Table leadership gone for the time being
Real makes a bad mistake, Ancelotti quarrels with players
11/08/2022, 06:15 am
A bitter blunder in the small derby: Real Madrid conceded their first defeat of the season against Rayo Vallecano on matchday 13 of La Liga – and lost the lead in the table to their arch-rivals. Coach Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t see any drama, but he does see attitude problems among his players.
Real Madrid missed the leap back to the top of the Primera Division table. The record champion and defending champion lost the city duel at Rayo Vallecano 2: 3 (2: 2) and conceded the first defeat of the season in La Liga. Santi (5th) had given the hosts the lead. Luka Modric (37th) with a penalty kick and Eder Militao (41st) turned the game around with their goals for a short time. Alvaro (44th) equalized before the break. Oscar Trejo (67th) scored the winning goal for the outsider with a hand penalty.
Trejo had missed the first attempt. However, since Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois left the line too early, the penalty was repeated. Rayo coach Andoni Iraola Sagarna had to watch the decisive goal from the stands after the referee showed him the red card in the 62nd minute for complaining too much. After falling behind, Real could only think of a few ways to equalize.
“We lacked some freshness, but that’s normal after so many games,” said coach Carlo Ancelotti. “But if we evaluate the first part of the season, then we did well.” Nevertheless, the maestro struggled with the attitude of his players. “Sometimes you don’t win games with quality alone.” Karim Benzema and Antonio Rüdiger were missing from the disappointing Los Blancos through injuries, while 2014 world champion Toni Kroos was suspended for the first yellow-red card of his career. After 13 match days, the defending champion is now two points behind FC Barcelona.
The Catalans had already won 2-0 (0-0) against UD Almeria on Saturday night. The game in Barcelona was all about spades. It was the last appearance at the Camp Nou for the 35-year-old. “It’s not really a farewell, I’m leaving the club after 17 years. My grandfather made me a club member, I was born here and I’ll die here,” said the legend full of pathos after the final whistle. The game was far less emotional up to that point. Robert Lewandowski had shot a penalty early on the post (7th), later Ousmane Dembele (48th) and Frenkie de Jong (62nd) still scored to win.
