What an afternoon Zakharyan let loose against Real! Madrid continues to destroy everyone
Anatoly Romanov September 18, 2023, 00:23 Moscow time
Arsene played at the Santiago Bernabéu and in the end created a scoring chance.
La Real achieved its fifth consecutive victory since the start of the Spanish Championship. Now the whites have defeated Arsen Zakharyan’s new team, who played at the Santiago Bernabéu for the first time in his career.
The Russian newcomer to Real Sociedad remained on the bench after an illness. Obviously, in such an intense, fast and spectacular match, it would be difficult for Arsene not to get lost if he entered the starting eleven. And it is not clear who our midfielder could replace in the starting eleven, since the Basques had no weak points on the field.
From the beginning until the goal, Real Sociedad played with great courage, pressing high one-on-one. Carlo Ancelotti’s team had a hard time escaping so much pressure. But the visitors scored after a retaliatory attack, breaking Real’s pressure. With his first blow, or rather, after the first, a blow and a shot. The Japanese Basque star Kubo was sent to the mid-band and allowed to take a serve, Oyarzabal took Rúdiger and Barrenechea, who burst into the zone, received two attempts to score. I achieved the second.
The complete broadcast of the Spanish Primera match and the best moments are available on Okko
The left back Fran García and Kroos, who had to control Kubo’s movement, could not withstand the Japanese. The former Real Madrid player created several more chances before the break. Takefusa provided three assists and his excellent goal in the 11th minute was disallowed only because Oyarzabal was offside and in the path of the ball. The striker ducked, but somehow influenced the episode.
Real Madrid, after a bad opening to the game, was picking up pace and also began to create moment by moment. Real Sociedad did not always keep up with the whites. Remiro made several stops. And one day the goalkeeper himself organized a “take” with a terrible pass (this happens to Álex when he plays with his feet), and Joselu hit the crossbar. In the end, before the break, the two Real Madrids together took 20 shots on goal (10 each): on goal – 4:4, from outside the area – 8:6. The 0-1 score does not reflect at all what was happening on the field. I also remember the episode of Rodrigo’s fall in the Basque area. But the referee was probably right not to award a penalty, as the striker did not move his leg towards the ball, but towards the opponent’s leg, to take the penalty.
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But Alguacil’s team gave away everything “they acquired through exhausting work” in the first 45 minutes just one minute after the start of the second half. La Real tied the score in the first attack! The whites opened the right flank of the Basque defense with a quick combination, and Valverde, who was free in the dangerous area in front of the area, successfully shot: the ball entered the net from the post. Here goalkeeper Remiro had no chance to prevent Real Sociedad from conceding a goal.
The complete broadcast of the Spanish Primera match and the best moments are available on Okko
With the score at 1-1, Ancelotti’s team seemed to calm down. The hosts gave the ball to the guests: during this period of the match Real Sociedad’s possession advantage was from 63% to 37%. Los Blancos switched to a positional defense and hoped to exploit the space in the opposition half. The Basques believed in themselves again and Real Madrid scored at the end of the hour: the team’s class was demonstrated here! The goal came again from Real Sociedad’s right wing, where Kubo was already falling short in defense. Fran García again accelerated to the maximum and gave the second assist, which Joselu finished off with a clear header. The new Real Madrid striker scored for the second consecutive time, showing that he is not out of place in Madrid.
The complete broadcast of the Spanish Primera match and the best moments are available on Okko
The Real Sociedad players were tired and the Basques needed fresh forces to attack at the end. In the 81st minute, Alguacil made a triple substitution, including Zakharyan. Arsene occupied the position of attacking midfielder. Unfortunately, the Russian did not have enough time to shine at the Santiago Bernabéu. First, our foreign player lost the ball in his own half after an awkward pass from a teammate, and Real almost scored on a counterattack. And then Zakharyan could become the author of the scoring pass: Arsen made a great opening on the right half-back and executed an accurate cross to Sho, but the forward volleyed it very imprecisely.
Zakharyan finished the match with five touches, a tackle and a key pass. And Real Sociedad, having lost in the second half in shots on goal – 1:4 (total shots – 5:7), could not escape defeat.