Sevilla-Borussia-Atlético. Three eight thousand in a week that mark the future of Zidane and Madrid, which hang by a thread in LaLiga and in the Champions League (follow the game live on AS.com). In the first station Lopetegui awaits him, who was swept away by the strong waves at the Bernabéu two years ago, a scar still open. It arrived in July and before November it had fallen. Florentino fired him after 14 games, one less than those that Zidane meets in the course, and after six defeats, one more than this Madrid adds. The figure can be indicative of where the limit of patience is at the club.
The divorce went well for both of them. Lopetegui won the Europa League the following year and Zidane conquered the League. The Gipuzkoan coach offered an elegant farewell and Madrid not so much. “There is a great disproportion between the quality of the Real Madrid squad, which has eight players nominated for the next Ballon d'Or, and the results obtained to date“It was the bullet note that the junta fired. Neither Solari nor Zidane justified it.
Without Ramos
The meeting catches Lopetegui in the center of the storm. If he wins today, he will go to Madrid and will leave him, with one game less, out of the first four places, the red line of the white house. But a part of Sevillismo understands that due to his obsession with Madrid he turned his back on Chelsea.
To the appointment does not reach Ramos, emotional shot, despite training yesterday. Borussia's is his D-day. They have missed five games and Madrid only won one. Yes Odriozola returns, but he has been unemployed for two months and only 57 'in the course. It will hardly be in the eleven. And up there is only Benzema, because Jovic and Mariano do not travel.
Madrid has bled from behind, The average number of goals conceded has multiplied by two from one year to the next: 0.6 in LaLiga that he won, 1.2 in which he is now steep. Among the 20 best recuperators of the championship there is no madridista. Last year Casemiro was the leader and Ramos, the sixth. One of the unknowns of the duel is if Zidane raised his hand with Vinicius, the team's second scorer and substitute in the last seven games. Not only Hazard is your stopper.
Bonus, ready
The Seville you will arrive less stressed and also more rested. Lopetegui put the Madrid party above all things and traded eight footballers against Chelsea. Today he will dress up, with Munir, De Jong and Ocampos in attack, Koundé in the center of the rear and Fernando as the axis of the team.
Too Suso and Bono will return, who had been four games out due to COVID. He did not concede goals in four of his nine games. Vaclik relieved him with worse data and, in addition, he was injured in the warm-up before the game against Chelsea. The presence of the Moroccan ensures a luxury Seville (albeit with Rekik as an improvised left-back) that only lost once at home in the last six games against Madrid. But the white team was the only one to win both games last year. Lopetegui has it recorded.