Straight
Valverde on Real Madrid’s second goal. Manu Fernández (AP)
In the middle of the afternoon, the arteries of Rabat Municipality tried to absorb the impossible: an endless line of cars that reached the Moulay Abdellah Stadium by the straightest route. The back roads made everything more accessible and also a trip into deep Morocco, with chicken, egg and greengrocer stalls in an area of low houses that didn’t invite too much tourism. It was also difficult for Madrid to find their way to victory. Find them and then make them good. The Egyptian defense extended his hand, which opened wide on the verge of calm to the relief of Vinicius. Above all, it was the night of the white lemon balm. That of the Brazilian, who has been plagued by the pavement lately, and that of Valverde, who scored again with the meringues 13 games later. The opening of a victory with the last peak of the heel of Ceballos and the Pipiolo Arribas that had more action than expected. “With 2-0 we thought it was over, but it’s not football,” warned Carlo Ancelotti, who is bringing back Militão and Benzema this Thursday, who are arriving from Madrid and will be in training ahead of Saturday’s final against Al Hilal (20.00 – 20.00). ) will test. . Not for Courtois, who stays at home.
1
Mohamed El-Shenawy, Ali Maâloul, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Mohamed Hany, Mahmoud Metwaly, Amr Soleya, Aliou Dieng, Hussein El Shahat (Taher Mohamed, min. 74), Ahmed Abdelkader, Mohamed Magdy (Kahraba, min. 87) and Mohamed Sherif
4
Andriy Lunin, Nacho, Rüdiger, Camavinga, Alaba, Aurelien Tchouameni, Modric (Álvaro Odriozola, min. 94), Kroos (Dani Ceballos, min. 77), Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior (Sergio Arribas, min. 97) and Rodrygo ( Mariano, minute 95)
Goals 0-1 min 42: Vinicius Jr. 0-2 mins. 46: Federico Valverde. 1-2 mins. 64: Ali Maâloul. 1-3 mins. 92: Rodrigo. 1-4 mins 98: Sergio Arribas.
referee Andres Matonte
Yellow cards Aurelien Tchouameni (min. 84)
More information
Aside from the numerous theories and hot views about the Vinicius affair that have been swirling around in recent days, one cold fact made it clear that the Brazilian wasn’t pedaling as hard outdoors as he did at home. Until his journey to the other side of the strait in search of the mundialito, the winger had scored just five of his 13 goals at home this season: 38%. And more than half had already been achieved in the summer, in Vigo, Cornellà and against Celtic. Since then, Leipzig had hardly been able to score, in October and three weeks ago against Villarreal in the cup. A reality in full growth, unlike its last season, when all the literature ended up revolving around its unexpected explosion. So 14 of his 22 goals were scored abroad: 63%.
A devastating statistic that helps understand the plight of the youngster every time he has donned the Madrid shirt away from the Bernabéu in recent months. A traffic jam that has overflowed since his visit to Son Moix, as Ancelotti suspected with his outcry in the preview of the Club World Cup semi-finals, defending his boy and asking “Spanish football” to fix what he saw as another common problem your
In Rabat he was helped by the Egyptian defense who made a big error on the edge of the break that put Vini in front of El Shenawy who jabbed the ball with a light touch. She’d had it fifteen minutes earlier when Rodrygo had sent her a pass that – without an excessive angle – had sent her out. And in full trouble to end the win, Vini still scratched a penalty he needed from VAR – the referee informed the stands of his decision as precisely as possible in line with FIFA’s instructions for that tournament – which Modric later missed. Neither Asensio on Mallorca on Sunday nor the Croatian in Rabat hit the bull’s eye from 11 meters.
The whites suffered from throwing the goal. Everything had been completed in the second 58 of the restart with Valverde’s emboque. Rodrygo missed a one-on-one and the Uruguayan took advantage of the rebound. It wasn’t great, didn’t compare to the falling thunder from outside the area, but it did help her find solace. A goalscoring rocket through October, the Uruguayan’s last goal was on November 2 at home to Celtic. It was his eighth goal and given that the 10 Ancelotti had entrusted to him would probably not be enough, the Italian slipped to 15. But that’s when the midfielder stopped, with Madrid and also with his squad in Qatar.
However, in this period of decline, Carletto’s insistence on him has not waned despite his apparent breakdown. In a midfield that changed almost every three days, he only got free play against Cacereño and Valencia. Ceballos emerged from the darkness, Kroos and Modric came in and out, Camavinga made several position changes but he was always fixed. “Federico is coming back little by little,” said Carletto.
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