First serious alert for Carlo Ancelotti. Five days after the earthquake against the modest Sheriff Tiraspol in C1 (2-0), Real Madrid suffered their first defeat of the season in La Liga. A 2-1 setback on the lawn of Espanyol Barcelona on Sunday for the 8th day.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men, who still keep the championship lead, folded twice: first on a cross cut at the near post by the former merengue Raul de Tomas (17th), then on a solitary raid by Aleix Vidal (61st), before Karim Benzema closed the gap at the end of the match (71st).
Returning to the Madrid bench this summer and author of a blazing start to the season with 6 wins and a draw in the first seven games, the Italian technician saw his first turmoil at the head of the “White House”. Because Real Madrid have not won over the last three games. Last weekend, he was hung 0-0 at the Santiago-Bernabeu by Villarreal in La Liga, then was beaten by surprise Tuesday night, still on his home ground, by the modest Sheriff Tiraspol.
A goal in the last three meetings
If this defeat does not have the magnitude of the earthquake experienced in the Champions League on Tuesday, it is a disturbing little reply for “Carletto”. “We have to assess what is going on. In the last two games, we have experienced difficulties that we did not have before: we do not score goals. But that’s football. When all goes well, that means there are worse times to come. There, we are not having a bad time, we just have more difficulties, ”Ancelotti assured Saturday at a press conference, playing the card of serenity.
But the result is there: after scoring 22 goals in the first 7 games (!), Real Madrid have only scored one goal in the last three meetings … and only displayed a poor face, Sunday after -midday. And yet, it is not for lack of trying, after suffering the offensive waves of Barcelona at the start of the match, Karim Benzema has repeatedly alerted Diego Lopez in the last half hour.
The French center forward saw his magnificent first goal refused for an offside position from Luka Jovic (68th), his header missed the frame (80th), and his ball served on a plateau for the goal of ‘Eden Hazard called off for a new offside position. And his goal (71st), after having dribbled all the defense, was in vain.
Another bad news: rookie Eduardo Camavinga, lined up from the start, had to come out at the break, and we saw him with an ice pack on his left ankle on the bench during the second period. The only positive point to remember could be the very good entry into play of Eden Hazard at the end of the match, just before the international window where he will face the Blues in the semi-final of the Nations League with the Belgian selection, Thursday evening in Turin. .
