Abraham P. Romero Madrid
Madrid
Updated Saturday, February 10, 2024-20:26
Direct This is how we live it
The
Santiago Bernabéu
hosted a vital duel for the League title between
Real Madrid
and a Catalan team. A classic. Except that the rival was not wearing Barça. If they had told
Ancelotti
in July that the championship was going to be played against
Girona
and with
Carvajal
and
Tchouaméni
as centre-backs, he would raise his eyebrow all the way to
Mars
. Given the surprise of the course, Ancelotti's Madrid punched the table of Spanish football and confirmed itself as the best team of the season. A 4-0 thanks to
Vinicius and Bellingham
that raises them five points above second place and puts the League on a silver platter.
The injuries to
Rüdiger and Nacho
conditioned the starting eleven and put fear in the stands, aware of the good year of the giant
Dovbyk
and the skilled
Savinho
. Lucas on the right and Carvajal next to Tchouaméni was
Carletto
's decision
, fulfilling his own rule: rather a footballer who is in elite rhythm and knows the mechanisms of the team than a youth player. He did well.
Madrid dominated Girona
both in defense and attack. He gave her the ball, but showed her that he was not going to allow her to circulate it easily. The whites exerted
their best pressure of the season
in the first half . Attempts and tightening the connection of Juanpe and Eric García with Aleix and Iván Martín, the visitors did not breathe with the ball, something vital in their game. They need pause and combinations, and Madrid offered them electricity and verticality. There he died.
Vinicius, unstoppable
Furthermore, Míchel's men found themselves with
the best version of Vinicius Júnior
, unstoppable, decisive and a goalscorer. In the 5th minute, the Brazilian invented a missile from the left corner of the large area that slipped through Gazzaniga's left net. A shot that is the result of the work and repetition that the Brazilian has done in training. A weapon for your game that did not exist before. We'll see if he has any more up his sleeve these years.
The goal established the Madrid plan, brave from the bench for Ancelotti's idea. Instead of waiting back, he pressed three quarters of Girona's field and created his best chances from there.
Bellingham, Pichichi
The match also went to Madrid because of their imposing physique.
Camavinga, Valverde, Bellingham and Vinicius
gave no respite or advantages to the Girona midfielders and again and again tilted the match towards Gazzaniga's goal. A start from
Camavinga
, another from Rodrygo, another from Vinicius... In the 36th minute, the former Flamengo player invented another goal. He drew a pass with the outside from the left side as if he were Croatian and found the unmarking of
Bellingham
, who avoided the goalkeeper and scored his 15th goal in the League, where he is Pichichi.
The break did not change the score of the game. Míchel tried to give even more control to his midfield by bringing in
Pablo Torre for Portu
, but Madrid's transitions sentenced his team. In the 54th minute, Vinicius sat down Yan Couto again with a croquette, he entered the area, shot at Gazzaniga and the goalkeeper's rebound pushed him into the
Bellingham
net , marking his 16th goal in the domestic tournament and the 20th among all competitions.
Girona, which has dominated almost all the teams in the League and was even able to score four goals against
Barcelona in Montjuic
, found no response against one of the best versions of Ancelotti's Madrid, which despite the joy of the victory did not ended his bad luck. After scoring his second goal of the afternoon, Bellingham retired with ankle problems after a clash with Juanpe and a tackle by Pablo Torre. The Italian coach did not hesitate and decided to sit the Brit down thinking about Tuesday's duel against
Leipzig
in Germany.
The match was a foregone conclusion and it only served for
Rodrygo
to find the goal again. He first tried it after a cross from Tchouaméni and a header that grazed the crossbar and then he found it with a personal play. In the 61st minute and after a robbery by Vinicius on Couto, Rodrygo accelerated due to the passivity of Eric García and Juanpe and connected a whip that Gazzaniga could not reach.
The forward, who had not scored since the final of the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona, celebrated it with rage, and Ancelotti enjoyed it, who once again gave him a chance ahead of
Brahim
.
Joselu
, in the 90th minute, missed the penalty that would have given Chamartín the hand.
Madrid is going to Leipzig to confirm its good level in the League in the Champions League, where it triumphed in this year's classic to move away from the fight for the title. A blow to the championship and reality for Girona.