Villarreal-Real Madrid One Madrid suffers and another forgives

On the way to Paris, Madrid collected bad and good news. Of the first, a certain propensity to arrive late to games, a new cut in their advantage and a worrying lack of precision in the area. Keep creating heroes among LaLiga goalkeepers. This time it was Rulli. In return, he reassures her that Vinicius continues in diabolical mode, that Militao is a wall and that Bale exists. In Vila-real he could lose in the first half and win in the second. He seemed closer to last in an intense match with only one loser: the referee.

Who knows if it was a bullfighting gesture, reckless imprudence or Benzema’s withdrawal syndrome. The fact is that Ancelotti ended up putting Bale by elimination. Lost the causes of the winter market, the other nines and the false nines, he decided that it was time for almost nine, although he had not played a minute in Madrid since August and with Wales since November, although he is moving and with the withdrawal in his head, although he has suffered muscle problems even in his eyelashes, although the Madrid fans have long ago got off that train. A real shot in the air, a Viva Cartagena against the champion of the Europa League and with Sevilla in the back of the head. Such decisions are only made when in football the Cape Horn has been passed in the profession or three European Cups and more than twenty titles have been won. In Ancelotti the one and the other coincide. He was loaded with reason. Without dazzling, he was the best nine that he has tried after Benzema’s withdrawal. “When I put him in, he will comply,” he said. And he complied.

El arranque de Chukwueze

The game was full of contraindications for Madrid. Most notably, send to Marcelo to stop Chukwueze, players of two ages and two very different speeds, with no more help (?) than that of Vinicius, more theatrical than suits him. An announced torture. At 6′ the Nigerian was dodging terrified madridistas until leaving a cross that no one came to. A notice without immediate continuity followed by a double referee error. Vinicius chases a ball that Albiol believed Rulli secured. When the center-back senses that the Brazilian can arrive, he extends his elbow and sends him to the ground. Sánchez Martínez does not see it, although he senses it, because for the match so that Vinicius is attended to. Wait for the help of the VAR, that artifact that some days is an ornament and other nosy, which makes the statue and obviates a clear penalty. He repeated his abstention in a subsequent slam from Asensio to Iborra, who received a yellow card and deserved a red card. One error conditioned the other. From there the referee lost control and the match got bogged down.

Until then and after Villarreal had been above, a territorial, orderly and ambitious team weighed down by the lack of a nine, but who knew how to look for Marcelo’s hole, through which Chukwueze sneaked until he ran out of fuel. He spoiled almost everything in the last pass while Madrid, as in Bilbao, awaited the wear and tear of others, defending a lot and badly. This team looked like another from the beginning of the season, even more so without Benzema.

The game was played by a slow fake, Parejo, who played another red card in a slap at Vinicius. This consists of others running, especially the ball. Courtois and Rulli kept things clean before the break after attempts by Alberto Moreno and Bale, respectively. It was the Welshman’s only appearance. Earlier, Danjuma had bumped into the stick.

A second time white

An infinitely better Madrid returned from the locker room. To the audacity of Vinicius he added the depth of Asensio, the work of Valverde and a better circulation of the ball. He also threw better counters. In two of them he was around the goal. Asensio’s left-footed shot grazed the crossbar, Bale’s hit it after Rulli’s providential deflection. Villarreal went from dominance to calvary, from playing without a goalkeeper to being left in their hands, those that avoided a goal from Vinicius, in a heads-up after a great recovery from Valverde, and another from Bale, for not trusting his right, a left-handed pathology.

Villarreal ceased to exist, even with the changes, and were only brought closer to victory by two extravagant clearances/loans from Marcelo. Nor did those who entered Madrid improve on those who left and the thing remained in a distribution that did not displease any of them excessively, although Jovic had the victory at the last moment. He also ran into the crossbar. Estupiñán saved Nacho’s subsequent shot on the line. There are not many exits left for Madrid with as many slopes as La Cerámica and Villarreal do not have visitors as giant as Ancelotti’s. Both left sure that everything will be better.