Real Madrid eat the candy before the derby
Whites take first place after finishing Inter
MADRID, 7 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid lengthened its great moment of form to sentence the first place in group D in the Champions League after beating Inter Milan (2-0) in a complete game of the meringues, which they resolved with goals from Toni Kroos and Marco Asensio, one in each part, five days to receive Atlético de Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti’s pupils ate the ‘caramelito’ of the first place and already have nine consecutive victories. One more to the bag five days after facing the neighbor and thinking of a lunge at LaLiga. Everything is going smoothly in the Castellana, even when Benzema is missing like this Tuesday.
The absence of the French, the great scorer of the whites, was no excuse to knock down the Italian champion, who had better intentions than occasions and whose football was not as direct, nor as voracious as that of the meringues despite the attractiveness of his proposal . Kroos was in charge of making Inter see who the 13 times European champion is.
The German midfielder scored a great goal at the quarter of an hour. Rodrygo crossed the ball across the front and Casemiro – who read the play perfectly – let the leather pass between his legs. Kroos caught and adjusted his crosshairs to beat Handanovic. A goal of the flag that ended up being practically definitive.
Before the goal, Inter had warned with a volley from Brozovic and a lateral shot from Perisic. Good intentions, more possession and a clean exit of the ball, but the real danger was in the home team. Vinicius and Jovic gave a good account of it before reaching half an hour. The whites had the rapier but they did not finish killing their opponent.
Rodrygo crashed the ball into the base of the post on the brink of halftime and – a minute later – came very close to the second with a violent shot that did not come to fruition. The 1-0 was not only fair for the whites, but it could fall short in the face of Inter’s weakness in the opposite area. Too many occasions and none did special harm to Courtois.
In the second half, the scene completely changed after ten minutes with the expulsion of Barella, who got into an absurd fight with Militao. The Inter player tried to deliver a punch to the Brazilian defender and the VAR alerted the referee of the action. The red left without offensive capacity to the ‘neroazzurri’, depleted in the opposite field for more than half an hour.
ART WORK OF ASENSIO
Inzaghi corrected the imbalance with the changes and was able to contain Real Madrid for almost 20 minutes, but the best of the night was yet to come in Chamartín. An authentic work of art by Marco Asensio that served to close the triumph with a perfect clasp. The shot from the Spaniard, with a large thread, ended up kissing the nets after hitting the wood.
The 2-0 left Inter disarmed who lowered his arms and could even have conceded the third in the final ten minutes. The moment of applause, the rest of the warriors, and the opportunity for the less usual arrived. The Bernabéu enjoyed it – despite the cold in the capital – and is already rubbing their hands in the face of next Sunday’s challenge. A derby that can be worth more than three points.
DATASHEET.
– RESULT: REAL MADRID, 2 – INTER, 0 (1-0, at halftime).
–ALIGNMENTS.
REAL MADRID: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Casemiro (Camavinga, min.71), Kroos (Valverde, min.76), Modric; Rodrygo (Asensio, min.76), Vinicius (Hazard, min.81) and Jovic (Mariano, min.76).
INTER: Handanovic; Skriniar, D’Ambrosio, Bastoni; Dumfries (Dimarco, min.46), Barella, Brozovic (Vidal, min.60), Calhanoglu (Vecino, min.60), Perisic; Lautaro Martínez (Gagliardini, min.66) and Dzeko (Alexis Sánchez, min.60).
–GOALS:
1-0, min.17, Duckweed.
2-0, min.80, Asensio.
– REFEREE: Felix Brych (ALE). He cautioned D’Ambrosio with a yellow card (min.55) at Inter; and Militao (min.64) at Real Madrid. He also sent off Barella with a direct red (min.64).
–Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.