2023-09-21 00:42:13
After standing for more than 90 minutes without noticeable damage, the wall that Union Berlin built at the Santiago Bernabéu was pulverized by Jude Bellingham’s incomparable gift of opportunity. The English all-rounder, as against Getafe, smelled blood where almost everyone lacks a sense of smell and took advantage of a loose ball in the small area after a cannon shot by Valverde to defeat the modest German team, a rookie in the top continental competition but whose sacrifice and order were commendable.
Urs Fischer’s team short-handed a Real Madrid team that appeared blunt and unbalanced in a tedious first half. The whites showed enthusiasm and football back from the locker room and collected chances, especially through the boots of Rodrygo and the privileged head of Joselu. But Ronnow and the sticks conspired to deny them passage again and again.
The humble worker had the great boss of the Champions League trapped in the palm of his hand, who ran the risk of putting the first blot on his immaculate record at the dawn of the season. But at the last moment Bellingham appeared to give Real Madrid a hard-fought victory and demonstrate, once again, that the whites are also capable of winning with a pick and shovel. The ‘Hey Jude’ is destined to rival the Décima anthem when it comes to accompanying the Chamartín club’s transition in the competition that forms the backbone of its history. At the time.
Real Madrid
Kepa, Lucas Vázquez, Rüdiger, Nacho (Fran García, min. 73), Alaba, Tchouaméni (Valverde, min. 65), Modric (Brahim, min. 80), Camavinga (Kroos, min. 65), Bellingham, Rodrygo and Joselu.
1
–
0
Union Berlin
Ronnow, Doekhi, Bonucci (Jaeckl, min. 80), Diogo Leite, Juranovic, Tousart (Kemlein, min. 83), Král, Laïdouni (Aaronson, min. 65), Gosens, Becker (Fofana, min. 80) and Behrens (Volland, min. 65).
Gol:
1-0: min. 94, Bellingham.
Referee: Espen Eskas (Norway). He warned Tousart and Tchouaméni.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the first day of Group C, played at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The fight offered an enormous contrast between the most experienced team in the top continental competition and a newcomer to the tournament. Despite this, Urs Fischer’s squad came out showing their fangs. The first warning came from the Germans, aborted by their compatriot Rüdiger. Real Madrid responded by looking for Joselu’s pole. The first header came out easy for Silleda’s; the second, too cornered.
A tasteless Madrid
But the initial uproar turned out to be a mirage. Union Berlin, cautious, immediately lowered the block and wove a dense web that trapped an insipid Real Madrid. The whites lacked fluidity without Kroos’s wiper and the ability to widen the field, since neither Lucas Vázquez nor Alaba offer the depth and persistence of Carvajal and Fran García. The clash thus degenerated into a I want and I can’t for Ancelotti’s team. The statistics at half-time, with a single shot on goal by the fourteen-time European champion, exposed a flat and dazed team.
Ancelotti had a lot of work ahead of him. The Italian, however, renewed his commitment to the same block, trusting that he would be able to change gears. Rodrygo scored the sixth, falling more easily to the right wing. He first filtered a tense pass to the heart of the area that Bellingham missed by a nail and then struck alone, although he crashed into the wood in his shot with greater spark. Joselu, passing by Camavinga, also tested Ronnow, who went from calm to suffocation.
However, the Berlin wall barely had any cracks. Subjected to intense surveillance, Bellingham ruminated on his discontent at ‘checkpoint Charlie’ and only Rodrygo and Modric managed to show a certain dull face. The São Paulo player once again eluded his guards to put a poisoned cross to Joselu, who activated the stilts but smashed his header against the post.
Kroos prunes the forest
Ancelotti reconfigured the troops by calling up Valverde and Kroos, the needle and thread, in an attempt to better weave the game together. Modric tried his luck from afar, but Ronnow put in the mitt. Rodrygo was flustered after a great delivery from Lucas Vázquez who summoned him to the goalkeeper. Union Berlin resisted the siege, despite the fact that the entry of Marshal Kroos had changed the face of Real Madrid and the whites finally found land free of mines.
Ancelotti spent his last bullet enlisting Brahim, an agitator with fewer minutes than he deserves. He missed another chance against Joselu, as participatory as he was misguided, and Rodrygo lacked space and oxygen to complete another internship with more faith than success. But Bellingham has plenty of both, providential again in a team that clings to its punch to begin dreaming of the Fifteenth in these difficult times.
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