The game was already slipping down the drain with hardly anything to remember. A victory for Madrid against a dull rival, achieved with two shots from outsidethe first with a lucky touch in Baena. Another day at the office, this time without the spicy dessert of Endrick’s final agitation. Suddenly, Carvajal attempts a clearance on the wing, Yeremy Pino steps forward, moving the ball away from the foot that was looking for it, and the leverage that propelled him finds a void. Carvajal’s knee suffers and the old ‘condottiero’ remains on the ground overwhelmed, crying. The Bernabéu falls silent and we all wait for news.
Bad ending to a game from which more was expected. Ancelotti, who is still searching, put Tchouameni as center back and created a Modric-Valverde-Camavinga-Bellingham half with an attack of two: Mbappé-Vinicius. It half worked. Villarreal, for its part, left the mark of a great team, but without the desire for risk. He waited well and came out with academic correctness and very good footing, but always in the plan of swimming and putting away his clothes. He was afraid of being exposed to a counterattack (it only happened once and Conde ultimately stole the goal from Mbappé) and it showed. He left the impression that he has the game for more.
The Madrid thing wasn’t a big deal either. It is true that releasing Tchouameni’s midfielder gave him wings, Camavinga gained more rhythm, but the team did not do enough to subdue Villarreal and torment Conde. Valverde scored in a blackboard corner with a shot that brushed against Baena, and, already in the second half, when Mbappé had just left, Vinicius unleashed a cannon shot from outside the area into the corner that improved his catalog of skills. The public cheered him, demanding the Ballon d’Or for him. Another day was the best, while Mbappé continues to look for the best way to be useful.
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