And Athletic in lion mode he has appointment today in San Mamés with a Madrid in rehabilitation to whom his results in the League and the fainting of Barça, cushioned yesterday, are bringing him out of the post-classic depression (follow the game live on AS.com). The progressive recovery of troops has also helped. The main footballer, Vinicius, is still out, twelve goals and eight assists, but Tchouameni is back, the only pure pivot of the squad. His last image was not exactly comforting. The fans whistled at him after a mistake against Milan in the Champions League that cost Madrid the second goal. He did not return after the break and later it was learned that He suffered a sprained ankle. Since then he has missed four games. In the three League games, Madrid added nine points, scored nine goals and conceded none. In the Champions League, he lost in Liverpool.
So far this course, Tchouameni has not scored or assisted and he is not the best recovery player on the team. In the League he is surpassed by Rüdiger and Valverde. In the Champions League, up to ten players, including Modric, Bellingham, Vinicius and Arda Güler, present better data than him. Ancelotti has used him twice as a center back in two home games (Espanyol and Villarreal), with white triumphs, but with the level that Raúl has shown Asencio Everything indicates that the youth player will continue as Rüdiger’s partner.
The great unknown in Madrid is the drawing. Modric’s entry is considered safe, substitute against Getafe, and Valverde and Bellingham are untouchable. If there is a fourth midfielder, Ceballos and Tchouameni will compete for the place and Brahim or Rodrygo will end up on the bench. IF the trident is maintained, Sevillian and French will be left out unless Ancelotti returns Valverde to the side to stop Nico Williams, which would open space for one of the two.
Indigestion with the big ones
The match is a new test for Mbappéwhose level of play against Getafe was close to remarkable, but in marksmanship he does not reach the pass mark. He only scores on one in every five shots, although he is the player who tries the most in the League. He is also the leader in offsides (21), which speaks to a clear lack of synchronization with the team’s passers. And he has left doubts, like the rest, in the big games: Clásico, Milan, Liverpool…
On the other side, the Athletic It is an oak. They have been undefeated in nine games and have four wins and a draw in the last five games. In the League, only the teams that play in the Champions League have been able to beat him, Barcelona, Atlético and Girona, all by the minimum, and now Madrid awaits in that privileged area, as fourth in the table. In Europe he has done even better: four victories and a draw in Rome that keep him co-leader of the classification of 36 tied with Lazio and Eintracht. The momentum of the first Cup in forty years has been extraordinarily long.
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The Williams are undoubtedly the ones who wave the red and white flag, but Valverde has assembled a long, choral team, starting with the goal. Unai Simón, Euro Cup champion, played last week against Elfsborg his first game in four months. In his absence Julen Aguirrezabala has offered a great performance. He is in the top 10 for clean sheets in the five major leagues and in 16 games he has only conceded ten goals. Despite Simón’s recovery, Valverde kept him as a starter in Vallecas. Everything indicates that today he will repeat the decision. In any case, Athletic is the second team in the League that concedes the fewest goals.
That defensive firmness, with the Spanish internationals Vivian and Paredes, and a good distribution of efforts keep the team at the top of the table without excessive dependence on any player. In fact, up to twelve have scored this season, with Ohian Sancet leading the way. Valverde reserved him in Vallecas, but pulled him when the game went uphill and signed the reassembled with a doublet. He has already scored seven goals in the League with only 16 shots.
The sprinters
Athletic will present Madrid with a dizzying match. Its possession is discreet (48%), but the Williams are, with Mbappé and Vinicius, the fastest players in the championship. Both register top speeds of over 35 kilometers per hour. And Nico also adds his dribbling skills. Only Vinicius and Lamine surpass him, and by a narrow margin.
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Luis TejidoEFE
Side B is your good fold. It is expected that against Madrid Valverde will use his typical midfield, with Prados and Ruiz de Galarreta as a double pivot, and line up Guruzeta ahead of Sancet. The commitment to the aerial game is also firm, from which he has already scored five goals. Only Villarreal, with six headed goals, surpasses him. However, to that winning car He is having a hard time getting on with Álvaro Djaló, the big signing of the summer, for whom Athletic paid Sporting de Braga 15 million. He has only started six times and has not really gelled either as a wide player or as a striker.
Madrid considers San Mamés a vertical wall to climb, but the results of recent years do not reflect this. Nine years have passed since the last time Athletic beat them there in the League. Curiously, Valverde and Ancelotti were on the benches, who left and have returned. A goal from Aduriz decided that day. Another from Álex Berenguer in 2022 sent Madrid into the quarterfinals of the Cupbut the whites have won their last five visits to La Catedral, with eight goals for and one against. Now the distance seems shorter.
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Mikel Jauregizar
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Mikel Jauregizar
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