Madrid shines in the break

Selection stops are often turning points in the seasons of the great teams. It is essential to go well (two weeks without matches are very long after a defeat) and to come back even better (the dreaded ‘FIFA virus’). The first part of the exam was approved by Madrid at Villamarín (0-1 at Betis) and the second phase is on the way to passing it with flying colors: at the moment the white players are filling headlines in their countries because of their goals and not because of their injuries.

Valverde, Bale, Hazard, Jovic and Camavinga (the latter with France Under-21) have scored with their national teams these days. Bale and Hazard deserve special mention, whom Madrid need plugged in for goal this season after the failed attempt to sign Mbappé in the summer market. The Welshman has started in the first three league games (one goal) and the Belgian in two of the three. With Wales, Bale has shown that he is willing to hold on to this extra bullet that he has in Madrid from the hand of Ancelotti and with which nobody counted: against Belarus he scored the three goals of his team to achieve a fundamental victory (2-3 ). He could not repeat afterwards against Estonia

For his part, Hazard takes steps little by little to recover physical sensations and, above all, to permanently erase the ordeal of injuries from his head. After a good start to the League against Alavés (one assist), it faded against Levante and Betis (in Seville he lost the starting title in favor of Vinicius), but with Belgium he scored a good goal against the Czech Republic (3-0) that gives hope on the possibility of him approaching the version that made him sign for Real Madrid. “It makes people happy again,” said Roberto Martínez, the Belgian coach, after the Madridista's good performance. Eden may have a new opportunity in the eleven on Sunday against Celta (9:00 p.m., Santiago Bernabéu), because Vinicius will arrive with little margin to rest: he plays at dawn from Thursday to Friday (2:30 a.m.) with Brazil against to Peru. Hazard played all three games for Belgium, though none were complete.

Goals

The good performances do not end with Hazard and Bale, because Fede Valverde also charged morale with a goal in Uruguay's victory against Bolivia (4-2). The little bird he has started with Ancelotti in the first three games and, with Kroos still recovering, he knows he must step up to establish himself in the eleven. Goals are a good way to claim stripes, because physical deployment and also arrival are expected from him.

In addition, Jovic and Camavinga also scored. The Serbian did it in the win for his team in the friendly against Qatar (4-0). Somewhat of little collective importance but of personal value, because it needs to recharge trust. One of the few negative news of the break for Madrid is Benzema's annoyance (he was a substitute and only played 26 'against Ukraine). The Frenchman used the breaks in recent years to rest, but his return to the national team forces Ancelotti to dose his starting striker, who is 33 years old and has many kilometers on his legs. For that, Jovic must perform. Karim was fully recovered from those minor annoyances in the victory against Finland (2-0), in which he was the best alongside Griezmann, but he will need breaks with Madrid. That good performance by Benzema coincided with a substitution by Jovic, who did not give continuity to his good performance against the Qataris in official matches.

Finally, Madrid received the news that Belgium released Courtois from the match against Belarus on Wednesday in Kazan. “I have earned a little rest,” he said after billiards against the Czech Republic.