• Real Madrid. Courtois record and Valverde shine
  • Chronicle: A Madrid of fantasy beats Eibar

Two planes, two flights, one way and one back. One long (three hours and peak), dense and hazy with worry and another short (just 50 minutes) and cheerful, wanting to take the chest on Saturday night in the capital, on the eve of elections. The first took Real Madrid three weeks ago to Istanbul between turbulence, just after losing in Mallorca and with Zinedine Zidane under threat of eviction in case of a new defeat in the Champions League. The second brought the whites from Bilbao to Barajas, after overwhelming Eibar by signing the best performance in months, perhaps in the last year.

It would not be crazy to throw the tape back and compare the first part of Ipurúa - a delight of short play, combinations and constant rhythm - with that showy hit to Rome with Julen Lopetegui on the bench, September 2018, in what It was only a mirage that anticipated the emptiness of the former coach's short trip. He was fired weeks later.

"Very very very good," Zidane summed up last Saturday's opening, as happy as his players - and the club - for the team's leap forward. Of growth Courtois to take off Hazard, through the young blood of Valverde o: precisely around coach a conspiracy of spirits which is then linked to improving doubt on the lawn, individual and collective progress, line by line emerged Rodrygo The shadow of José Mourinho , as a possible substitute if things were not going well in Istanbul, put on guard a wardrobe as suspicious of Portuguese as grateful, for the most part, to the figure of Zidane. Almost everyone owes him a lot, among numerous titles (in the past) and trusts present.

The Frenchman, instead of betting on a profound revolution in the squad, asked to give one more chance to a group of champions where he still sensed winning appetite. The same but with tweaks; the same, but reactivated. The same and some new.

'MATCH BALL'

From the tension in those hours before the game with Galatasaray , with the players very upset by the doubts around their coach, a committed Madrid came out, able to save the Turkish match ball and from that moment start to improve in all aspects. There he failed many occasions, but his goalkeeper already took center stage (three stops in the first minutes), an unbeaten pillar since Mallorca marked him, on October 19. Today he already has 543 minutes without crouching towards his net, beating the best streak of Keylor Navas . The suspension of the classic eliminated an always dangerous test and gave Madrid days off before the releasing win against Leganés.

Then came the slowdown of Betis, a warning even of the punishments, until the scoring tap was fully opened in the last two games, Galatasaray and Eibar, 10 goals in favor and none against. Good game and intensity. Another air, nothing to do with the dark tone of Mallorca and many previous meetings. "We are being blunt in both areas," summarizes Dani Carvajal , also strong again in his lane.

«This is Zidane», they remember on the heights of the club to extol the coach's hand with his players, the management that was so praised in the previous stage. If the presence of Lucas Vázquez in the last eleven, instead of Rodrygo, squeaked on mobile phones on Saturday afternoon, when the eleven met, his good subsequent game proved right to Marseilles. Rest for the wonder child and mood kick for a substitute, the Galician, who already gave him enough in the past. He wants everyone to feel important, in the field and on the bench. Even from the injuries ZZ has managed to bear fruit. Of necessity, virtue. The disappearance of James Rodríguez and Bale, with a focus on the beginning of the course - despite touching the exit in summer - has created spaces for pieces that now seem fixed in the white scheme.

Club strategy

Few things like the club more than watching the emergence of boys like Valverde or Rodrygo. The two were defended this summer as important players so it was intuited that they could give. The Uruguayan imitates Zidane's story with Casemiro in the winter of 2016, when the Brazilian reinforced a trembling set. Now, with the strength of the Brazilian consolidated, the dynamism of a boy with long legs and inexhaustible lungs has joined. His goal on Saturday did cross many wasap messages among his discoverers at Real Madrid, reminding the incredulous that the midfielder in addition to gasoline has a very solvent foot. It is hard to imagine the spinal cord without the charrúa, which gives the feeling of having arrived to stay, even at the cost of a Golden Ball like Modric. This one, yes, reminded Eibar that he still has football to contribute. He highlighted his synergy with Hazard , fast and overflowing.

Another of the exciting flashes of this Madrid that begins to carbure way of dating of true substance, such as the visit of the PSG to the Bernabéu in 15 days. Neymar and Mbappé arrive hand in hand and wanting to show off, each with their own and remarkable motivations.

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  • Zinedine Zidane
  • Real Madrid
  • Eden Hazard
  • Neymar
  • Thibaut Courtois
  • Gareth Bale
  • Dani Carvajal
  • James Rodriguez
  • Jose Mourinho
  • Julen Lopetegui
  • Keylor Navas
  • Luka modric
  • sports
  • Champions League

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