Real Madrid is doing… in pain. At the end of a hyper sluggish match on the lawn of Osasuna, on behalf of the 22nd day, the Merengues won a precious success to temporarily return to five lengths from FC Barcelona at the top of the Spanish championship standings.
The league
Benzema sees double and Real returns to La Liga
02/15/2023 At 09:53 PM
It took until the second half to see the scoreboard come alive, under the impetus of a Vinicius who took on his responsibilities in the absence of certain executives (Karim Benzema in the lead). Real will have to show something else in the three shocks that await them against Liverpool (Champions League), Atlético (Liga) and Barça (Coupe du Roi).
A very sluggish Real Madrid
Real Madrid continues to blow hot and cold. Deprived of Karim Benzema (fatigue) and Aurélien Tchouaméni (influenza), the Merengue had all the difficulty in the world to find offensive solutions against Osasuna. The statistics at the break said a lot about Real’s long inoffensive performance, which only shot three times on goal in the first 45 minutes. Or his lowest total of the season. Another proof: there was only one clear chance during this first act which saw Vinicius lose a duel with Sergio Herrera (10th). Insufficient.
Entering the game timidly, the Osasuna players ended up gaining confidence, until they brought danger to the cage of Thibaut Courtois, vigilant against Moi Gomez (15th) or Darko Brasanac (29th). He can especially thank the lack of efficiency of Ante Budimir (43rd, 53rd) and his post, which repelled a good strike from Gomez (62nd). Real Madrid had some serious downtimes in this match, and we were sometimes closer to 1-0 in favor of Osasuna. A sign that mastery was far from complete for Merengue, recent winners of the Club World Cup.
Offensively, Rodrygo was quite transparent, except for an attempt on recovery (47th). Quite the opposite of Vinicius, who gradually gained strength, despite a first goal disallowed for an offside position (52nd). It is thanks to him that the situation was unblocked, when he fixed well in the surface to serve Federico Valverde on a plateau (0-1, 78th), when he had just lost a second duel with Herrera ( 74th).
The Brazilian then believed to make the break, but his goal was invalidated after the intervention of the VAR (89th). Video assistance, on the other hand, had nothing to say about the situation concluded by Marco Asensio, after a winning pressing from young Alvaro Rodriguez (0-2, 90th + 2). This snatch success allows Real to continue and put a little pressure on FC Barcelona, totally in control of its destiny.
02/11/2023 At 8:58 PM