Outclassed against AC Milan in the Champions League (3-1) and swept against Barça in the league (4-0), each time at home, victory was imperative on Saturday for Real in its Santiago-Bernabeu lair in order to avoid a crisis before the international break.
The Navarre cluband his beautiful 5th place, theoretically represented a worthy opposition since he is the only one to have beaten Barça so far this season in La Liga. But he was no match, his Croatian striker Ante Budimir being particularly transparent.
Placed at the forefront, Kylian Mbappé seemed borrowed in the first period, before showing himself more dynamic: the Frenchman multiplied the hooks and often exchanged his position with Vinicius who initially occupied the left wing. In the first quarter of an hour, Real was mainly dangerous with a long shot from Rodrygo that was well cleared by Sergio Herrera.
The Brazilian striker, who was making his return after injuring his right biceps femoris against Dortmund on October 22, left the field in tears in the 20th minute, apparently suffering a relapse and replaced by Brahim Diaz.
His compatriot Eder Militao was evacuated on a stretcher after collapsing in the area in the 26th minute, visibly injured in the right knee.. In August 2023, Militao suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the first La Liga match of the season against Athletic Bilbao. This injury sidelined him for eight months.
Asencio Debuts
Militao was replaced by Raul Asencio (21), who made his first appearance in an official professional match. Right-back Lucas Vasquez was also injured but returned to the game with a strapping before being replaced at the break by Luka Modric.
Previously, Vinicius, well launched by Jude Bellingham, got rid of an outside dribble from Alejandro Catena and opened the scoring with a powerful kick (34th). Asencio stood out with a long, deep opening magnificently converted by Bellingham, who, with a controlled lob, doubled the lead (42nd).
Mbappé showed himself after ten minutes in the second half with a nice ride, irregularly stopped by Catena at the edge of the area. His free kick then ended up right in the wall, reminding if necessary that this is an exercise that has not been successful for him at all since the start of his career.
Launched by a precise clearance from Lunin following a corner, Vinicius went to play the opposing goalkeeper for his team’s third goal (61st). In the process, Mbappé sent him an offering but the Brazilian’s too-soft shot did not deceive Herrera.
The former Flamengo player finally scored his third personal goal, the eighth in La Liga this season, after a big error by the Osasuna defense, well exploited by Brahim Diaz (69th). The recent runner-up to the Spaniard Rodri for the Ballon d’Or then left to cheers, replaced by his compatriot Endrick.
In the standings, the team led by Carlo Ancelotti temporarily returns to six points behind the leaderFC Barcelona, which travels to Real Sociedad on Sunday evening.
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