Getafe was the safety car of the League. Any stoppage suits the persecutor and harms the persecuted. It also happened this Christmas. Madrid left 2021 multi-contagious and happy, with Benzema honored in San Mamés, and entered 2022 healthier and more breaded. In front and, above all, behind. Militao gave Ünal a goal and the game had no turning back. Neither without Hazard, as in the beginning, nor with him, in the second part. Getafe’s game did not have beauty but it did have order, merit and sacrifice, values that are sometimes paid with three points. Madrid is still in an enviable position, but not enough to buy champagne and confetti.
Hazard’s career at Madrid is suspiciously full of zero kilometers. There he returned to Getafe, this time unexpectedly. Vinicius, who had played the 25 games of the course, was left out due to COVID, which finally had little influence on the duel (the alleged Getafe victims had not been headlines) except for their absence. But Rodrygo and Asensio, coming out of the sixth wave, again overtook the Belgian despite his recent inactivity. Hazard is back in line as Ancelotti repeats himself, convinced that with very few he will gain a lot. And in this, Quique is not far from him. Down it climbs slowly, but little streaks make big strides. And with an almost fixed eleven (this time Djené was missing) he has been braced until he left the relegation zone.
Ünal’s goal
Also with a low cosmetic plan: wait behind, muddy the game, does not save fouls (three bordering on yellow in the first five minutes, a rosary of them after they raised their eyebrows and unleashed Ancelotti’s tongue) and does not allow the rival to run. This is one of the problems of this triumphant Madrid, which gets bigger before the big boys and shrinks before the boys because if it can’t run, it gets bored. Quique prepared an unpleasant match for Ancelotti, which became even more so when Militao made an inexplicable mistake, as regional as the timing of the clash. He wanted to protect a ball against Ünal and the Turk cleaned it from one flank to beat Courtois, while the Brazilian claimed without reason or conviction the fault that never existed. Four minutes later, Alaba repeated, with a big mistake, but Maksimovic was less diligent than Ünal.
Madrid then looked for the way out of the labyrinth by the shortest way: Modric. The Croatian is the purifier of his game in matches like this, where it is essential to jump lines and give some joy to the circulation. Soria saved a great shot of his and the crossbar deprived him of the equalizer in a Madrid haute couture play, with a final threat from Benzema. Getafe was also in jeopardy in a soon failed boat from Kroos. Contrary to the usual in adverse situations, Madrid was slow to fall into the trap of the winger with no advantage. He looked inside, filtered passes, took Benzema out of the area to help in the work, but found no help on the wings. Neither Asensio nor Rodrygo offered progress against two full-backs like Damián Suárez and Olivera, Uruguayans without the habit of taking prisoners.
Getafe stopped looking at Courtois, except for Aleñá’s shot on the edge of half-time, and applied themselves to avoid distractions, with a fantastic defense aid policy. Madrid began to lose patience due to its inability to overcome the intense traffic inside and the lack of effectiveness in the long game. It also happened to Ancelotti, reprimanded for his complaints about the repeated fouls of Getafe, in the best tradition of the Bordalás era. There are automatisms that cost to leave, and more if the heirs do not deny them.
Changes that changed nothing
Ancelotti did not wait any longer and sent sight to the left at half-time: Marcelo and Hazard in that band and Rodrygo in the right. The exit effect was adverse. Madrid arrived less and worse, Getafe had more the ball and Enes Ünal began to subdue the two Madrid centrals, who had hundreds of more lucid matches. Then Marcelo and Hazard did improve Mendy and Asensio.
Every minute that passed, Madrid entered the blue fog, in a game away from the areas, the point that best suited Getafe. And so on until the inevitable final arreón. A Benzema goal was taken away by Cuenca’s obstructing head and Soria saved in a superb save a good bounce early from Casemiro.
The last quarter of an hour was played in the Getafe area, with better numbers for the assaulted than for the assailant and with Mariano already in the Madrid attack because rain was already announced. He came close to hunting one. Ancelotti’s last move was extreme: Peter as a right-back and Isco in case he still has a line to write at the club. It seems not. Quique’s changes were reasonably regressive, more people behind to protect the only area in which it was played, its area and surroundings. That was enough to stop a leader who boasts how hard life is without Vinicius.
Changes
Hazard (45 ‘, Marco Asensio), Marcelo (45 ‘, Ferland Mendy), Eye (64′, Sandro), Mariano (66 ‘, Rodrygo), Florentine (73 ‘, Aleñá), Yankee (82 ‘, Enes Unal), Trace (82′, Erick Cabaco), Peter (84 ‘, Lucas Vázquez), Isco (84′, Kroos)
Cards
Referee: Mario Melero López
VAR Arbitrator: Xavier Estrada Fernández
Rodrygo (20 ‘, Yellow) Damien Suarez (55 ‘, Yellow) Arambarri (81 ‘, Yellow) housemiro (86 ‘, Yellow) Mathías Olivera (95 ‘, Yellow