and between them, they grabbed the game by the neck after the restart. Thomas Lemar was Atlético de Madrid’s record signing when they bought him in 2018, but he hasn’t shown the form he had with Monaco or the French national team since joining. Not for the first time with an attacking player, Simeone had a hard time incorporating Lemar into the team and getting him to perform with some regularity to the best of his ability.
However, the tide seems to be turning in recent weeks for the World Cup winner. He has proven to be an adept at handling either wing as well as a central role behind a striker and has appeared with a couple of goals in recent weeks. Unfortunately for everyone at rojiblanco, he ruined Atleti’s biggest chance to score in the match, after weakly dodging a low cross that didn’t look like he expected to hit him at all. Out of control, he couldn’t aim the ball at the goal and Madrid sighed in relief.
Shortly after, with the wind behind Atleti in search of a tying goal, the match almost ended with a phenomenal shot from Carvajal. The right-back’s superb half-volley hit the post and bounced off the back of outstretched Jan Oblak to make his own goal, and Colchonero’s short-lived revival ended before he really got underway.
Crisis? The news from Real Madrid now focuses on him sitting three points from the top of the table. They can level up with Real Sociedad with their game in hand, but Atlético de Madrid could be six ahead of their neighbors if they win their games in hand. History suggests they could get more days off of the season and lose more points, but perhaps the pressure applied by a genuine challenge for the title from their rivals could propel them back to the greatness they are definitely capable of.
Elsewhere…
– They came agonizingly close to earning their first win of the season last week as they led Granada 3-1 until the 88th minute before dramatically returning to 3-3, but Huesca They finally tasted victory in Primera for the first time this season in week 13 with a 1-0 win over Deportivo Alavés, ending the Basque team’s six-game unbeaten streak. Curiously, they did it without two of their best forwards, since Sandro Ramírez was missing and Rafa Mir started on the bench.
Míchel’s team has played much better than their results suggest, and discretion has placed them 13th in the expected points table, 3.80 points behind what statistics suggest they should have already won this season. season. Instead, they rank 19th, but they are certainly looking up, talented more than enough to fight their way out of the drop zone and avoid relegation in La Liga for the first time in their history.
But the most important story of this game was Javier Ontiveros. The young forward scored a magnificent solo goal to decide the match and revealed a photograph of his grandmother to the cameras in celebration. In the post-match interview, he burst into tears and explained that his grandmother is in the hospital for Covid-19 and that he and his family loved her and wanted to have her at home.
– Make Jules Kooundé Do they have foresight powers? Is that what makes it so good? Queuing up on the wall for a free kick against Getafe to be hit by David Timor, the French defender left his position as the Geta midfielder was preparing to shoot and ran to take a new spot at the goal line on the left. of your goalkeeper. -side. The shot went through the wall, catching Bono off guard, but there he was, on the line, ready to clear the danger in the right place at the right time.
The mystical movement helped Seville comes from the south of Madrid with a 1-0 victory despite not registering any shots on goal. They had to fight hard against a physical team and count their luck at both ends of the pitch, since most of the referees would have awarded the local team a penalty for a foul on Arambarri de Fernando in 0-0, and the decisive It came from a stranger and an unfortunate header from Getafe defender Etxeita to a tempting center from Suso. For Sevilla, it is a much-needed victory to keep pace with the top of the table at a time when they struggle for pace, while Getafe is one of the teams that has won the fewest points since football returned. the forced three-month hiatus, with only four wins in that time.
– Real society and Eibar He played a fantastically competitive derby in which two teenagers especially shined and took the headlines. Ander Barrenetxea, make a reverence. The 18-year-old winger’s fantastic shot was the crown jewel in a brilliant performance from him, creating danger every time he stepped on the ball. He could also have scored a second goal before the break, had it not been for a strong hand from Eibar goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović, who is also enjoying a fantastic season.
At the other end of the field, 19 years Bryan gil had one of his most mature performances in La Liga to date, after several weeks in which he has been influential. The winger on loan from Sevilla has been wreaking havoc when his teammates have been able to get the ball into him, and although the assistance will not be credited, it was his action that opened the txuri-urdin defense to equalize the ball. Punctuation. He and Barrenetxea are two of the most exciting young talents to emerge in Spain this year, entrusted with plenty of playing time and thanking their managers by handing out the merchandise.
– Valladolidthe summer transfer of 4 million euros, Shon weissman, is out of place with his first two goals for the club in his epic 3-2 win over Osasuna. The forward scored 37 goals in the Austrian league last season, and both opened and topped the scoring this weekend to push La Pucela out of the relegation zone.
What a blow from Ruibal! 😍
Betis matches again 🟢⚪ pic.twitter.com/msCh5Myg8G
– Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) December 13, 2020
Goal of the week: La Liga saw numerous brilliant goals this weekend that could easily have taken this accolade on any matchday. Aitor Ruibal’s graceful volley for Real Betis against Villarreal was a contender, while Ander Barrenetxea’s superb effort will likely make it onto some late-season rosters. But given the importance, the quality and the emotion it has, the wonderful triumph of Javi Ontiveros for Huesca over Alavés is this week’s objective.
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