Athletic lost at the Bernabéu wearing white. He did so in a match marked by the Cup final to be played next Saturday and Rodrygo’s early goal. The Brazilian, who repeated his scoring luck in the second half, made most of his approaches against the goal defended by Agirrezabala due to the announced substitution of Unai Simón.
The lions, with Madrid dressed in purple for commercial interests, showed their face in the merengue coliseum, but they destroyed it in two actions where the individual quality of a good part of the local players and Bilbao’s innocence in the final moments was obvious. meters. Iñaki Williams, who started as a winger and finished as a center forward, was the only one who dared to try it all night.
This defeat also leaves a further problem for next Saturday’s clash in La Cartuja, as Yeray retired injured before the end of the first half hour of play. The people of Bilbao, depending on the exact extent of this defeat, could find themselves in the position of having to face the final against Mallorca with only two centre-backs from the first team in the squad. That, in any case, would be another story.
Ancelotti, with Vinicius suspended, pulled off a very famous block. Madrid started in Bellingham as a false nine and Brahim and Rodrygo opened first on the wing. The Italian coach changed quickly and did so effectively, as the Brazilian opened the scoring with the locals’ first arrival in Agirrezabala’s goal.
Until then, eight minutes into the match, Athletic were in control of the situation and were spending more time in the opponent’s field than their own. Valverde, with the Cup final looming, made a change to Bilbao’s starting eleven, leaving three of his last four senior internationals on the bench. Sancet was the only one in the game. Vesga was placed on the double pivot and Paredes next to Yeray, later replaced due to Vivian’s injury on the rear axis, and Lekue on the left back.
The lions came out energetically, but the early risers, both Madrid fans, clipped their wings. Shortly after 1-0, Berenguer put the ball in the middle of the area without finding a finisher and from then on the big danger took on a marked merengue character. Kroos, Valverde and Tchouameni will soon add to Ancelotti’s men’s advantage. Athletic did not get close to Lunin’s goal until the extension time of the first half. Sancet missed a drop shot by Iñaki Williams and Guruzeta then ended up in the hands of the Ukrainian goalkeeper.
The second half started with a ball hitting the post by Brahim and a great save by Lunin on a volley by Iñaki Williams. Valverde then opted to make a triple change. Yuri, Galarreta and Adu Ares come in for De Marcos, Prados and Guruzeta.
The lions were determined to find a draw, but Real Madrid, with Joselu at grass level, made it 2-0 with a counter attack that ended through Rodrygo with more than a quarter one hour left. Valverde, whose mind is already on the final. He turned to Muniain instead of Sancet. The captain soon had the option of reducing the distance, but Rudiger arrived in time to stop it.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
