ANDl Real Madrid took out a game that could well have tied before the good work of the Athletic In the second half. The Lions They bit so much in the Madrid area that it is hard to believe that the leader finished without scratches. The team of Marcelino, who enjoyed two days more rest than his opponent, ended up cornering Madrid, which this time made the night very long, not like in the Sevilla game, where he was oxygenated by the entry of Valverde and Camavinga.
He got all three points to increase their difference at the head of the championship on one of those days in which the result prevails over any other consideration (if another consideration prevails in high competition). The most brutal fan He knows titles are won when you add up even on bad days. The most esthete fan will ask for more, but will go to bed happy. The others are bagpipes. Benzema, the forward who did not have a goal, scored again and Thibaut Courtois was the hero.
It is not a great sign to make your goalkeeper transcendental. It is true that Ancelotti He trusts his starting eleven so much that he runs the risk of repeating the same mistakes as in his previous stage on the bench: imposing start and fall of the empire in March. Carlo, however, has reason to trust a base team that leads seven consecutive victories and whose dynamics is so good that it allows it to save papers like the one on Wednesday in the Bernabéu.
Could someone come in through Modric in the eleven? Sure. Would it be recommended? Sure. But securing those victories (Sevilla and Athletic, and those of the Champions League) in matches that can mark the course of the season, it seems easier with the Croatian starter than with other players. Who wouldn’t be tempted to insist on a team that works? Madrid takes seven points to the second and is the only Spanish team in the second round of the Champions League. The future? Nobody knows.
Courtois has emerged as the protagonist. Holy hand, as in the best time of Iker Casillas, who also decided matches and results. But, from what you see, Madrid have a problem with the Belgian international: he makes many saves. Maybe it would be better if he didn’t. Perhaps half the world was happier. And Madrid would continue to have a problem: an inept goalkeeper. Surely they already know that whatever happens, Madrid is always in poor health.
The perception is still comical that one has of the white feats, those of the team or its players, there is always a dark reverse. A yes, but … In comparison with other greats in its environment, when the fantastic Oblak saves Atlético is that the Slovenian is extraordinary, which he is. Surely it would not be understood to the great Atlético del Cholo without a decisive goalkeeper, as was Courtois in his day and now Oblak.
They sure also remember the time of Barça in which without the brilliant game of the era Guardiola won the Leagues with the genius of Messi and the stops of Ter Stegen. I understand that then no one pointed to Atlético and Barça. Nor was the analysis going there. But Madrid must now apologize because it has a world-class goalkeeper who, in the days when he is not fine, supports the team. How should you apologize for suffering in a game against a great rival and winning 1-0. Or simply to exist.
