Sergio Ramos did two things as the Super Cup final ended, resolved by him from the penalty spot. First he left with great sportsmanship to comfort the rojiblancos players and then looked for Fede Valverde , hero of the final despite being expelled. His red left his team with ten at a decisive moment, in the absence of a few minutes for the extension to end, but the entry he made on Morata may have saved them from defeat. The young Uruguayan had to decide in a few tenths of a second, seeing that the athletic striker was throwing straight towards Courtois , hand in hand. What to do? Trust your goalkeeper, pray for the battering ram or stop as the opponent. He opted for the last option, the most violent. "It was ugly, it shouldn't be done, I apologized," the Montevideo boy confessed in a low voice after being congratulated by his teammates.
Pajarito did as his countryman Luis Suarez with Uruguay, in the 2010 World Cup , when he took with his hand on the line a ball that went inside in extra time against Ghana. Another red savior; on penalties, theirs won. Exactly like this Sunday Real Madrid to embrace the first title of the season. «It was something that should not be done, I have apologized to Morata. But it was the only thing he could do, ”insisted the young footballer, Zidane's big surprise in his second white project . On the way to the locker room, after worrying about the rival, sore on the floor, his entire bench came out to hug him, to cheer him up, to almost thank him because everyone knew that this action, that kick from behind, could be decisive. It was also clear to Simeone . Canchero as it is, would have reacted in the same way. It was the smartest. Even he approached Valverde to whisper something in his ear. The player did not want to reveal it, but the rojiblanco coach did a few minutes after the charrúa wore in the press room his trophy for the best player in the Supercup. «It was the key play. I told him: "Anyone would have done what you did" ... We will see how many days they fall for sanction, "the Argentine said, between the joke and the dart, always attentive to scratch the opponent.
“He has done very well, he had to do it. He has apologized to Álvaro, ”said his coach, who opted for him months ago. Madrid never loses with holder Valverde . Nor does Zidane know what it is to fall in a final, unbeaten since he sat on the white bench, first as an assistant to Carlo Ancelotti (two finals, two wins) and then alone: Three Champions, two European Supercup, two from Spain, two from Mundialito. From a very complicated situation has raised a group again competitive, capable of overcoming the turbulence of the summer - that ugly thrashed precisely against Atlético - and begin to grow little by little from the defensive rigor and the taste for the ball. He still needs a sharp edge (injured Bale, Benzema, Hazard and Asensio), but with Ramos, life in an always easier final. «We come to win the trophy. It has been a difficult, complicated week. We suffered in a great final against an opponent who played very well. It is another trophy for the club. I want to congratulate the entire squad, those who played and those who did not, ”the Frenchman reviewed before recalling the classic recipe of Real Madrid in these games without a net, that DNA stuck in the shield, especially when the steering wheel is carried by him . The only final that escaped the whites in recent times was with another pattern in the band (Julen Lopetegui, in the European Super Cup against Atletico). "As we always do, we believed until the end," he said very happily.
Like his captain, whose first words were also for the hero of the night. «Fede [Valverde] is going through a great moment, I'm glad for him, he's a great soccer player who knows where he is, with an immense personality. We would all have done the same in that entrance to Morata, sacrificing personal success for the good of the team, ”praised the Sevillian, with his ankle battered after a rather ugly twist. In the list of important faces in the triumph, in addition to Valverde and Ramos, Courtois, as discussed at the beginning of the course as powerful now, entered his last penalty.
He stopped during the game, in extra time and in Russian roulette. «I reviewed the penalties on the bench. Saul's was a bit surprised, but Thomas's was clear. It was a stop. He threw it hard. I am very happy, with good stops and again with the goal to zero, ”applauded the goalkeeper after his first title dressed in white.
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