Los Blancos raised their heads after the draw at home against Rayo and achieved a resounding 5-1 against Baraja’s team. Catalans still first with a two-point advantage thanks to the comeback victory in Vallecas
Five goals (and a woodblock) to resume the chase at the top and erase last weekend’s slowdown at home. Ancelotti’s team confirms the signs of recovery shown in the cup against Braga and beats Valencia with a resounding 5-1 in a match with a rather tense outline and atmosphere after Mestalla’s racist chants aimed at Vinicius on the occasion of the last match face to face in spring. Los Blancos prevailed thanks to a wonderful lightning goal from Carvajal and braces from Vinicius and Rodrygo, thus demonstrating that they know how to cope even in an emergency and without Bellingham who has so far dragged things along by having a hand in almost half of the total goals scored since the beginning of the season. Ancelotti’s team thus responds to Girona’s afternoon success (2-1 comeback against Rayo) and remains two points away from the top.
voltage
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Eyes (and ears) focused not only on the pitch but also in the stands of the Bernabeu, for the new face to face between the Valencian fans and Vinicius. In May an uproar broke out, from the complaint and the awareness campaign against racism promoted by Real Madrid to the fine and disqualification inflicted on Valencia and its team (fine of 45 thousand euros subsequently reduced and team closed for five days). To avoid any reply, the Valencia management sent an invitation to their fans “not to fall for easy provocations” and this time everything went smoothly, except for the predictable and systematic barrage of whistles directed at the Brazilian with every touch of the ball. But the boos, given the amazing brace between the first and second half, evidently charged the former Flamengo player, who cut off his rivals with his brace.
too real
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The need to immediately remedy last weekend’s stumble had to deal with the seven absences due to injuries and suspensions, starting with Bellingham’s last-minute withdrawal. Thus putting aside any hypothesis of turnover, Ancelotti reconfirmed the former Rossoneri Brahim in the role of assistant to Bellingham after the good performance against Braga and placed the third goalkeeper Lunin between the posts. But the strategic plan of the Emilian coach was facilitated by an invention on the Kroos-Carvajal axis after just 3′: surgical launch from the German, perfect oriented control from the Spaniard and winning left foot at the near post. All rather easy for the hosts, who came close to doubling their lead a few minutes later by hitting the crossbar with Kroos and wasted at least two big opportunities before taking the lead in the 41st minute thanks to an all-green-and-gold combination: precise suggestion from Rodrygo in the center of the area and winning deflection by Vinciius thanks to a lucky diving touch of the chest. The Madrid team also happened to suffer from a few restarts and took big risks on three occasions before securing the result, but the reflexes of a Lunin capable of hypnotizing Hugo Duro twice from a few steps away took care of it, first in the 10th minute and then in the 15′. The second half was a pure formality, thanks to the right-footed shot from outside the area with which Vinicius (thanks to a defense that stopped watching) surpassed Mamardashvili in the 49th minute for the third time. Then, Rodrygo put the icing on the cake of a convincing success, scoring another brace between the 50th and 85th minutes, with the visiting defense completely shocked and dazed. In the 87th minute the Valencian pride scored with Hugo Duro, but it did nothing to soothe the wound of a defeat that was hard for the guests to digest.
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