Marco Asensio lamenting in the match vs. Atletico Madrid.
Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / Getty Images
In a game that had everything and with many emotions on the surface, Real Madrid could not defeat Atlético de Madrid at home at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and ended up drawing at one goal. This result places him seven points behind FC Barcelona in La Liga.
The match became quite disputed in the first half and those led by Diego Pablo ‘Cholo’ Simeone controlled possession a little more, but the whites enjoyed better chances in front of the goal.
The most critical point came in the second half when Madrid began to press higher and at minute 64 the Argentine Ángel Correa was sent off after only playing a little over a quarter of an hour of the game for elbowing Antonio Rüdiger in the chest.
At 78 ′ José María Giménez, who entered the first half due to Reinildo’s injury, put Atlético up after heading a free kick that became the first goal for the ‘Colchoneros’ in the match and the first in Santiago Bernabeu since 2016.
Antoine Griezmann was the last rojiblanco player to score a goal at the white grounds and it was in February 2016 when Zinedine Zidane had only a few weeks to take over as coach. The Frenchman scored the victory in the 52nd minute of that match.
With one more player and down on the scoreboard, Carlo Ancelotti decided to go to war and after an initial triple change in which Tchouaméni, Camavinga and Modric entered; he introduced the young Spanish-Uruguayan striker Álvaro Rodríguez.
Madrid’s tactical drawing changed completely and the 18-year-old attacker made a pair with Karim Benzema. In the 85th minute, after a corner kick taken by Luka Modric at the near post, the youth player sealed the equalizer with a beautifully crafted header and became the first young player to score in a derby in the 21st century.
Despite not having a record in the first team, this is Rodríguez’s third meeting with Real Madrid and in a total of 38 minutes he already has a goal and an assist, which he shared last week in the win against Osasuna.
For the first time in the history of derbies between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, two Uruguayan players score in the same match. The meringues extend their unbeaten record at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to eight years against the ‘Colchoneros’.
The whites are moving away in their race for the league title and are now seven points away awaiting what FC Barcelona does on Sunday against Almería. During the week, on Thursday, they will face off against the Catalans for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
It may interest you:
·Real Madrid suffered, shone and thrashed Liverpool in a heart-stopping Champions League match
·Thibaut Courtois and Alisson Becker gave rude goals in the first half of Liverpool vs. Real Madrid (Videos)
Isco’s girlfriend made fun of Dani Alves and compared his case with the extraterrestrial phenomenon
**
