The leadership of the League that traveled through Catalonia, from Barcelona to Girona and vice versa, flew to Madrid. The victory of Carlo Ancelotti’s team in Montilivi led to their replacement at the top of the table. Girona set the game and Madrid contributed the goals.
The match was clearly measured in terms of effectiveness: Girona missed the first two scoring chances and Madrid was successful in the first two that followed. From the hypothetical 2-0 to the real 0-2 in the 20 minutes of the start, the sentence was anticipated. The will of the locals remained high, as well as their persistence, their faith in avoiding the fate that was so soon drawn for them. But he continued to miss shots (from Yangel and David López, no sign of Dovbyk) when he tried to pick up the thread after the break.
There will be no accusatory video against the referee, who had to be called to expel Nacho after chasing Portu.
Nacho’s criminal entry
Girona suffered its first defeat on matchday eight against a rival that did not attend any party in an exhilarated and happy Montilivi for the excellent, historic performance of the team. Madrid was no joke, relegated to third place, and will continue not to be, because it did not convince despite the win. The marker invites us to deny the debate. Perhaps he postpones it in the Madrid forums, which never discuss levels of play, but rather the color of the results. The green of the victory justifies everything and turns off the focus on the referees, very satisfactory for Madrid’s interests.
Nacho’s criminal tackle on Portu in added time was indisputable; it had to be the VAR who warned the very relaxed Pulido Santana, who only showed him the yellow in such a treacherous tackle with the studs on the far leg that he seemed to be chasing a pending score. They will not make any accusatory videos.
Of the eleven that shined against Villarreal, Michel introduced only a couple of new features so that the team did not change too much. He changed the outcome painfully. The entry of Daley Blind for Iván Martín (Yan Couto sat Arnau on the bench) did not increase the collective benefits against what could be assumed and what Michel was looking for by expanding the roster of defensemen to five.
The bombardment was interrupted by consecutive sword blows from Madrid, with devastating repercussions. Girona’s dominance, the red and white’s good play, was matched by the 0-2.
The worst version of Blind
The Dutch central defender was involved in the white goals, with special responsibility in the first two: he ate Bellingham’s cross to Joselu and ignored Tchouaméni’s marking in a corner. He then lost a race to Bellingham and Gazzaniga avoided the third with his arm. Ronald Koeman, the Netherlands coach, saw the worst version of Blind from the box.
Madrid knew how to take advantage of those mistakes. That was the difference compared to Girona. His defense was the leak that was known. Much more insane was the whites’ entry onto the field, even if they came out unscathed and ended up with a zero in Kepa’s goal.
The team was further agitated by Ancelotti, whose team is cracked from behind between injuries and the dysfunctions that are repeated game after game. Girona did the same as Atlético in the Madrid derby, only they failed in the shot. After three minutes, Yangel Herrera headed wide, alone in the area, a cross from Yan Couto, and after five minutes Tsygankov finished off a cross from Miguel from the right on the post. The bombardment was interrupted with consecutive sword blows from Madrid, also quick, immediate, with devastating repercussions as they were repeated. Girona’s dominance, the red and white’s good play, was matched by 0-2. Very depressing at the foot of the grass.
The final shot
Madrid corrected the scourge of inefficiency by returning Belligham, a substitute against Las Palmas, to the eleven and removing Rodrygo. Vinicius started – hence Michel opted for Yan Couto before Arnau – but nothing productive came of his career. He only won one duel against his compatriot.
Savio had a hard time shining in his first big game. Madrid was on the alert and Valverde helped Carvajal contain the Girona pearl to protect the right flank. After the break, Savio moved to the left, where Camavinga had a lot of trouble, without Kroos getting close to him. Tsygankov had been relieved by Valery, who went to the left.
The third white goal came from a serious loss of Savio, who tried a tunnel unsuccessfully. Madrid’s counterattack was three against two, a numerical advantage that was not wasted by Bellingham either, only in the area. It was the final shot. David López and Yangel, at the beginning of the second period, had chances that could have opened the uncertainty. Everything was very clear in Montilivi.
Data sheet
Girona: Gazzaniga (6); Yan Couto (7), Eric (5), David López (6), Blind (3), Miguel (5); Yangel (6), Aleix (7), Savinho (5); Tsygankov (4), Dovbyk (4).
Coach: Míchel Sánchez (5).
Substitutions: Valery (6) for Tsygankov (d. 46); Stuani (5) by Dovbyk (d. 60); Portu (6) by David López (d. 60); Tower (sc) by Savio (d. 79); Solís (sc) by Yangel (d. 87).
Madrid: Kepa (7); Carvajal (6), Rüdiger (5), Nacho (4), Camavinga (7); Valverde (5), Tchouaméni (7), Kroos (6), Bellingham (8); Joselu (7), Vinicius (4).
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti (6).
Changes: Rodrygo (4) for Vinicius (d. 68); Ceballos (sc) for Bellingham (d. 79); Lucas (sc) by Joselu (d. 87); Brahim (sc) by Valverde (d. 87).
Goals: 0-1 (m. 17), Joselu; 0-2 (m. 20), Tchouaméni; 0-3 (m. 71), Bellingham.
Referee: Pulido Santana (4), Canarian.
Cards: Eric, Kepa, Stuani, Rüdiger.
Related news
Red cards: Nacho (d. 94).
Stadium: Montilivi.