- Atlético was better in the first half and wasted several opportunities
- Zidane's courage paid off and Real Madrid was far superior in the second
- Madrid beat Atlético at home in La Liga after six years and added their 21st unbeaten game
In football there is nothing written and everything is subject to change. This is what happened to Real Madrid, who left the Santiago Bernabéu stadium with an eleven of confidence, that of the Supercopa, with five midfielders and a single forward, but then, thanks to the success of Zidane, he muttered in his famous 4 -3-3 to overcome in all facets of the game an Atletico who not only says goodbye definitively to LaLiga, but also aims to be among the top four to continue opting to play the Champions League.
In a very flat first part of Real Madrid, it was Atlético who carried the greatest danger to the rival goal. After a few minutes of dominance with the ball by those of Zidane, those of Simeone, faithful to their style of waiting well together to go against Morata as a stiletto, they were taking the pleasure to meet. The first occasions were rojiblancas: first with a shot from within the Vitolo area that Courtois caught; second with a shot that left touching Saul's stick; and third with the launch to the stick of Correa.
Atlético felt comfortable with and without the ball, while Real Madrid accumulated too many midfielders that prevented depth and vertical attack. Those of Zidane did not shoot between the three sticks throughout the first part and only had one occasion that went to limbo by Ramos in a rehearsed play well carried out by Kroos. Half an hour later, Casemiro and Morata were the protagonists of a play that ended the striker in the grass asking for a penalty. In the images it looks like the Brazilian gets in the position of the striker.
Zidane won the game to Simeone
The meeting was on the way to another 'zero-race', especially seeing the approach of both teams, very similar to the first leg in the Metropolitan and the final of the Super Cup. But suddenly, Zidane, like the good coaches, changed the scheme and was brave betting on Vinicius and Lucas Vázquez and retiring Isco and, surprisingly, Kroos, one of the best players so far. This, together with the change of Morata, who was being the best of his, for Lemar, ended up decanting the balance.
Real Madrid opened the field and began to have depth thanks to the entry of Lucas and Vinicius. Valverde found its site and covered a multitude of meters with great round-trip wear. This forced Atlético to defend with more width. Simeone opted for superiority in the midfield, but lost all options against Morata. In a play initiated by Vinicius, he found the hole and left only Mendy, whose center to the heart of the area Benzema finished off to open the scoring.
From there, Real Madrid was the owner of the game against an Atletico who could only run after the rapid circulation of the rival. Those of Zidane, infected after the goal with a dose of energy, were more aggressive without the ball and always took the second moves. Simeone tried with the entry of debutante Carrasco, but he was very alone in the attack. Then he tried to rectify with the entry of Camello, striker of the subsidiary, who never carried danger and almost did not touch the ball.
The last ten minutes Real Madrid gathered a few meters further in order to steal and go against it. Atletico did not give for more and did not disturb a Courtois insurance. Again Zidane's defense was imperial and left the goal back to zero. End of the game and with this victory the white team adds its 21st game followed without losing and consolidates its leadership, leaving the mattresses to thirteen points in the table.
DATA SHEET
REAL MADRID: Courtois; Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Mendy; Casemiro, Valverde, Kroos (Vinicius, min. 46), Modric, Isco (Lucas Vázquez, min. 46); and Benzema.
ATHLETIC OF MADRID: Oblak; Vrsaljko, Savic, Felipe, Lodi; Llorente, Thomas (Camel, min. 74), Saúl, Vitolo (Carrasco, min. 70), Correa; and Morata (Lemar, min. 49).
–GOAL:
1 – 0, min. 56, Benzema.
–REFEREE: Estrada Fernández (C. Catalán). He yellowed Simeone (min.40) for protesting, Felipe (min.66), Vrsaljko (min.80) at Atlético; and to Mendy (min. 84) and Casemiro (min. 88) at Real Madrid.
–STADIUM: Santiago Bernabeu. 77,223 spectators
–OBSERVATIONS: There was a minute of silence for the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and the rest of the people who died in the accident that cost the life of the former Los Angeles Lakers player.