Real Madrid visits Laso without respite on a historic day for Llull
MADRID, 8 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid will continue with its demanding marathon of matches with the start of a new double day of the Regular Phase of the Euroleague 2023-2024 that will have its first stop this Tuesday (8:00 p.m.) in Munich, where Pablo Laso and his Bayern await , and that will have a special meaning for Sergio Llull.
The year 2024 has started with strength and demand for the Madrid fans, who will play their fourth game in just seven days, the third away from home, although at the moment they are also responding with a positive balance of two wins, the one remembered against the Turkish Anadolu Efes and This Sunday in the Endesa League in a tough outing as always at the Fernando Buesa Arena, and a narrow defeat in the Clásico against Barça at the Palau.
Now, without much time to breathe, the current European champion will head to the Bavarian capital to continue with this intense start that will once again test a team that, for the moment, is weak and will have another tough test against the team. of their 'architect', a Bayern that is always competitive at the BMW Park and has physical power.
Still with the memory and wear and tear of their historic four overtimes against Efes, Real Madrid will seek to remain firm in the top continental competition where their only two defeats have come at home. In any case, on Sunday against Baskonia they did not take any 'rest' and won with authority against a rival who had much more at stake, proof of the ambition that reigns in the team at this moment.
And now that the special reunion with Pablo Laso is over, certified in December when the Vitorian was feted by the WiZink Center, this clash will be for captain Sergio Llull. The point guard from Mahón, barring a surprise, will play his 1,047th game and will become the player with the most appearances in the history of a club that he joined in 2007 when he was 19 years old and where he has become one of the legends of he.
The veteran Menorcan game director hopes to celebrate this special date with one more victory that would also be symbolic for coach Chus Mateo, who would reach a hundred wins as head coach, 35 of them in this second campaign at the head of the team that has already fully recovered Guerschon Yabusele, lethal on the perimeter at the Buesa Arena (26 points, 6/8 in triples) and who predicts a nice duel with Serge Ibaka.
Opposite, a Bayern that has not quite started in this Regular Phase and that the Madrid team doubles in wins. The German team has only eight wins, mainly a product of its weakness when leaving BMW Park, with nine of its eleven setbacks as a visitor, including the clear one at the WiZink Center (85-73) or the last two consecutive losses from last season. day in Bologna (85-83) and Milan (76-62).
On the other hand, in front of their fans, Bayern is being more solid and in the first round they were only able to win from their eight visitors, AS Monaco and Fenerbahce. Two wins away from the 'Play-In', Pablo Laso's team needs not to give up any more ground and to do so they will need a good defense to neutralize a Real Madrid that they have only beaten in one of their last seven games, at the WiZink Center in April 2022 (88-97). The battle for the rebound will be vital since the clash pits the two best teams of this Regular Phase in this aspect.
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
BAYERN MUNICH: Bolmaro, Edwards, Bonga, Ibaka and Booker –possible starting five– Lucic, Weiler-Babb, Obst, Francisco, Giffey, Brankovic and Harris.
REAL MADRID: Campazzo, Causeur, Musa, Yabusele and Tavares — possible starting quintet–; Llull, Poirier, Hezonja, Abalde, S. Rodriguez, Alocen and Ndiaye.
–REFEREES: Radovic, Pukl and Shemmesh.
–PAVILLION: Bmw Park.
–TIME: 20.00/Movistar Deportes.