With hands on heads, their faces marked by frustration and incomprehension, Real Madrid’s exhausted players looked just like the fans in the stands of the Santiago Bernabeu following Marcos Llorente’s 93rd-minute equaliser for Atletico Madrid.
It was as if the bad start to their night had foreshadowed how it would conclude.
Before Sunday evening’s La Liga kick-off, the home supporters’ tifo broke just before it was unfurled, somewhat taking away from the moment’s impact. Then there was a mix-up with the starting XI. Vinicius Junior withdrew from the warm-up but was still announced as a starter on the public address system. Brahim Diaz was named as the Brazilian’s replacement, even though it had been reported that it would be Joselu.
Se rompió el tifo, que decía “El escudo de la hinchada madridista, grabado en el corazón”@TheAthleticFC pic.twitter.com/f5iCFHy2Dy
— Mario Cortegana (@MarioCortegana) February 4, 2024
It was as if something was already jinxed for Real Madrid. Three points would have seen them take advantage of Girona’s draw the day before and move four points clear at the top of the table. Instead, they ended up damaged by a dose of their own medicine. As Atletico keeper Jan Oblak put it, “Normally, it’s Real Madrid who score in the last minutes.”
Atletico’s leveller came just before the referee blew his final whistle and was scored by Llorente, a player who was raised in Madrid’s La Fabrica youth academy (he was there from 2008 to 2016, and made 39 appearances for the first team before joining Diego Simeone’s side in 2019).
However, Atletico could easily have scored earlier in the match, given the weak situations in Madrid’s defence. If an away goal was going to come it would be from an aerial ball — just as it happened.
Real Madrid came into the season’s fourth Atletico ‘derbi’ of the season with a makeshift back line. In addition to their three long-term absentees Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger was also ruled out after picking up a knock against Getafe, and Aurelien Tchouameni was suspended after collecting his fifth yellow card of the league season in Thursday’s 2-0 win.
On Friday, sources — who preferred to speak anonymously to protect their position — close to former Chelsea defender Rudiger said he was trying everything he could to make the match, despite the fact his injury “hurt like hell”. But by Sunday, Rudiger, 30, was clearly in no fit state to play, as he could not even run. No risk would be taken, not even with a player described as “a warrior” by coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Madrid, then, had only one fit centre-back in their entire first-team squad, with Nacho. In addition, two potential options from reserve side Real Madrid Castilla, Alvaro Carrillo and Marvel, were also injured. Even midfielder Tchouameni, the emergency pick, was unavailable.
Although Ancelotti had spoken at Saturday’s pre-match press conference about Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy and Eduardo Camavinga as alternatives, the plan had been clear since Friday. The Italian was aware then that it would be almost impossible for Rudiger to play, and he had started to work with the idea of having Carvajal as Nacho’s partner.
💪 @DaniCarvajal92 💪
4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ matches in a Real Madrid shirt! 🤯
🏆 23 trophies
✅ 11 seasons#RealFootball pic.twitter.com/RxJx85RkXB— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) February 4, 2024
The situation in the medical room also influenced the choice of goalkeeper, with Andriy Lunin again getting the nod. It is the first time since ‘rotations’ between the Ukrainian and Kepa Arrizabalaga began that one of them has started three games in a row.
The coaching staff believe that Arrizabalaga, on loan without an option to buy from Chelsea, picked up an injury just when he was starting to show his best this season. That was when Lunin took his chance. Madrid’s coaches believe Lunin, 24, is growing, despite some failures, having been ‘freed’ from the pressure of sporadic matches as Thibaut Courtois’ stand-in. They also think he is more solid than Arrizabalaga in aerial balls.
GO DEEPER
Who is Real Madrid’s No 1? Kepa Arrizabalaga or Andriy Lunin?
In their previous La Liga meeting in September, and in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final in January, Atletico had scored early headed goals. On Sunday, their plan was clear — to further test Madrid’s defence, especially with Ancelotti’s back line (Lucas Vazquez, Carvajal, Nacho and Ferland Mendy) defined by a lower-than-usual stature.
Atletico made a total of 19 open-play crosses (to the home side’s 10) and swung in eight corners (Madrid had two). They tried 27 aerial balls to Real Madrid’s 12. The strategy showed until the very last play, when Llorente stole in to punish Nacho’s passivity in the box.
Victory would have seen Madrid move four points clear in La Liga (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Despite the result, Ancelotti was happy with his team. “We deserved to win, we can’t reproach ourselves for anything,” he said. “We lacked a bit of height — they took advantage of a lot of crosses.”
To a large extent, Antelotti’s team was diminished by the failure to bring in a centre-back in the January transfer window. Although he said he needed a defender in meetings with the board, he has played down its importance in front of the media.
Instead, on Sunday, the Italian coach preferred to point out that Rudiger would soon be back fit, that Tchouameni would return in the key La Liga home match against Girona on Saturday evening, and he also showed hope that Camavinga, who left the pitch looking very sore, had only suffered a minor knock.
It has been a season of survival for Real Madrid. The most important part is still to come.
(Top photo: David S Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
