This time, no “comeback”: Real Madrid, too feverish defensively, suffered their first defeat at home in the Champions League since April 2022 against AC Milan (3-1) at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday in the shock of European giants of the fourth day.
It was “the match after” for the King of Europe and his stars, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior. After the slap received in his legendary stadium against the great rival Barcelona (4-0), marked by the cruel lack of efficiency of the French striker, caught offside eight times. After, also, the controversial boycott of the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which escaped the Brazilian, despite being the favorite.
After, finally, a dark week, with the deadly floods in the Valencia region, which caused a wave of emotion – and anger – throughout Spain.
But the Merengues, who were counting on this prestigious poster between the two most successful clubs in the history of the Champions League (7 for Milan, 15 for Real) to revive themselves, instead confirmed all the doubts surrounding their level since the start of the season, far from their impressive treble (Liga, C1, Spanish Super Cup) last year completed with only 2 defeats in 54 matches.
Overwhelmed against the enterprising Milanese who knew how to take advantage of the (huge) spaces left between the lines, Carlo Ancelotti’s men already have three in barely sixteen contested matches. Enough to plunge the Madrid club into crisis.
Reijnders turns off the Bernabéu
After a moving minute of silence in tribute to the victims, with a flag of the Valencia community displayed throughout the presidential stand of the Bernabéu, and a message on the jerseys of the two teams “we are all Valencia”, Real really got into the game despite an agitated Kylian Mbappé, who immediately tried to combine with his attacking partner Vinicius.
The Milanese, who came to challenge the Madrid giant without complexes despite a mixed start to the season (7th in Serie A, and two defeats in C1), conversely took the reins of the meeting, led by a very good Tijjani Reijnders, untenable in midfield. On a corner perfectly taken by the American Christian Pulisic, the German central defender Malick Thiaw threw a first chill into the stadium (12th, 1-0), before the equalizer, on a generous penalty from Vinicius, who deceived the goalkeeper of the French team Mike Maignan with a panenka (23rd, 1-1).
This was the only time where the former Lille goalkeeper, imperial on several occasions (13th, 44th, 77th) to defeat Mbappé, his teammate in the Blues, was found wanting, despite a second Merengue goal being refused for offside (81st). The Italians, author of an almost perfect match, regained the advantage just before the break through the inevitable Alvaro Morata, who followed a pivotal strike from the Portuguese Rafael Leao to shower his training club and answer the whistles ( 39th, 2-1).
Leao, also ex-Lille, then showed his speed to drop Lucas Vazquez and serve behind Reijnders, serene to plunge the Bernabéu into a deep silence by adjusting Lunin from the left, and crowning a high-level performance (73rd, 3- 1). The Merengue supporters believed in a new “comeback”, like against Dortmund (5-2) on the previous day, but this time it did not take place.
“Mister” Carlo Ancelotti, who returned to the other club of his life on Tuesday, has serious problems to resolve, starting with an unrecognizable defense (nine goals conceded in his last three matches) and a glaring lack of balance since the retirement of German metronome Toni Kroos.
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