The glory classic of the journeyman Lucas Vázquez | Soccer | Sports

April 21, 2024

The first team to reach 80 points will have the League closer, Carlo Ancelotti had warned more than a month ago. Madrid reached 81 this Sunday, extending the bite on Barcelona to 11 and the stadium celebrated as if they had just lifted the title. The Italian formed a circle with the coaching staff. If it wasn’t the alirón party, it was pretty similar. “It was an unforgettable week,” acknowledged the Italian coach, who admitted the obvious, that his team had taken “a very important step for the League,” but he did not want to respond to Xavi’s referee criticism.

Andriy Lunin, Camavinga (Fran Garcia, min. 71), Rüdiger, Lucas Vázquez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Modric, Jude Bellingham, Kroos (Brahim Diaz, min. 71), Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior (Joselu, min. 82) and Rodrygo (Eder Militao, min. 74)

Ter Stegen, Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Pau Cubarsí, Cancelo, Gündogan, A. Christensen (Fermín López, min. 45), Frenkie De Jong (Pedri, min. 51), Lewandowski (Ferrán Torres, min. 63), Lamine Yamal and Raphinha (João Félix, min. 63)

Goals 0-1 min. 5: A. Christensen. 1-1 min. 17: Vinicius Junior. 1-2 min. 69: Fermin Lopez. 2-2 min. 72: Lucas Vázquez. 3-2 min. 90: Jude Bellingham.

Referee César Soto Grado

Yellow cards Camavinga (min. 33), Koundé (min. 75), Modric (min. 82) and Pau Cubarsí (min. 90)

In a Madrid with an emotional and physical hangover after the exhausting time through the Etihad crusher, nothing was more restorative for many moments than the enthusiasm of Lucas Vázquez. The whites showed up in the classic to see them coming, giving off a feeling of dominance of the scene, despite the fact that they only controlled the scoreboard for the final three minutes. The Galician, on the other hand, did not stop biting from start to finish. He forced the penalty for a 1-1 tie after beating Cancelo and confronting Cubarsi, he tied the score at two with an edge-to-edge assist from Vinicius and, when the stands already considered the tie as good, another stretch of his own from the right and terminal pass to Bellingham, who had not scored in two and a half months.

“We have taken a very big step towards the title,” celebrated Lucas Vázquez. “We knew it was a final for the League. With five minutes left, we had a foul against us and we were all talking about going for the goal. That is what this club represents, we never give up,” concluded the winger converted into a full-back.

His appearance four days earlier in Manchester already had relief effects for a team whose shirt did not reach its neck. He came on at the end of the first half of extra time in place of a desperate Vini and the whites were able to stretch out, at least slightly, the quarter of an hour before the penalties. And when the shootout arrived, Davide Ancelotti’s role did not forget the youth player as one of the five throwers. He accepted the assignment without any hesitation. He played with the ball on the way to 11 meters, just like in the 2016 Champions League final shootout in Milan, and tipped Ederson over. In 10 days, in Munich, Carvajal’s yellow card suspension for the first leg of the European semi-finals against Bayern should give him a clue again.

Basic for Carletto whenever he wanted to give Carvajal a ration of oxygen, as in this classic, his case is one that the club will have to resolve because his contract expires on June 30. Asked in the mixed zone about the labor issue, the player threw the ball out. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, we’ll see. “Now we think about the semifinals and finishing off the League,” he responded.

“Right now, he has a very high level,” Ancelotti said. “He competes with Carvajal, who is one of the best full-backs in the world, and today he made the difference. I think Carvajal could play, but there are players who are very good now. One is Lucas and another is Modric, who is feeling very well physically. “They help us a lot, especially after immense wear and tear like Wednesday,” added the coach.

His was one of the changes that Carletto made in a defense under the effects of the Champions League. On the left, Camavinga had a much worse time in the duel with Lamine Yamal. Since October, he had not started there, but Mendy’s overload returned him to that side. And with a very unfriendly client. The young Barça player subjected the Frenchman to a great stress test as soon as Barcelona managed to get the ball to that wing. His difficulties were evident. After half an hour, he was already carrying a card. Until in the 70th minute, he was relieved by Fran García. Suffering on the left, Madrid decided on Lucas Vázquez’s right.