Real Madrid were very disappointed by their own veteran. But the team achieved victory when no one expected it.

Real Madrid were very disappointed by their own veteran. But the team achieved victory when no one expected it.

Georgy Ilyushchenko December 22, 2023, 01:41 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

Rafa Marín, 21, showed in a head-to-head confrontation that he is cooler than Nacho, 33.

Girona missed out on the 1-1 win over Betis, so Real Madrid now have a great chance to get back to the top of the table and level with the Catalans. The only thing left to do was beat Alavés. Newcomers to the league, 15th place, so what could go wrong? The only thing that was confusing was his status as a loser at home: he scored 13 of 16 points on his local team, Mendizorroza. The favorite really achieved his goal, but how difficult it was for him!

There was an important moment in Madrid’s starting eleven: Kepa and Nacho appeared. The first has not played in the Championship since November 5, only in the last round of the Champions League against Union (3-2). Although he recovered on December 1. And now Ancelotti entrusted him with an important match, despite Lunin’s confident play.

As for the second, for the first time in a month he appeared in the league from the first minutes due to Alaba’s serious injury: the German injured his knee and will no longer be available for nine months. There is simply no one else to play in the center of defense. One of the candidates for winter reinforcement is the former Castilla star Rafa Marín, 21, whom Alavés rented to Real Madrid. And, of course, he couldn’t help but play against his home team.

Largely thanks to Marín, the visitors did not create clear scoring chances during the first half. The most dangerous on the field was (suddenly) Valverde: Fede shot from far away from the beginning and at the end he shot accurately from far away. Sivera confidently neutralized both attempts. Alavés himself did not give Madrid many problems either.

Alavés – Real

Photo: Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

According to the results of the first half of the match, Marín received a high score of 7.1 on SofaScore; only Brahim Díaz (7.4) was better. Rafa blocked a shot, took the ball twice and intercepted it once, and also won two battles for the four position.

The young defender was really good. But Nacho let his team down: in the 54th minute, in a completely harmless situation, he stepped hard on Samu’s foot and got the red card. What’s more, at first they showed him a yellow card, but the replay of the video corrected everything. It seems that Marín will return to Madrid soon and will be in a better position than Fernández, for whom this was the second dismissal of the season.

Real Madrid was in an extremely difficult situation. Ancelotti had to replace Modric with Tchuameni, who immediately ran to cover the gap in the center of defense. Obviously, Aurélien did not expect such a complete return from injury from him, as he played very little for Villarreal and went 4-1.

Alavés – Real

Photo: Diego Souto/Getty Images

In attack, Alavés’ numerical advantage did not help. Well, Real Madrid, even in the minority, created the best opportunity of the match: Rodrigo took advantage of a long shot from Kroos, beat two rivals and shot powerfully towards the far corner; The ball almost flew into the top corner, but landed a little higher.

Unfortunately, the match was heading towards a goalless draw, when suddenly Lucas Vázquez scored with a header in the 92nd minute. Kroos took the corner and Lucas, who was not held back, scored the winning goal. Apparently, the Alavés defense did not at all expect a feat from the 173-centimetre right back.

La Real had not achieved such a sweaty victory in a long time. The team once again showed champion character and returned to first place. As for Marín, despite the goal, he increased his rating to 7.4, making several more clearances, tackles and interceptions. He won the duel in absentia against Nacho with a clear advantage.

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