A hitherto uncontrollable Real Madrid visits a hesitant Atlético in a high-voltage clash heated in the lead up by the controversy over the Brazilian’s dances
Two days after celebrating its first five-year existence as Atlético’s hideout, the Metropolitano prepares for a clash whose prelude tension has reached troubling levels. The dances of Vinicius, a reflection of the joy and passion with which one of the most unbalanced football players in the world enjoys his profession, have been transformed by his opponents into a weapon with which the Nirvana, in which he has been installed since the end of Real Madrid, the wavering is brought. of last year with the extraordinary trio of titles comprising the Spanish Super Cup, the League and the Champions League. The first flash, produced last weekend on the occasion of Mallorca’s visit to the Santiago Bernabeu and the clashes the carioca had with players of the vermilion team and with his coach, has given way to a cannon shot that threatens to blow up a bipolar derby.
Because Atlético and Real Madrid arrive at the meeting with conflicting minds. Simeone’s team, five points behind a hitherto unstoppable leader, comes with the ballast of an undetermined style. The good omens of the preseason are forgotten, buried by the sea of doubts that have thrown the first seven official dates of the course. Ancelotti’s team, on the other hand, maintains a cruising speed, counting the eight appearances they’ve recorded in all competitions as wins, marking the Whites’ best campaign opening in more than half a century.
The current champion of the League and current king of Europe has not been defeated since he succumbed to a penalty goal from Yannick Carrasco on May 8, precisely at the Metropolitano, a day after Ancelotti’s soldiers certified the league match. That was the mattresses’ first victory over their neighbors in the San Blas-Canillejas area, after four failed attacks by Cholo’s forces. Since then, the meringues have had two draws and ten wins in all tournaments, including the full eight at the start of the ongoing campaign.
After successfully getting through that lawsuit, Atletico have six wins, two draws and as many defeats to their name. The latter two have been added to the Cholo block this season: against Villarreal in the League and against Bayer Leverkusen, five days ago, in the Champions League. Stumbling against the aspirin squad again exposed the weaknesses of a hesitant team, trapped in its coach’s troubles, with structural flaws and forced to live with the grotesque “Griezmann case.” The most decisive player in the rojiblanco locker room has only become repulsed by the demands of the offices, reluctantly attended by Simeone.
Limiting the French attacker’s participation to that last half hour that the mattress directive recommends to pressure Barça or ultimately avoid the purchase agreed with the Barça entity at the time, Atlético does not have enough offensive audacity for the time being to exploit the vulnerabilities of their defensive mortar, an area particularly affected by physical issues that, on this occasion, will leave Giménez and Savic, their top central defenders, out of the derby, as well as former Madrid player Reguilón. He gets nearly four times more shots than last season and while the build-up of troops in a low block softens the damage in that facet, it also draws resources when it comes to biting the rival. The good news for the red and white parish is the return of Oblak under sticks.
Benzema did not suffer the same fate, the most sensitive victim of a Real Madrid team that exudes confidence. The whites have the second-highest block in LaLiga Santander and the third line of defense furthest from their own goal, data from Beyond Stats and Mediacoach shows. They are also the team that records the most passes, makes the most deliveries in the last third of the field, and collects the most shots per game. The latter aspect is greatly aided by his ability to steal from the opponents’ ground, an aspect that has been instrumental in eight of the 15 goals he has scored in the competition to date.
The whites, who recaptured Militao, were devastating in the second half. Nine of those 15 league goals came after 60 minutes in what is now known by Atletico as the Griezmann zone, and they have not conceded a single one since the break. Ancelotti’s squad is less reliable in the early stages, precisely where Simeone’s squad still has an impeccable defensive record, having established itself as a premature goalscorer with three goals in the first quarter. The derby also dances in that dichotomy between an Atletico who gets up early and is worse than its opponent at night, and a Real Madrid who is lazy in the preface but deadly in the epilogue.
Source: La Verdad
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