Marcelino García Toral’s coach display and Raúl García’s hunger for eternal glory against him Real Madrid they left the team of Zinedine Zidane out of the fight for the first title of the season, in a duel conditioned by two bad decisions by Lucas Vázquez and the lack of Madrid punch.
A lesson from Marcelino left the Real Madrid without your first title. Victim of two errors by Lucas Vázquez on the day that most accused his conversion to full-back. A bad decision in ball exit and a avoidable penalty They were gifts that Raúl García did not waste to remove a thorn from an old enemy, against whom he always shows a special motivation.
From conditioning the league duel with an avoidable expulsion when not even the quarter of an hour was fulfilled, to putting the Athletic Club 90 minutes from a title.
Marcelino’s perfect plan brought out the shortcomings of Zinedine Zidane’s team. Bit him up, high pressure with struts like Williams, Muniain and Raúl García, with the certainty that the risk of overtaking lines is lower against a Real Madrid without footballers looking for space.
He managed to disturb the start of the play and cause a short circuit like Lucas’s at 18 minutes. He risked the pass where it should, the novelty Dani García cut and Raúl García did not forgive. It was the punishment to a Real Madrid to which everything went wrong since the warm-up.
Your captain Sergio Ramos he would abandon him even if he later jumped to play. With tactical tweaks by Zidane putting Marco Asensio on the left, giving Hazard freedom of movement and giving the entire right wing to Lucas Vazquez. The Real Madrid announcements were with blank bullets.
Modric with the outside from the front, a left foot from Hazard Unai Simón could be surprised by misplacing the body and a head of Ramos invited him to imagine a different script. However, Real Madrid accuse that Hazard is far from who he should be and that time to return is expensive in decisive matches.
His lack of shooting was noticed after a perfect chopped pass from Casemiro that left the Belgian alone. He lacks the confidence to define quickly and it took him a world to decide, to finish with a pass to the rival leaving a clear chance to escape. Raúl García had shown fewer doubts when he received inside the area. Well placed body and forehand satin to overcome Courteous.
Marcelino’s plan was going smoothly and Real Madrid, nor Zidane from the bench, found solutions.
Everything that could happen in the rest of the first act was for the worse. Raúl García stroked the post with a left foot, Courteous responded to Muniain’s dry shot and when Lucas Vázquez tried to make amends with a pass to Asensio that finished crossed, his second fatal error arrived.
Misses the mark and grabbed a center back like Iñigo Martínez at the far post. The punishment is greater than having let him finish off by tossing a coin. Cardboard and ball to the square by Raul Garcia.
A Real Madrid with little goal had to look for three in the second half. Mission impossible looking into the eyes of one of his great evils, but he did not lack pride to overturn. Athletic he took a step back, either due to the rival’s push or to reserve strength for the last minutes, and Muniain had the sentence in his head.
At pleasure, getting ahead of Nacho who had replaced an injured Varane at half-time, but finished off De Marcos’s center near the wood. Real Madrid was seen on the canvas and with an extra life but fortune turned its back on him. Marco Asensio did not tire of looking for him, firing from every corner, exhibiting confidence and assuming responsibility. Rubbed the crossbar with a left-footed shot and crashed into the post after a pass behind Hazard.
Athletic recoiled with every minute that passed and it began to lack strength. Zidane’s team enjoyed their best moment in the game, which lived up to one of their mottos and never gave up. Until the last moment, with the referee deciding in the VAR if an action on Ramos was a penalty, he sought extra time.
Courtois became gigantic in a heads up with Villalibre, the crossbar repelled another shot from Asensio and Benzema He put emotion with a goal to the limit of the offside. Canceled from start and granted from review.
There were fifteen minutes left for Real Madrid to find a prize for the heroic and that was when the last movement on Marcelino’s board arrived. His changes returned to advance lines and the intense duel died with a goal disallowed for offside to Benzema. Zidane returns to irregularity and Athletic, resurrected, will seek the glory of the title in the grand final.
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