A beast is on the loose: How can Madrid stop Lukaku without Sergio Ramos?

San Siro will be the ice cathedral where Real Madrid solve their future in the Champions League.

A victory clears the way to the round of 16 and a defeat reopens the cracks into the Europa League abyss.

There is no margin in the most fabulous and cruel of tournaments.

Nor for nostalgia.

Four and a half years after La Undécima,

team

appears in Milan loaded with casualties and bad feelings.

,

and

, three pieces on which everything is organized, have not even traveled.

and

, essential also for the structure, speed up its recovery periods.

The two know each other far from their best.

It does not matter.

Madrid must stop the most offensive Inter of the century, led by a beast named

.

The challenge is enormous for a team that has conceded 15 goals in eight games and that has seven defeats in the last eight days of the Champions League where it was deprived of its captain.

Since that funk afternoon against Juventus (1-3), back in April 2018, the only victory without Ramos was in Bruges.

The global balance, with eight goals in favor and 20 against, impresses even Zidane.

We're going to try to change that statistic.

We know that it is a final and that we are going to suffer, "said the French coach.

Nacho, very correct on Saturday at Villarreal, will join the cause again.

However, the big question still resonates haunting: How to stop Lukaku?

The Inter fans are going crazy with their great idol, the striker who last season brought them back to the times of, no less,

.

Since 1998, no

player has

scored 34 goals in his debut season.

During the current year, only

(38),

(33) and

(31) have scored more than Lukaku (29).

And the most extraordinary thing about the matter is that, despite appearances, we are not exactly talking about a predator in the area.

Not a simple force of nature.

"Conte is like a father"

The amazing thing about Lukaku, at 191 centimeters and 94 kilos in tow, is his ease in lowering the ball and delivering it delicately with one or two touches;

to take his marker to the center of the field, while

takes advantage of the empty space and exploits the two-by-two variants;

to help from the right sector, supporting the climbs of

;

to, in short, bring together in his vast body the virtues of a goal predator with those of a fine midfielder.

There is no magic formula to hold him down, but Madrid can try it in two ways.

The most logical would be to add a midfielder to the brand.

The other, more risky, would imply a resignation: let him maneuver at ease away from the area and thus better protect

.

In any case,

, Inter coach, knows himself superior.

«He was my captain and I have lived many things with him.

As a coach he does what he did as a player.

He was a born leader in the field and now I think so too, ”Zidane explained when they reminded him of their common years in Turin.

Conte's persuasive skills, his determination to change the schemes of this daring Inter from the grassroots, have also reached Lukaku.

«He is like a father to me.

Someone who understands me very well.

Six years ago I already wanted to sign, so playing with him is like fulfilling a dream, "admitted the Belgian during a recent interview with

.

Diet and language

As soon as he got off the plane from Manchester, Lukaku began to take on the demands.

At the time he was close to 105 kilos on the scale, so he had to follow the strict diet prescribed by Conte, which eliminated any trace of fried foods or

to focus on white meats and vegetables.

In just 12 days, he lost almost five kilos.

The adaptation was to be completed thanks to Lukaku's facility for languages.

Before signing with Inter, he began to study Italian, because he considered it essential for his game.

«It is important that my teammates know how and where I want the ball.

So I must know the exact words, "he explained.

In Antwerp, his hometown, he had learned French at home and Flemish at school.

Those were times of hardship for the son of an international for the Congo.

"My father never saved, so when he left football I decided immediately that I would dedicate myself completely to improving the situation of my family," he confessed.

At 16 he had already made his debut with Anderlecht.

In the Premier he played at West Brom and Everton before skating at Chelsea and United.

Today he is one of the most dominant forwards in the world.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Antonio Conte

• Real Madrid

• Zinedine Zidane

• Sergio Ramos

• Raphael varane

• Thibaut Courtois

• Casemiro

• Cristiano Ronaldo

• Fede Valverde

• Karim Benzema

• sports

• Champions League

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