The Madrid squad was pleased with several points at the same time. First of all, the “golden boy” Endrik started for the first time (he broke Raúl’s record and became the youngest Real Madrid player to start a Champions League match). Secondly, Eduardo Camavinga returned, who missed the start of the season due to injury. Another interesting point is that Lunin was free as goalkeeper, but this is not a question of rotation, but of Courtois’ injury.
Doge fans missed the tournament so much that they immediately engulfed the stadium in smoke from the pyrotechnics, which cleared just a few minutes after the start of the match. “Lille” instantly described the situation: we do not take risks and play on counterattacks, and you have the ball as much as you want. Real Madrid did not object and suppressed several approaches by the hosts with counterpressing: sometimes high tackles led to dangerous attacks, and sometimes to misses and losses.
In defense, Madrid lined up the classic 4-4-2 from last season. The attack was more interesting: the scheme could be written as 2-4-3 + Valverde. The Uruguayan ran on the flank (sometimes high, sometimes occupying Carvajal’s position), and in the center he helped, and played situationally as a forward. It seems that the time has come to stop being surprised (Fedya has been playing in this style for at least three years), but it doesn’t work.
Valverde in the match against Real Madrid
Photo: Michael Regan – UEFA/Getty Images
Lille’s main hope in attack was Edon Zhegrova: the Kosovar looked for opportunities on the right flank and, due to his cousin status, often interrupted the French offensive. The midfielder often dribbled, which rarely ended in success, but he did manage to give passes to his teammates and run. Other top stars include goalscorer Jonathan David and old Krasnodar acquaintance Remy Cabella.
The first sharpest moment came in the 19th minute. Endrik, in a quick run, took the ball into the other’s area and tried to shoot at Luke Chevalier from close range, but the goalkeeper blocked the goal in time.
A few minutes later, Lille’s crosses finally came into play. Zhegrova crossed to the far post, where David left Carvajal’s field of vision: the Canadian shot directly at Lunin. The ball was spinning near the field line and the agile striker struck a second time, but the Ukrainian dragged it again.
Halfway through the half, the teams seemed to have swapped roles by agreement: Lille was already playing positionally, while Real were launching the speedy Vinicius forward and waiting for advances from other players. A club foot grew on both sides.
Lille’s goal was clubbing in every sense. The home team got a dangerous set piece at the end of the half: Zhegrova offered to shoot and hit Camavinga’s hand. Eduardo’s return did not work (although the Frenchman showed himself well in general): the referee, after reviewing the video, pointed to the spot and David calmly converted the penalty.
David scores against Real Madrid
Photo: Michael Regan – UEFA/Getty Images
Real Madrid almost equalized before the whistle: Vinicius barely reached the ball in the area and Endrik tried to parachute it towards the goal, but the prodigy missed. Madrid obviously needed structural changes: the left flank was dull due to Mendy’s offensive limitations, and the support duo of Camavinga and Tchouameni were not suitable for matches against weaker opponents.
Ancelotti also understood it, so Fran García replaced Ferland in the second half, and then added Mbappé, Modric and Güler as reinforcements. Castling didn’t help. While Lille surprised Zhegrova with a dangerous shot from outside the area at the beginning of the half, Real only showed Endrick a yellow card. While the short technicians scared García and Carvajal with attacks from the flanks, the guests resorted to useless shots.
But it seemed that returning to 4-4-2 would make Real stronger
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Towards the end of the match, Madrid learned to catch the opponent on counterattacks and staged a real thriller. First Bellingham almost put the ball into the net with his chest, a minute later Rüdiger shot close to the young Chevalier and later Güler responded to Modric’s shot and headed towards the goal, but the 22-year-old goalkeeper shot wide. parts. “Real” evoked the idea of another comeback in the final seconds, but who would have known that it was “Lille” that was destined to interrupt Madrid’s year-long unbeaten streak?
The Dogs achieved an important victory in the history of the club, and it is time for Madrid to take a cold shower and ask questions. In any case, Real feel much better than their neighbors in the capital, and they also lost to Benfica 0-4.
There was also a lot of action in Los Blancos’ last game.
The Madrid Derby is a fire and a scandal! The fans interrupted the match and Atlético scored at 90+5
