Two hours after Madrid announced that this Sunday it was going to break its thunderous silence on the Negreira case -this newspaper published that it will appear as a private prosecution-, the first thing that was heard at the Bernabéu was “corruption in the federation”. But the chant did not come from the white mass that filled the Bernabéu during very familiar hours, but from the corner occupied by 300 Espanyol fans. The protest did not find much echo in the rest of the stadium either. At the moment, in the stands of the Castellana there has been no outcry, much less an uprising, due to the scandal.
3
Courtois, Eder Militao, Nacho, Camavinga, Dani Carvajal, Aurelien Tchouameni (Rüdiger, min. 74), Modric (Marco Asensio, min. 71), Kroos (Dani Ceballos, min. 74), Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior (Álvaro Rodríguez , min.89) and Rodrygo
1
Pacheco, Sergi Gómez (Melamed, min. 84), Óscar Gil (Ronael Pierre Gabriel, min. 68), Cabrera, César Montes, Braithwaite, José Gragera (Denis Suárez, min. 75), Vinicius, Rubén Sánchez, Joselu and Darder
goals 0-1 min. 7: Joselu. 1-1 min. 22: Vinicius Junior. 2-1 min. 39: Eder Militao. 3-1 min. 92: Marco Asensio.
Referee Jorge Figueroa Vazquez
yellow cards Cabrera (min. 18), Vinicius Junior (min. 31), Óscar Gil (min. 55), Dani Ceballos (min. 86) and Dani Carvajal (min. 87)
As the minutes went by, the chants were repeated, also in the Madrid animation stands -controlled by the club-, but the fuse continued without igniting excessively. In the first half, the amphitheater only lit up a little more when Vinicius received his eighth yellow card for a foul on Rubén Sánchez in midfield. The Brazilian fell to the ground and opened his arms like a crucified to the anger of the public. With that card, the winger added as many bookings as goals in the domestic tournament.
“He told me that he had taken it out due to persistent gripping,” said Carlo Ancelotti, who approached the referee at half-time. “As much as [amarillas] They have been for protests. Today I want to emphasize that his attitude seemed exemplary to me, he has not protested, he has not said anything, and he has played very well. He has to keep it up. It is clear that he has received too many cards for the kicks he receives, ”the Italian stressed.
The matter continues to perch like a cloud over Madrid’s head, even in the quietest days. This Saturday, in addition, the affected person, Vinicius, finally spoke after many weeks of silence. “With me, the referees don’t card the others, but as soon as I make the first foul, they take it from me. It is what it is, I have to try to improve, keep a calm head to play and help my friends. It cannot be that he is the one who receives the most fouls and has the most cards. The referees draw the card when the rival has made 15 fouls on me and it is the 89th minute. second goal in the League this 2023. His last six goals in the tournament have been at the Bernabéu. He does not get out from Cornellà, at the end of August.
With 2-1 in favor and with hardly any chants about the black spots of Spanish football, the stadium, hand in hand with the team, began to fall into drowsiness and Ancelotti, who achieved victory 100 in the League, began to dispense pieces to on Wednesday with the substitutions almost followed by Modric, Kroos and Tchouameni, by Asensio, Ceballos and Rüdiger (Camavinga moved to the midfielder) with 20 minutes to go.
The respectable only left the siesta to acclaim Nacho, who created Asensio’s third with a long-distance start before assisting the balearic player. The youth squad player, who has not yet communicated whether he wants to renew, received a standing ovation from a hitherto indifferent crowd. For him it was the biggest cry. “One day today, I am happy. I will not say anything else. As I said, my decision will not depend on the minutes that I play until the end, but if things go as they have up to now, I will not find this happiness anywhere, ”he assessed in the Movistar microphones.
Militão, as many goals as Rodrygo
The Bernabéu fell into a prolonged nod as soon as Militão grabbed a sensational assist from Tchouameni’s outside to make it 2-1. In a day of low consumption at the gates of Liverpool, Madrid only accelerated when it was seen from behind and until it turned on the brink of intermission. In a time of goalscoring difficulties in the League for white attackers, unlike the rest of the competitions, Militão has become one of the most damaging pieces.
The Brazilian, the most reliable mainstay in the center of the rearguard, already has four goals in the championship (all headers), as many as Rodrygo. “This data may be rare,” Ancelotti admitted. “Militão can be a great striker, but I don’t know if Rodrygo can be a great defender. The first has been very forceful up front and the second has scored little because he asked him for a lot of defensive work ”, the white coach tried to get out of trouble. The Brazilian, who this Saturday sent a foul to the crossbar, has not scored in the League since October 16.
Militão adds to his four goals in the championship another in the Champions League and in the Cup, which is a personal record (six), above the five he scored with Porto in 2018-19. He appeared in Madrid’s first photo of the afternoon, when the defense fell in a chain after an error by Camavinga -again a left-back despite the fact that there was no need because Rüdiger was a substitute- that opened the way to 0- 1 from Joselu, faster than Militão to strike down Courtois. Half an hour later, his goal fixed Madrid’s afternoon session.
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