Straight
Madrid won in Bilbao, who doesn’t want that? Two goals in the first half, either in Athletic’s silly minutes or those in which the Madrid side gained some momentum, which it is not known which could be more important, were enough to seal the league without mistakes for Ancelotti’s men start, which they took advantage of and skipped the game without giving the opponent any options.
0
Unai Simón, Lekue (Imanol Garcia, min. 71), Daniel Vivian, Aitor Paredes, De Marcos, Muniain (Guruzeta, min. 45), Nico Williams, Ruiz de Galarreta, Unai Gómez, Vesga (Ander Herrera, min. 64) and williams
2
Andriy Lunin, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao (Rüdiger, min 50), Fran Garcia, Alaba, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Camavinga (Kroos, min 70), Vinicius Junior (Modric, min 79) and Rodrygo (Joselu, min. 79)
Goals 0-1 min 27: Rodrigo. 0-2 min 36: Jude Bellingham.
referee Jesus Gil Manzano
Yellow cards Muniain (min. 4), Daniel Vivian (min. 67), Alaba (min. 75) and Williams (min. 87)
That of San Mamés was an ideal evening to watch and play football. In Bilbao, the heat wave is not the rule, but the exception, and at Real there was also the Sirimiri, which further moderated the temperatures. There were no excuses for drinking breaks or a bad game, but in the end it was official practice for Madrid, another day at the office; one of many games that Ancelotti’s men play as an inventory. A few minutes of intensity, not too many while the team is filming, two or three sparks of quality and something else with 37 games left. Those who wanted to assess Lunin’s chances of preventing the arrival of another goalkeeper were left unanswered. Comparing the midfield with yesterday’s without Modric and Kroos in the starting XI was also a futile exercise. There was no likely reason for analysis as Athletic only responded when everything was against them and moreover the responses were not very convincing. Vinicius didn’t even have to appear to solve problems in attack. Once it was shown, it was no longer necessary. When Ancelotti decided to rest him midway through the second half, his substitution went unnoticed.
It took half an hour for San to startle Mamés, who until then had been busy continuing the usual whistles at Vini, without going from there to the other gang through which Carvajal, a new black animal, or in this case ran knows the Bilbao fans. At that moment, Unai Simón’s blood ran cold as he faced Rodrygo, who fired at will to put Madrid ahead with Lekue in what were disastrous minutes for the Athletic winger and Valverde’s side in general. Unai took out two balls but didn’t make it on the third. Again, Lekue turned against himself while Bellingham waited intently to finish the ball in the middle of the corner when it arrived and score the second.
From the initial shock, no one lived in peace in San Mamés. No one from the house of course, as outsiders were starting to feel that despite what the stands had held up until then, something footballers are used to, a little head and some control would be enough to keep it scratching Athletic Poor ideas, failing in defense and with the lights out in attack. It was only a start by rookie Unai Gómez that brought a spark to his team that was not matched by football’s muses.
At the break, Valverde tried to rebuild Athletic with a treble substitution, openly pointing at Muniain and Nico Williams, who were ineffective in designing and attacking the rojiblanco. Sancet, Berenguer and Guruzeta left hoping to create a rift in Madrid’s defence, which showed no sign of decomposition. Lunin intervened more with hanging balls, the stands were cheered on with one of those house brand demolitions that are almost mandatory in San Mamés.
The only setback for Real was Militao’s injury, when trying to press Sancet he slipped and sprained his knee. He didn’t look well and the cathedral felt it, which erupted in applause. In his place was Rudiger, and then Ancelotti ordered the ranks to be pulled back, ordered back and continued the counterattack, though not in too much of a hurry to surprise Athletic in defence. Kroos came out first and Modric later to clean up the mess and the white team let the minutes tick by without much ado. While Athletic lost momentum.
For years, San Mamés suffered from the nightmare of Benzema and sometimes Courtois, but without either of them on the pitch, they once again faced the harsh reality of facing a side that can destroy anyone in a few details, and worse: them leave it as calm as if, instead of harming the rival, he did not break a plate. The game was over before the break. Madrid won with hardly a surprise.
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