The game had suffered a regrettable eve, as we all know. Drums of war, inopportune interviews in supposedly serious media, the focus on Vinicius, all of this surrounded by social networks dominated by the thuggery of numerous mattress ultras, willing to muddy with racist threats a Madrid derby that, in its time, was limited to a rivalry between neighbors and family, but almost always focused on sporting reasons.
The eve of war that, at least in the first half, gave way to absolute respect, we would even say a certain fear between both opponents. It seemed like the joke between the dentist and his patient, the latter grabbing the dentist by his parts and saying “we’re not going to hurt ourselves, are we?”
However, control of the ball at all times corresponded to the meringues, who had 3 good chances, all through shots from mid-range, 2 of them from Valverde and another from Jude Bellingham after a beautiful combination between Vinicius, Rodrygo and the Englishman. . On the part of the locals, Araña Álvarez barely bothered Courtois in an attack on the left. A lot of caution on both sides and Busquets Ferrer whistled for half-time without any extra minutes.
Atleti came out with much greater aggression and forced a couple of corners and several arrivals into the area, but in no case with danger. Madrid fell back, but there were no chances until Modric served, after a corner, to Rodrygo, who launched a missile that licked the crossbar. Slightly unsuccessful dominance of the colchoneros while the Madrid defenders blocked the attempted shots of Griezmann, Álvarez and De Paul again and again. Because there weren’t any, there were almost no fouls, and the referee had barely given Modric a card for stepping on his foot.
In a tackle by Vinicius, the Rio native took a valuable foul and a yellow card to the central defender Lenormand. Modric took the free kick, Vinicius masterfully dribbled past De Paul and connected with a cross that fell into the domain of Militao, who shot Oblak among a cloud of local players, brushing the ball against Marcos Llorente who deflected just enough to confuse the Slovenian goalkeeper. .
It was 0-1 for the team “that doesn’t play anything”, but that until then had not conceded a single clear chance to Atlético de Madrid. Logically, the goal hurt Simeone’s team and even more so to the savages in the back full of Frente Atlético supporters, who threw several objects at Courtois, including some lighters. Among the radicals, several undesirables wearing masks could be seen on television images, meaning that the disastrous messages on social networks had penetrated several brainless people.
Incredibly, and something is changing, the brave referee Busquets decided to temporarily suspend the match in the 66th minute, just two minutes after Eder Militao’s great goal. The suspension lasted almost 20 minutes, until the restart of the match was announced over the public address system, with the players already cold due to the timely interruption.
After the restart, a brilliant shot by Vinicius that Oblak deflected into a corner stood out. In the following minutes, Gallagher and the Spider saw each other cards before being replaced by Simeone. Atleti were going to play the last minutes without hardly any strikers, although paradoxically their best shot was made by winger Lino, who forced Thibaut Courtois to make the save of each day.
Madrid did not know how to play the last minutes, as it incomprehensibly retreated into defense, replacing Modric and the most dangerous, Vinicius, which led to Correa tying 1-1 due to an indecision on the part of the defense, with Mendy breaking the offside of the Argentine. The lineman had disallowed the goal due to offside, but the VAR smiled at the hooded men.
An ugly match with few chances, in which Madrid dominated against an Atleti without firepower, and where the whites finally gave away two points that allowed them to get closer to within one point of the leader Barcelona.
Llorente was sent off with a minute left after a wild tackle, after suffering a nervous breakdown unbecoming of a professional. The ugly match ended with an involuntary blow from Tchouaméni to Lenormand, who ended up concussed.
Lost opportunity to hit the table and to move the colchoneros away to five points, and also to punish a violent fan who ended up fulfilling the worst omens that were predestined in a derby that is becoming increasingly lazier and more disgraceful to live, both before and during the match.
Madrid suffered from a lack of ambition, and furthermore the interruption did not help them at all. It is not the first time that Madrid, when dedicated to defending such a meager result, does not know how to do it. It would have been better to go clearly for 0-2.
The best – it is even embarrassing to say it – was the brave decision of a referee, Busquets Ferrer, who seems not yet contaminated by negreirism and the CTA, and who gave a serious warning to the violent people who roam freely in the district. of San Blas-Canillejas.
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