Real Madrid arrives at Saturday’s classic in Montujïc with its homework done in the Champions League. Ancelotti’s team won this Tuesday in Braga (1-2) and with three victories in the three games played in the competition they practically have qualification for the round of 16 in their pocket. The worst news for the whites was the withdrawal of Jude Bellingham in the 87th minute, apparently due to a puncture in the groin, although according to the images the ailments are not too serious.
It was not a brilliant match for the whites by any means. Madrid conceded a lot in defense, especially in the center, where Rüdiger and Nacho did not mix very well. He didn’t have much control of the ball, but sparks from his forwards were enough. Rodrygo, dry since his league debut, finally found the net quite early and that already made the game very difficult for Braga.
Ancelotti’s lineup gave some clues for the classic. He gave four breaks regarding the Pizjuán match and three of them: Alaba, Tchouaméni and Kroos point to Barcelona.
Braga, a team with many Spaniards in its ranks, sinned in innocence. With quick transitions he hurt Madrid in the first half, although Kepa was not very compromised. The Madrid defenders were not very forceful in the clearances and the goal came in several phases.
Madrid only really began to control the game after the first half hour. Before, he had scored on his first approach to the Portuguese area, a cross from Vinícius and a violent shot from Rodrygo anticipating the centre-back, a killer goal. The curious thing about it is that Rodrygo Goes did not have to play. Ancelotti’s idea was to give Joselu the opportunity, but the Galician was dropped from the squad at the last minute due to a flu illness.
Once the game had calmed down, Madrid began to do damage through Vinícius’ wing, again very participative but whose last dribble was not successful and he continually fell offside. Bellingham wasn’t having its best night either, more than anything because Madrid was very direct and barely had any elaboration in the center of the field. The Englishman asked for the ball a lot, but they saw little of him.
With Modric not as precise as usual, Madrid lacked patience and a touch of malice to finish targeting the rival, who arrived at half-time convinced that he still had a good chance of getting into the game.
The second half began without a change of players and the staging saw a more vertical Madrid, ready to sentence. Bellingham was able to score in the 50th minute and Matheus denied him the goal in his best save of the night. He insisted so much that the Englishman kept his appointment with the goal in the 60th minute (he has eleven in twelve games) with a placed shot that went in close to the post.
Braga’s reaction was immediate and they closed the gap in the 62nd minute on a pass from Banza that caught Fran García in a bad position, from whom Madrid’s Djaló gained position to finish from point-blank range over Kepa.
The 1-2 score left a more nervous match due to the uncertainty of the result. Braga no longer had anything to lose and, encouraged by the goal, they went ahead with everything. A shot by Ricardo Horta was not a miracle equalizer because Kepa deflected it just enough.
Ancelotti removed Rodrygo for Tchouaméni to gain strength in the midfield at the cost of giving up his striker when the ideal match for the counterattack was on. The last minutes were bad for Madrid, who were increasingly in trouble. Vinícius scored on a counterattack, but the goal was disallowed for offside by the VAR. Three minutes from the end Bellingham left with apparent discomfort, the worst news for Real Madrid fans.
1 – Braga: Matheus; Mendes (Fonseca, d.73), Niakité, Serdar, Cristián Borja; Al Musrati (Moutinho, d.78), Rodrigo Zalazar; Djaló, Vitor Carvalho (Bruma, d.66), Ricardo Horta; and Banza (Abel Ruiz, m.66).
2 – Real Madrid: Cape Town; Dani Carvajal, Nacho, Rüdiger, Fran Garcia (Mendy, m.75); Camavinga, Fede Valverde, Modric, Bellingham (Lucas Vazquez, m.89); Vinicius and Rodrigo (Tchoaumeni, m.71)
Goals: 0-1, m.16: Rodrygo. 0-2, m.61: Bellingham. 1-2, m.63: Djaló.
Referee: Michael Oliver (England). He booked Camavinga (72) and Nacho (92) for Real Madrid.
Incidents: match corresponding to the third day of the Champions League, played at the Municipal Stadium of Braga in front of 29,820 spectators.
