The day that Diego Pablo Simeone equaled Luis Aragonés as the Atlético coach with the most matches (612), a tame derby emerged until its final stretch. Their equalizer celebration, clenched fists waving in the air, was the culmination of those frenetic twenty minutes, sparked when Correa thrust his elbow into Rüdiger’s chest without the ball being in the middle. The referee Gil Manzano did not hesitate, red card. Until then, the game had been white glove. “It could be yellow, throw Correa out for that… There would be no players left on the field. Rüdiger is 1.96 and got up very quickly. We should all compete in the same way,” Simeone complained. The expulsion heated the atmosphere. Until then, the Madrid fans had entertained themselves by singing “Corruption in the Federation” every time they considered that the referee was wrong against her team. “Thebes go now” was also heard, alluding to the president of LaLiga.
“We were left with the feeling that we could win the match. There was little left, but Madrid, at the end of the games, is very dangerous. We recovered from Reinildo’s injury, whom we are going to lose for an important time. It’s a major injury, a shame. You have to be close to him. In five or six months he will return ”, lamented Simeone who confirmed that the Mozambican defender suffers a torn ligament in his right knee. “We also recovered from Correa’s expulsion, leaving forwards up front,” Simeone continued. The mattress technician did not stop mentioning the need for a better use of the VAR. “Once again we had to not have this type of play in our favor. The VAR allows you to see the play and determine if there was violence in the play. Finally, Simeone was reminded that in his visits to the Bernabéu he has three wins, four draws and four losses. “I love coming here to the derbies, I’ve been very lucky. Every time they sing to me Cholo, stay, Cholo, stay, it’s great,” the Argentine coach ironized.
In the midst of the resistance to endure the last twenty minutes in inferiority, Giménez’s head emerged to connect an imperial header. The Uruguayan central defender levitated on the run to direct his header at the base of Courtois’s post. He had entered through Reinildo. Displaced to the substitution by the good moment of Hermoso, the goal reconciled him with himself. Simeone’s reaction was contained. He looked at the light that he had in front of him to realize the time that remained. He did not trust. And he was not wrong. There were twelve more minutes left in the extension A world in the case of Madrid and the Bernabéu. In less than two minutes, Oblak made more saves than in the rest of the game. He couldn’t do anything on Álvaro Rodríguez’s header. Curiously, it was Giménez who missed the mark. “The truth is that we didn’t know who we had to score in the play for his goal,” explained the Uruguayan central defender, who had doubts about Correa’s sending off. “I think it should have been reviewed. They are playing with our bread,” said the Uruguayan. The club posted on its official account an image with a wound on Correa’s leg and with the following message: “This is the leg of our attacker. Nothing new at the Bernabéu”.
Simeone had a plan that his team could not execute throughout the first half because he lacked precision and inventiveness in the last meters. The intention forged in training this week was to attack Nacho’s flank because Vinicius marks the line for his defensive efforts just beyond the midfield line. However, the fear of the Brazilian extreme made the Argentine coach enter a carousel of drawing changes. The first time Vinicius danced to Nahuel Molina, Cholo called Griezmann to reorganize the team. Llorente stopped accompanying the Frenchman at the point of attack to reinforce the right wing. The new companion was Carrasco and Saúl was sent to the left lane. Nothing improved, he So at halftime he sat Barrios down and put Correa in with the intention of changing the game. And he did it because his expulsion agitated him and triggered the arbitration controversy.
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook and Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
