Casemiro with Hazard, in the last training in Valdebebas.
With 0-3 on the scoreboard, Areola stopped a clear chance of Zaragoza. That the copera classification was made for whites did not prevent the celebration of Zinedine Zidane and his assistants, seeing the good intervention of his substitute goalkeeper. The costumes and, above all, the coaching staff are obsessed with continuing to strengthen the defensive numbers of recent times, the best of French on the bench: fit 0.7 goals per game, for the 1.1 of its first stage.
Since he returned 11 months ago and understood that life without Cristiano Ronaldo it was a different one, his commitment was to create a solid block from behind, with control in the middle and solutions above around Eden Hazard. In the absence of scoring dynamite, much ball and safety in the back. That is why he claimed Pogba, as a piece that mixes physical and talent. Without the desired signing, he found in Valverde The ideal footballer to energize the midfield.
«We are well and we want to continue doing things like that. Each game is an exam for us and we are doing very well, ”he acknowledged Wednesday night at La Romareda, with the pass to the quarter in his pocket. After the depressing end of last season and the doubts of the summer, his team has taken flight in all competitions. Leader in the League, qualified for quarters and with the tie of Champions against City In the peephole, the French coach now has to adjust his drawing by the arrival of the Belgian star.
His injury, on November 26, left Madrid pulling, almost in depression at the calendar that appeared. He lost the great figure just when he had begun to demonstrate his best version (powerful before the PSG, before breaking). Now he knocks on the door, training with his teammates in Valdebebas.
His reappearance is great news for Zidane, even if it is another point of stress when making his ounces. For tomorrow's derby he faces the doubt of putting him in the call or not, in case he needs a few minutes in a game that is presented again as a toothache; the usual against Atlético de Simeone. The Frenchman is always cautious with the high tender of the infirmary, but the three points against the rojiblancos have a lot of value, after having taken advantage over Barcelona on the last day.
They count in Valdebebas that Hazard is seen to be carbureted, without fear with his ankle and with the desire for a ball. The Belgian, as demonstrated in the start of the course, also marked by another injury – muscular in that case -, needs his adaptation time on the lawn. Therefore, the sooner you start playing, the better. The long-term objective is to appear before Manchester City (February 26) in full, if possible.
More dilemmas
In the great signing of the season Zidane's dilemmas do not end when it comes to facing tomorrow's derby at the Bernabéu (4 pm). Gareth Bale has also forgotten the pains that prevented him from completing the route through the interior Spain that his team just signed (Salamanca, Valladolid, Zaragoza). The discomfort he felt in Las Pistas de Unionistas has subsided, now ready to play against Atlético, if his coach considers it appropriate. The Frenchman must decide whether to reward those who are leaving the soul for him or bet on the undisputed rank of his highest paid player, who owns a lot of goal and the experience that Rodrygo or Vinicius do not yet have.
The system also depends on the presence of Bale, with the two Real Madrid alternatives, a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 that almost mutates in a 4-5-1 if Isco is the false nine in such an approach , with Modric, Valverde, Kroos and Casemiro behind. Thus he faced the final of the Super Cup, without being able to decide it until the penalty shootout. If ZZ wants more play per band against the strong athletic defense, Bale or your young Brazilians may have options. For the Welsh striker it seems a key moment. Or enter the headline dynamic or it can happen as in 2018, end up anchored to the bench.
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