Spiderman, or a fairly apparent substitute, descended by a rope from Anoeta’s roof, and together with two henchmen kidnapped the ball with which they were going to play. One of those dozens that are now used in each party, -so he had not taken care-, and that are even placed in urns, on pedestals, as if they were museum pieces. They are even explained. The one for the current season, called Órbita, is inspired, according to its designers, by the hypnotic effect of a kaleidoscope. But then he is kicked.
2
Remiro, Zubeldia (Jon Pacheco, min. 64), Le Normand, Aihen Muñoz, Gorosabel (Elustondo, min. 62), Merino, Take Kubo (Barrenetxea, min. 73), Oyarzabal, David Silva (Illarramendi, min. 89) , Martín Zubimendi and Sörloth (Carlos Fernández, min. 73)
0
Courtois, Eder Militao, Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Rüdiger, Dani Ceballos, Aurelien Tchouameni, Kroos (Lucas Vázquez, min. 63), Mariano (Álvaro Rodríguez, min. 58), Rodrygo and Marco Asensio (Sergio Arribas, min. 82)
goals 1-0 min. 46: Take Kubo. 2-0 min. 85: Barrenetxea.
Referee Juan Luis Pulido Santana
Yellow cards Gorosabel (min. 22), Dani Carvajal (min. 52), Dani Ceballos (min. 79), Nacho (min. 87) and Rodrygo (min. 91)
Of course there are kicks and kicks, and those given by footballers like Kroos or Silva, one from Madrid, another from Real, are more caresses than anything else. You had to look at them to see what the game could give of itself, because both act as metronomes for their teams; They set the pace that suits them best. The one from Real Sociedad often found what his team needed, because Kubo, Sorloth and Oyarzabal followed suit. Silva became the best of the match. His continuity, with hardly any physical setbacks, has allowed him to grow during the season. In San Sebastián they expect him to continue for a few more years. “I’ll have to retire sometime,” he commented at the end, “but I’m enjoying myself and the team is doing well.” It does not have an expiration date yet.
Those from Madrid, under inclement pressure, had a harder time than those from San Sebastian. Without the possibility of relief that Vinicius provides and the clarity of ideas of Benzema, who provides solutions to complicated situations, they had to entrust themselves to the movements, ahead of their position, of an unusual forward line, with Rodrygo and Asensio in the bands and Mariano as center forward. It was a canonical solution that Ancelotti used, because beyond Rodrygo’s careers, almost always well covered, the other two players from the Madrid vanguard barely contributed.
Mariano did not take advantage of his opportunity. He barely received supply, he dedicated himself to always playing with his back to the goal and returning the ball to Kroos, who was looking for other destinations. From the usual work of a striker, little or nothing was seen. His qualities were overshadowed by Le Normand and Zubeldia, who gave him a bad night.
Later, with the score already against after Kubo’s goal, a wedge of the same wood, – “this time I will be in the news” -, Ancelotti decided that he had already seen what Mariano could contribute and decided that it was time for Álvaro Rodríguez, ten years younger, the enthusiasm of the youngsters, to be able to straighten what had been crooked for a long time, and that the Italian coach did not like at all: “We should have played more upright”, commented the coach. “Can be done. I don’t like that Courtois is the pivot of my team, but we are going to fix that in the next games”.
But Álvaro’s second yellow card for Carvajal crossed his path. With one less player on the pitch, the realistic pressure was even more intense. Madrid totally lost control, they began to play what Real wanted, and the Real Madrid forwards were there, but they didn’t count for the game. His presence became testimonial. “We lacked intensity,” acknowledged Nacho, the Madrid captain. “We made defensive mistakes, Real were pressing a lot, and with one less, it’s very difficult. We haven’t been up to it.”
Then, perhaps due to reserving troops for the Cup final, perhaps due to the simple desperation of betting everything on one number, Ancelotti gambled everything on Sergio Arribas’ 33, who had just scored a hat trick against Talavera. But La Real is not the team from the city of ceramics. For the flute to sound by chance, someone has to blow into the mouthpiece, and no one did. Shortly after, Barrenetxea scored, shooting Courtois for the short stick, and the Madridista frustration led to the four cards that their players saw. “It is true that the expulsion was decisive,” pointed out Nacho. “We were already losing and coming back in this field is very difficult.”
This despite the fact that, Ancelotti pointed out, “in the first half, the team competed well. In the second half it was complicated by the goal we gave away, and by the expulsion”, which according to the coach, Carvajal did not deserve. “It seemed to me that he had touched the ball.”
The Madrid coach is already pointing to the future. “Now some very important moments are coming up for us”, and he assures that “we want to win the Cup final and qualify for the Champions League”. Ancelotti promises: “We are going to compete”.
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