A flash from the Brazilian decides with a quarter of an hour to go. Previously a goal from the usual Mbappè and equal from Vicente
Xabi Alonso staggers but doesn’t give up. Madrid won 2-1 in Vitoria with Alaves returning to -4 behind Barcelona and their coach gains time, with Florentino Perez reflecting on whether or not to replace him with Alvaro Arbeloa. Madrid’s match was complex, never convincing in terms of play but saved by its many stars.
nine absent
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With water in his throat and the specter of his former great friend Alvaro Arbeloa projected on the bench Xabi Alonso left for Vitoria, Basque Country without 9 players due to injuries and suspensions: Carvajal, Alexander-Arnold, Alaba, Militao, Mendy, Camavinga, Fran García, Carreras and Endrick. Two choices: the first debut of a canterano under his tenure, the 19-year-old Victor Valdepeñas used as left back, and the simultaneous use of the Fab Four for the first time in the season. So here is a line-up with strong internal traction with Tchouameni surrounded by Arda Guler, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius and Mbappé, given as half injured and once again decisive.
usual suspects
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The Frenchman with Courtois and Tchouameni is largely the best of his team, and yesterday after a couple of attempts in the 24th minute he opened the game with a spectacular right-footed shot from the edge: recovery by Asencio on Denis Suarez, cut by Bellingham for the ‘Kyller’ who came back from the left and struck the opposing goalkeeper: 17 goals in La Liga, 26 this season, 56 in the calendar year with Madrid. From there Real stopped playing and in injury time before the break Courtois had to offer his usual miracle to his distracted teammates by making himself huge and blocking Pablo Ibañez’s close-range shot with his face.
substitutions and goals
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In the second half in the 22nd minute ‘Chacho’ Coudet made a triple change and not even a minute later one of the new players, Carlos Vicente, equalized with spectacular control and a great right-footed shot from the former Madrid canterano Abtonio Blanco. Goal disallowed by the referee for an offside that wasn’t there, with a corresponding correction to the VAR. A moment later Carlos Vicente himself offered the ball to Toni Martinez to make it 2-1, but a push from Asencio complicated and neutralized the attacker’s conclusion.
Brazilian connection
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The draw did not last long because in the 31st minute Vinicius for the first time in a gray evening passed away to Johnny Otto and from the outside he fed Rodrygo who after 34 games without a goal scored again after the goal against City in the Champions League. Rodrygo left injured, Valverde had already been sent to left back, Vinicius asked for a penalty for a contact in the area, Brahim wasted the 3-1 and the match reached the end with a fundamental victory for Xabi Alonso.
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