All in view of this Sunday’s Madrid derby at 21:00 local time at the Metropolitan Stadium of mattresses, with the morbidity of the dances of the Brazilian Vinicius Junior, of the merengues, when he scores goals.
The sporting theme, however, is fundamental and the truth is that the “white house” loses a lot of strength in attack when it does not have the French striker Benzema, a great candidate for the Ballon d’Or this year.
The striker’s injury against Celtic Glasgow in the Champions League set off the Madrid fans’ alarm bell, but in the end it was a double muscle problem in his right thigh, which prevented him from playing until 2 October against Madrid. Osasuna, in the La Liga, according to the doctors predictions.
Vinicius, his compatriot Rodrygo and the Uruguayan Fede Valverde, were responsible for bridging the gap left by Benzema, protagonists in the victories over Celtic (3-0), Mallorca (4-1) and Leipzig (2-0).
However the statistics, even on a global level, are misleading and in crucial duels, for example in the previous season against Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Club, the meringues lost, suffering from the absence of Benzema.
Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti hopes to turn the tables around now. Not only to maintain Real Madrid’s position as the only leader in the local tournament, but also because the “benzema addiction” can do a lot of damage to the club in the medium and long term.
On the threshold of the match, the first and great curiosity of the duel revolves around the celebrations of Vinicio, with the dances when he scores.
There will be trouble, anticipated the captain of Atleti, Koke, in a sentence that has outraged the madridisti.
The meringues have put together eight wins in the new season, which includes five successes in local competition, two in the Champions League and one to win the European Super Cup.
The Croatian Luka Modric and the German Toni Kroos, together with the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and the Austrian defender David Alaba, have allowed the “white house” to extend the series.
However, the moment of truth arrives. Atlético de Madrid are growing and their coach, Argentina’s Diego Cholo Simeone, needs to get out of the uncertain start of the game.
The quality has in pink, with the Portuguese Joao Félix and the Spanish Alvaro Morata as offensive inspirations, with the complement of the Argentine Angel Correa and the Brazilian Matheus Cunha.
He comes with the question of whether his stellar Slovenian goalkeeper will be able to play, resentful of an injury, and the decision to open or not with Frenchman Antoine Griezmann, limited in a few minutes by a contractual dispute between Barcelona (his previous team) and Atleti.
mem / ft
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