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For most of the night, it seemed as if Real Madrid would avoid the fate predicted by their average defensive height of 176 centimeters and their inexperience. However, fate brought her down just as expected. From above. After 25 centers in the penalty area, after just over 93 minutes of play in which they dominated the game, both with the ball and with the pace and the moments in which they surrounded Oblak, Atlético deactivated the local joy in the last air throw. Memphis headed back from the front and Llorente, also with a header, stole their victory and the four-point lead they had built against Girona, the next visitors to the Bernabéu. What portended Brahim's consecrated night, leaving the stands standing after a goal and a string of wonderkids, ended in disappointment.
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Andriy Lunin, Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vázquez, Ferland Mendy, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham (Dani Ceballos, Min. 88), Camavinga, Kroos, Brahim Diaz (Joselu, Min. 70) and Rodrygo (Modric, Min. 76)
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Oblak, Mario Hermoso, Witsel, Savic, Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo Riquelme (Nahuel Molina, Min. 45), Koke (Correa, Min. 67), Saúl (Samuel Lino, Min. 60), De Paul (Pablo Barrios Rivas, Min . 61), Griezmann and Morata (Depay, min. 60)
Goals 1-0 min 19: Brahim Diaz. 1-1 min 93: Marcos Llorente.
referee José María Sánchez Martinez
Yellow cards Saúl (min. 37), Mario Hermoso (min. 38), Pablo Barrios Rivas (min. 84) and Depay (min. 95)
You can't always escape fate, even if Madrid has been avoiding its blows for months. Their accumulation of misfortunes shaped the course of the game, although not in the way one would expect. It was the familiar: Rüdiger's injury on Thursday at Getafe and Tchouameni's last-minute yellow card that left Ancelotti without the most obvious replacement for his second-to-last healthy center back. The German's clash with Greenwood led him to appoint Carvajal as Nacho's partner. And in this Madrid of Murphy, where almost everyone who would be important not to get hurt gets hurt, the unexpected also happened. Vinicius went to the locker room at the start of warm-ups and a period of uncertainty, orders and counter-orders began.
Joselu stayed warming up as the entire team was already preparing in the locker room, but the public address system announced Vini Jr. in the team. Minutes later, a last-minute change was announced over the loudspeaker: Joselu would start in place of the Brazilian, who, it was later revealed, had suffered a cervical injury. However, when the players came into action, it was not the striker who was there, but Brahim, Ancelotti's last-minute idea.
But this year's Madrid is a team where everything clicked shortly after the crucial engine broke, or what any observer would call essential. It almost happened again. After three gigantic derbies with 18 goals in which Atlético were always ahead, this time Real struck first. And the blow was struck by Brahim, who was there after a double carom as a result of another misfortune. The man from Malaga believed more than anyone in pulling off several rebounds in the penalty area and rewarded his team's dominance.
Until then, Madrid had dominated the game against Atlético with the brakes on. Simeone looked out from his balcony and urged his troops to stick together with their line of five defenders, not to give in to the temptation to fall back on the lure of the ball being moved by their rival and not to become unbalanced. They had little taste of the ball and it didn't last long. Madrid had camped very high up and stole quickly. Camavinga's effort was overwhelming. The middle of the field was his. There he stole, played with finesse and broke lines on the run. Everything happened through him and Kroos, and Bellingham, Rodrygo, Brahim and Valverde circulated around them.
The Uruguayan delivered another of his outstanding performances, an all-in-one footballer. In his defense of the commitment, Ancelotti used Valverde as a crutch. He started as a supplement, almost as a third central defender, between Carvajal and Lucas. He also watched Griezmann with almost a spot on the man. Until the Frenchman got tired of it and switched to the other band.
Simeone's reforms began there, which also replaced Riquelme, who was hardly known as a left winger. The Argentine switched to a four-man defense. Atlético was not fired up. He tried to take advantage of the invitation of the defenders' size with a barrage of crosses into the penalty area, which left Madrid in trouble and forced Lunin into a few shots and a good save to respond to a header from Witsel. These approaches made Real uncomfortable, but ultimately provided nothing to build on.
After an hour, Simeone maneuvered more forcefully: he introduced Memphis, Lino and Barrios and removed Morata, Riquelme and Saúl. This transformed Atlético, who looked more decisively into the Lunin area. He even scored. Overhead of course. Savic headed a corner, but Saúl's offside prevented the goal. The tie flew off. But Lunin, who may have finally overtaken Kepa, also left those who organize matches with a burst of inspiration: Griezmann made a backheel attack in the narrow penalty area and the goalkeeper parried the problem away.
Memphis' energy and Lino's depth complemented the Frenchman's creativity to hurt Madrid, but the step forward left Atletico and Madrid unprotected in the newly opened space. Valverde rode and rode, and as he approached the area he saw that there were four in white against two defenders. He left it to Rodrygo, but Oblak stood up.
Like Atlético, who stayed true to their beliefs. Madrid failed to level the game, caught in their own turmoil, and Simeone's men ultimately ruined their night by the expected flight route.
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