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After a well fought draw against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinal, Los Blancos took on their eternal rivals Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano. Atletico hoped to sustain their runner up position in the LaLiga race after a shocking defeat against Real Betis in their previous match.
Sergio Reguilon who has been pretty impressive this season replaced the veteran Marcelo while Courtois returned in place of Keylor Navas. Atletico was boosted by the return of Diego Godin while Lucas Hernandez shifted to a full-back role.
As expected, both teams came out with a lot of intensity, and Atletico initially had the upper hand by pressing high and putting pressure on the Madrid defence. Against the run of play, Casemiro scored a goal from a set piece but Griezmann soon equalised with a cool nutmeg to Courtois.
Ramos scored a penalty to give Madrid the lead just before half time. Bale scored his 100th goal for Real Madrid, and in the end, Real won the encounter 1-3. Here are the hits and flops from the game.
Hit
#1 Casemiro
The Brazilian is a proven big match player and once again showed his worth with a clinical performance against Atletico Madrid. His defensive prowess and his ability to keep a calm head when the four-man Atletico Madrid midfield pressed hard to win back the ball was pretty impressive.
He guarded the defence with effortless ease, and that allowed Varane and Ramos to move further high up the pitch. The most amusing part of Casemiro’s game is his ability to get away with rough tackles, and this helped him engage in some physical midfield battles with Thomas Party and Thomas Lemar.
His striking ability continues to increase as he opened the scoring with a stunning overhead kick. The corner kick from Toni Kroos was deflected slightly by Sergio Ramos, and Casemiro made the most of it with a brilliant finish akin to a skilled striker. His battle with Frankie de Jong in midfield will be a joy to watch when Real Madrid clash with Ajax in the Champions League.
Flop
#1 Diego Godin
Diego Godin has been the lynchpin of the Atletico Madrid defence ever since he transferred from Villareal in 2010. His return to the team was expected to strengthen the defence of Atletico but he looked out of touch and had very little involvement in the proceedings.
Even during set pieces, he unusually looked off colour and Atletico relied a lot on Gimenez whenever Real Madrid attacked. His battle with Vinicius Junior on the left flank was enticing. The youngster beat him comfortably during the first one on one duel but the veteran refused to give up and prevented Vinicius from cutting in from the left wing.
But that was his only contribution on a difficult night for the Atletico Madrid defence, as he was lost on the pitch during the second half. The substitute Gareth Bale easily scored from a position which should have been guarded by Godin. The injury-enforced break has affected his rhythm, and he will be looking to improve his performance in the next game.
Hit
#2 Luka Modric
After a disappointing start to the 2018-19 season in which he looked a shadow of his self after a tiring World Cup, Luka Modric has slowly returned to his best with some consistent performances this year.
Against Atletico, his big match experience and maturity shone brightly as he controlled and guided the Madrid midfield with some clever passes and timely interceptions. His chemistry with Toni Kroos was top notch and their combination opened up a lot of passing lanes during Real Madrid’s attacking runs.
In the first half, he stayed high up the pitch and attracted the Atletico defenders away from their positions with calculated runs on the right flank. In the second half, he took on a deep playmaking role and was involved in recovering the ball in tight spaces. He made a clinical assist to Bale during a counter-attack to effectively end Atletico’s hopes of winning the match.
Flop
#2 Thibaut Courtois
Before his stint at Chelsea and his brilliant World Cup campaign, Courtois became famous for his incredible goalkeeping record during Atletico Madrid’s league title win in 2014.
Naturally, his summer transfer last year to their arch-rivals Real Madrid had irked a lot of Atletico Madrid fans, and he was loudly whistled throughout the match. This loud jeering from the crowd affected his goalkeeping as he made a few mis-passes in dangerous areas and his distribution lacked any purpose.
In the first half when he faced Griezmann in a one on one situation, he was in two minds whether to go forward or stay back, and this gave Griezmann a split second advantage as he nutmegged him for the equaliser.
Later in the second half, Alvaro Morata almost repeated the same goal with a beautiful chip but the effort was ruled offside by a few inches. This was not an awful performance by any means but he should learn to handle pressure in big games as the UCL knockout stages are not far away.
Hit
#3 Antoine Griezmann
The Frenchman has been in good goalscoring form of late and he extended his impressive record in the Madrid derby with an early equaliser. But he will be disappointed with the performance of his team as he got very little help from his teammates and got frustrated as the game went on.
Right from the word go, there were a lot of Real Madrid players around Griezmann, and he initially found it hard to move forward without getting fouled. 25 minutes into the second half, Angel Correa dispossessed Vinicius Junior and made a perfect pass to Griezmann. Griezmann cautiously remained onside and made a superb run. He finished calmly by nutmegging his former teammate Thibaut Courtois, neutralizing Madrid’s early lead.
His headed effort from a corner went just wide of the post, and in the second half, he worked alongside the midfielders to win the ball back. Diego Simeone will be pleased with the way in which he linked with Alvaro Morata, as their chemistry is key to Atletico Madrid in the upcoming games.
