If this was a Real Madrid that went out, it did so with a flash of soul, a final glow of pride and dedication, a push until the last moment like those of happy moments. But it’s all blurred at the Bernabéu, which let out some whistles when the defeat against Guardiola’s City was consummated after an exhausting performance that for several stretches had once again excited the stands. The last minutes were a nervous mix of chants and whistles: the confusion in which the team has been floating these weeks. Real were not inferior, they did not give in, they did not get carried away, they had chances, but they lacked a point of success. Or the devastating Mbappé, affected on the bench.
1
Thibaut Courtois, Raúl Asencio (Endrick, min. 78), Federico Valverde, Álvaro races, alvaro races, Aurelien Tchouaméni, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Danish, Daní Ceballos (Brahim Diaz, min. 66).
2
Giant’s Donna Drum, Matheus Nunes, Rúben Dias, Nico O’Reilly, Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Nico González, Phil Foden (Tijjani Reijers, min. 69), Jérémy Doku (Savinho, 70) y Erling Haaland (Omar Marmouth, min. 69)
Goals
1-0 min. 27: Rodrygo. 1-1 min. 34: Nico O’Reilly. 1-2 min. 42: Erling Braut Haaland
Referee Clement Turpin
yellow cards
Foden (min. 10), Rüdiger (min. 42), Nico O’Reilly (min. 75), Guardiola (min. 81), Rodrygo (min. 86), Álvaro Carreras (min. 87), Bernardo Silva (min. 89)
And so it all: or it could be the beginning of a Madrid that was different since the floodgates opened and came out fired by a conviction that had evaporated. As soon as they started, they detected Gvardiol disconnected in the middle, starting to get into trouble, and Vinicius and Gonzalo went after him. The counter did not prosper, but Bellingham appeared to put pressure, again assisted by Gonzalo, who stole and gave it to Vinicius. He was knocked down and the referee gave a penalty, although he later delayed the foul outside the area. It was a stormy start, with a blocked free kick from Valverde, a corner headed by Tchouameni near the post and a counterattack that ended with Vinicius subtly lifting a ball over Donnarumma that went wide. It was also a kind of resurrection of , a footballer lost for months who suddenly appeared everywhere. It started from the right, but appeared as a connector for everything. Revived. Hooked on the tension network that had increased the speed of Real’s ball. And always forward. Like on the counterattack that ended with Vinicius’ shot. Or in which the 11 was reunited with the goal.
Madrid pressed up close together in the first rush and, if they did not recover, they discreetly backed off. Also very close together. From there it started with space ahead. Carreras recovered, found Gonzalo in the center, who extended for Bellingham. He looked to his right and Rodrygo was running there, who stepped into the area and beat Donnarumma with a low right cross. Rodrygo, like Madrid, was also another. The one he had scored for the last time in March. Eight months of drought, 32 games, more than any forward in the club’s history.
City, under the tension of Xabi’s team’s wild mode, was slow to get into gear. Nico González, Bernardo Silva and Foden played in the middle, but without reaching Haaland’s advanced position. Neither there nor on the wings, where Valverde and Carreras kept Doku and Cherki tied up. They didn’t advance much, but they were placating Madrid. Although that wait also gave them the space to run. There enjoy as in happy times.
And there, when he was suffering little and the course of the errant Rodrygo had been straightened, one of the most reliable nuts was loosened. Courtois was attacked by Gvardiol’s header from a corner and left the ball dead in front of him, ready for O’Reilly to push it. The usual thing worked and the usual thing broke down. Rüdiger ran over Haaland after a cross and the VAR caught him. The Norwegian tricked Courtois with the penalty and Madrid went to the locker room losing after one of their strongest stretches of the season. A little discouraging.
The party’s seams opened. In the lack of control, City hit with Doku looser, more cheerful and Courtois back to his miraculous version. Madrid once again relied on one of its certainties, but increasingly missed another, the forceful precision of Mbappé, a spectator of how Bellingham’s Vaseline escaped high after a wonderful counterattack; also about how Rodrygo needed half a stride to reach a pass from Vinicius in another. The Bernabéu became impatient and Xabi brought out Güler, Brahim and even Endrick, received with joy. That was close to being total when he headed the crossbar, or when Vinicius did it wide, or when Vinicius also sent a half overhead kick high. The team lit up the Bernabéu again as before, but the Bernabéu, after believing again, returned to discouragement with the final defeat, which may not have been entirely.
