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Atlético have not lost 26 matches in a row in La Liga. The last time without glasses from the “mattress” field came out on February 1, 2020 – right after the match with “Real”. However, no one at Atlético’s location recalled that failure. And neutral observers / experts pointed out that Diego Simeone’s team has a good chance of continuing its triumphant march. And this means – and finally establishing yourself in the role of the main contender for the championship.
But Zidane did not lose his assets. The coach and his team were ruthlessly criticized after the defeats to Alavés and Shakhtar, which apparently did nothing more than reinforce the “cream”. This happens with the “Real”: the ability to mobilize forces in critical situations more than once saved the reputation of “creamy”. And now, he saved the reputation and prospects of the tournament.
“Real” pragmatically in the last lap beat “Sevilla” (1: 0), then from a position of strength and without the slightest problem dominated “Borussia” M (2: 0) and now the victory over ” Athletic”. Also confident, also balanced, without conceded goals and with two scored. Atlético have conceded as many in ninety minutes in Alfredo Di Stefano as they have conceded in the previous ten in La Liga.
In the first half, after a corner from Toni Kroos, Carlos Casemiro scored with a header. After the break, Carvajal achieved success with an unexpected distant hit: the ball hit the post, flew towards the back of the Cloud and, from it, into the goal net. The “Real” could have scored even more: in the first minutes of the match, the Cloud with super forces reflected Casemiro’s blow to the post. Mendy beat well, Ramos tried to seize the chance of a free kick, while Modric and Kroos fired from within the penalty area radius in their corporate style.
Atlético had almost nothing. In the first half, that is correct. Zero shots not only on the lens, but also in the direction of the frame. They didn’t beat me at all. Something like an attack only happened after a transmission from deep in the direction of Suárez. Louis was ahead of Courtois.
After the break, the guests didn’t seem so desperate. After a failure in the defense of “Real”, Tom Lemar’s corner was miraculously missed. Later, Suarez also hit, but it gave Koke more flavor. However, this was not the level of opposition at which points can be counted on. And even Saul’s timing didn’t change the picture: Courtois’s save kept the arrangement.
Atlético failed this match and deservedly received a pat on the head. Now the ambitions for the championship will fall below the clouds. And Zidane, in the third consecutive game, walks with trump cards: to motivate his charges, to achieve results under pressure and critical conditions, nobody else knows how.
Madrid. Stadium “Alfredo Di Stefano”
“Real” – “Athletic” 2: 0
Goals: Carlos Casemiro 15, Jan Oblak 63 (author)
“Real”: Thibaut Courtois, Daniel Carvajal (Marco Asensio 79), Sergio Ramos, Rafael Varane, Tony Kroos (Federico Valverde 88), Karim Benzema, Carlos Casemiro, Lucas Vázquez, Luca Modric, Ferlan Mendy, Vinicius Junior (79)
Athletic: Jan Oblak, Marcos Llorente, João Felix (Saul Niguez 60), Luis Suarez (Geoffrey Kondogbia 73), Stefan Savic, Héctor Herrera (Renan Lodi 46), Augusto Felipe (Tom Lemar 46), Coque, Yannick Ferreira Carresco (46), Mario Hermoso, Kieran Trippier
Warnings: Carlos Casimiro 36 – Toma Lemar 46, Angel Correa 50, Stefan Savic 61
