A fallow night ended in a day of concern for Madrid for the health of one of its most precious pieces. A shot from Juan Iglesias to Eduardo Camavinga in the left foot in the final stretch ended with the Frenchman being substituted and with ice on his left knee when noticing “a strange turn” in that area, club sources pointed out. The initial exploration diagnosed a sprained knee and the MRI this Sunday reduced the injury to “very slight”, according to what they said from Valdbebebas. Barring unforeseen events, the white team will have the Frenchman this Wednesday for the second leg of the Champions League semifinals against City.
1
Courtois, Lucas Vázquez, Ferland Mendy (Kroos, min. 45), Eder Militao, Nacho, Dani Ceballos (Mariano, min. 61), Aurelien Tchouameni, Camavinga (Álvaro Odriozola, min. 84), Marco Asensio, Federico Valverde (Modric , min. 61) and Hazard (Vinicius Junior, min. 61)
0
David Soria, Juan Iglesias, Mitrovic, Omar Alderete, Gastón Álvarez (Jordan Amavi, min. 83), Aleñá (Jaime Seoane, min. 74), Maksimovic, Djene, Mata (Fabricio Angileri, min. 65), Mayoral (Ángel Algobia , min. 65) and Portu (Munir, min. 65)
goals 1-0 min. 69: Marco Asensio.
Referee Juan Martinez Munuera
Yellow cards Mata (min. 27), Camavinga (min. 41), Omar Alderete (min. 60), Juan Iglesias (min. 82) and Jaime Seoane (min. 92)
Less than an hour after the end of the game and in the midst of the general alarm, Ancelotti tried to downplay the mishap. “The important thing is the stability of the knee, and it has it. It bothers him a little on the inside, but it’s nothing. He will recover soon. Tomorrow [por el domingo] He will rest and on Monday he will train”, said the Italian, who had ordered the change of Odriozola for Asensio in the 84th minute, but the Frenchman’s inconvenience forced him to undo it to remove Camavinga from the field. At the conclusion, the Frenchman returned to the pitch to ask Iglesias for explanations for the action. Camavinga’s health introduced an element of concern four days before the Manchester appointment. Located as a left back, or in the midfielder, the former Rennes player has become a non-negotiable in the Italian coach’s plans.
Before this Saturday, for Wednesday the doubt in the defense was in the central pair, an issue that Ancelotti resolved by confirming the ownership of Antonio Rüdiger, who tied Haaland short last Tuesday at the Bernabéu. Whenever Militão and Alaba had been healthy, they had both been part of the game. Now, the confirmation of the German in the eleven opens the mystery about the role of the other two, if one of them falls or all have a place with the Austrian on the left-handed side. In any case, the choice of the German for the Etihad represents an important endorsement after a first campaign at the Bernabéu that, until the first leg, had left a certain taste of insufficiency compared to the version that had been seen of him with the shirt from Chelsea.
The Bernabéu passes Hazard
The evening at La Castellana had begun with the novelty of Eden Hazard, starting four months later. This season, he had started three times, and each worse. He made his debut in September against Mallorca (4-1), in place of the injured Benzema, and Madrid did not resolve until Ancelotti took over and put Rodrygo there. The Italian said that this did not change anything, but the reality is that he did not play in the championship again until April, when his team was already beating Valladolid 4-0. In the Champions League, Carletto was encouraged to start it in Warsaw against Shakhtar (1-1), but as soon as he found himself at a disadvantage he returned it to the bullpen. And against Cacereño (0-1) in the Cup he saw the opportunity to give him a reel, and he also replaced him even with a draw after another phantom performance.
No one was surprised that the fourth title left him in the same hole in which he was before the indifference of the staff, who already stopped making accounts with him. Silence when they announced it over the public address system, more silence during the hour that he remained on the pitch and slight beeps when the most expensive footballer in the history of Madrid (115 million) left. He is 32 years old, he has one contract term left and he has already warned that he is not among his intentions to move.
The first thing Madrid does is turn their heads to the left and send balls to that side, but this time Hazard was there. The astral difference between him and Vinicius was evident in two balls that reached the Belgian as soon as he started. In the first one, he couldn’t even start. And in the second, almost neither. The usual tornado of the left-handed band did not even reach a whirlpool. Half an hour later and in the midst of the general torpor, Ceballos sent him a good deep pass, but he again lacked power and resources to face and win the bottom line. If he went to the center to combine, where Asensio was, he did sense himself in the seven some glimmer of more comfort, though without effect.
Within an hour, Vinicius, Kroos and Modric got Madrid out of tedium, and arranged a transition victory with a goal from Asensio, which helped the Balearic Islands to match his best scoring mark (12) and continue scratching at a time when he aspires to renew in the best possible conditions.
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