Madrid (AFP)
Leader, but without captain: Real Madrid returned to first in Liga against rival FC Barcelona by winning 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Sunday at the end of the 30th day of the championship, but undoubtedly lost its captain Sergio Ramos, injured.
The Spanish international central defender and captain of the "White House" was the man who unblocked the situation for Real Sunday evening by transforming the penalty caused by Vinicius (50th), but then sounded the alert by asking for his replacement five minutes later, a quarter of an hour before Karim Benzema's second goal (70th), that of victory for Real before the reduction of the score of Mikel Merino (83rd).
Will Real Madrid be able to find Ramos (34, 170 caps with the Spanish team) before the end of the championship scheduled for July 19?
All Real fans are wondering. The captain, who celebrated his goal by scratching the long beard he let grow during confinement, left to settle in the stands five minutes later, his left knee covered by a pocket of ice after poor contact. with Swedish striker Alexander Isak.
- Benzema continues -
This evening, which was to be a great celebration for the resumption of first place in La Liga, lost in early March just before the arrival of the pandemic of new coronavirus, therefore took a bitter taste for Real, pending the medical diagnosis regarding Ramos' injury.
The Merengues, however, took good advantage of the misstep of Barça in Seville Friday evening (0-0), taking over the reins of La Liga nine games from the end of the championship.
"Given our last two games, I think it's going to be very difficult to win this Liga, I don't see where Real Madrid will lose points. This draw puts us in a position where winning the title will no longer depend on us" , had predicted the defender of Barça, Gérard Piqué, Friday on Movistar +, after the draw of the Catalans in Andalusia.
Karim Benzema, who has had beautiful goals since the resumption of the season, still allowed Real to glean three points with his 17th goal of the season in La Liga, following a disputed shoulder control (70th) , ten minutes before the reduction of the score of Mikel Merino (83rd).
The Basques, in the fight for a qualifying place for the Champions League and who played the most attractive game in the whole of the Liga before the pandemic, gave a lot of trouble to the great Real and Zinedine Zidane.
Teammates of Norwegian prodigy Martin Odegaard (23), ceded to the San Sebastian club by Real, have had more difficulties since the resumption of the season, but again proved on Sunday evening that they had their place among the best La Liga teams.
- James Rodriguez, the return -
Despite the injury to Ramos, the good news of the evening for the people of Madrid was the comeback of Colombian James Rodriguez on the pitch, a match after that of Marco Asensio, also injured for a long time.
Victim of a sprain of the inner ligament of the left knee in November, James (28, 7 games, 1 goal, 1 assist in this season in the Spanish league) had not played in La Liga for 8 months. His last match dates back to the 1-0 defeat in Mallorca on October 19, 2019.
He had played his last minutes in the merengue jersey against the same Real Sociedad, when the Madrid were eliminated by the Basques (4-3) in the quarterfinals of the competition on February 6. He had started the game but was replaced at the break.
Rather transparent on Sunday evening, James did not prevent his teammates from celebrating this conquest of first place, before the final sprint of Liga.
The Basques, on the other hand, are moving away from the qualifying places in the Champions League: they are now five points behind Atlético Madrid and Sevilla FC, the two teams ranked third and fourth behind the duo of giants Real and Barça.
© 2020 AFP