The cervical injury of Vinicius, a Real Madrid figure, in the warm-up did not frustrate Carletto’s planswho thought of Joselu, perhaps the natural replacement, not because of characteristics but because of his presence and scoring contribution, but at the last minute he opted for Brahim Díaz, key in the derby against Atlético Madrid for LaLiga. However, Colchonero had the last word, as a header, the umpteenth of the match in the rival area, by Marcos Llorente achieved an agonizing draw.
Brahim Díaz broke it against Atlético. EFE
The Malaga native of Moroccan origin, loose in the merengue offensive, was constantly associated with Rodrygo, Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham, leaving the Colchonero defense without references, which for much of the initial stage was limited to giving the initiative to a full power of losses, which he had defeated twice this season (the only two defeats for the White House in the entire course).
And to the 20 minutesin a somewhat dirty play for the detours and bad clearances, the former Manchester City and Milan He took the prepo ball and broke Jan Oblak’s resistance. A header to the middle by Rodrigo Riquelme gave him possession, while a rejection by Koke, after a touch on Saúl Ñíguez, gave him the opportunity to reach, get rid of a rival and score the 1-0.
¡LaLiga, a Star+!
Don’t miss the matches of one of the most attractive leagues on the Old Continent. Star+
Related
1 Related
The previous conquest of Brahim, league champion in England, Spain and Italy, had taken place precisely against Atleti, in Real’s other victory in the derby this season, on January 10 in the Super Cup.
Cholo Simeone’s team, with no answers in the game, was about to equalize quickly, but Andriy Lunin kept Axel Witsel’s header, while Stefan Savic’s header went just wide.
Nevertheless, air arrivals, based on Antoine Griezmann’s precise shipments, seemed to be the host’s Achilles heel, something that was confirmed at the beginning of the complement, when Savic tied the score. Only Savic’s advanced position, which hindered Lunin, saved Ancelotti’s team from having to go out and look for another goal.
For the vast lows, such as that of Antonio Rüdiger (also Militão, Alaba and Tchoauméni), Dani Carvajal accompanied Nacho at the back, a position in which he had never started, in 357 starts dressed in white. At 173 centimeters tall, the team suffered from constant shipments to the area throughout the match.
Then, the claims came from the White House, which requested alleged penalties without obtaining the approval of referee José María Sánchez Martínez.
Atleti hinted with a great shot from Griezmann, well contained by Lunin, one of the figures along with Toni Kroos and Brahim Díaz, but the latter had the best chance of the day, by leaving Mario Hemoso painted with a great pipe, hooking Witsel and finishing a little wide, earning a standing ovation from the entire Bernabéu when he was replaced.
The match dropped in intensity, but Cholo’s team did not give up trying to equalize, accumulating centers and putting people in the area, and In that way came the agonizing goal from Llorente, a merengue youth player, who took advantage of a header from the admitted Memphis Depay and scored the 1-1, leaving Lunin and Real without answers (93′). Since January 2003, no Colchonero player has tied a derby against Real in added time (Demetrio Albertini with a rebound off Iker Casillas).
Madrid could not take revenge on Atleti, which leads the head to head in the season (2-1-1), and LaLiga was left open, with Ancelotti’s team leading Girona by two points, his next rival and the great revelation of the championship (58 against 56). Below, Barcelona (50) and Atlético de Madrid (48), the only survivor in the Copa del Rey, where they will face Athletic Bilbao in the semifinals this week.
The match was broadcast by Star+.