Deceptive win by Madrid against Naples to secure first place

He was “freaking out,” he said at the end of the game. It is no wonder, because it is not every day that he scores with the first team, at the Santiago Bernabéu and against a rival like Naples. Nico Pazfrom the subsidiary of Real Madridhas ended up saving the seniors, pulling them out of a tremendous thicket (4-2) in a generally ugly game and in which Carlo Ancelotti’s men did not exactly show their best version.

In fact, they were aiming for a poor merengue at home – a draw was enough to secure first place in the group – but the goals from the Spanish-Argentine – the first in the white shirt – and Joselu They ended up giving the three points to a Real Madrid that, in addition to being seeded in the round of 16 draw, maintains the full lead with 15 points out of a possible 15.

Gio SimeoneCholo’s son, soon overtook the Neapolitansbut Rodrygo tied a minute later and Bellingham made the comeback possible. The Brazilian and the Englishman continue to form a great partnership, now that Vinícius Júnior is going to be out of combat for a good season. Madrid did not achieve the third and Zambo Anguissa, upon returning from the locker room, took advantage of the home team’s defensive weakness to bring the tie to the scoreboard. The white team was not fine, until Nico Paz got his team out of the quagmire and Joselu, very unsuccessful until that moment, signed the final 4-2 in stoppage time.

They are some of the stars of the night. Without forgetting a superb Toni Kroos. The German moved the team as he pleased and was one of the standouts. He is in one of the best moments of his career and now, taking advantage of the absences of Camavinga, Tchouaméni and Modricis responsible for carrying the handle of the equipment.

Emilio Butragueño said, in his role as a White House diplomat, that we have seen a “great soccer game,” but the author of these lines does not think so. Naples went ahead in a play that seemed harmless: Kvaratskhelia picked up the ball in the left corner of the big area, from where he put a scepter with music to the far post and Gio Simeone, after Politano’s drop, finished in the small area with Lunin sunken. The Ukrainian goalkeeper repelled the ball, but when it was already in. 0-1 and surprise at the Bernabéu.

But Madrid’s response was unbeatable, because Brahim Diaz, starter tonight, recovered in the rival field and began a gallop. He quickly served Rodrygo, who hit a right hand into the corner, impossible for a Meret who could only make the statue. The whites woke up and lost their temper until Bellingham, with his 15th goal for Madrid, turned the game around. Spectacular pass from Alaba of more than 30 meters over the great unmarking behind the Englishman, who with a subtle header crossed the ball in front of Meret so that ‘Hey Jude’ sounded again in the Bernabéu.

Madrid continued with its plan to dominate an injured Naples. And from Rodrygo’s boots, with a dream dribble, another great chance was born, but Brahim’s shot went close to the post. The Spanish-Moroccan had the last of Ancelotti’s men before the break, in the final stretch of the first half in which Bellingham’s ankle put the fans on edge.

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Overconfidence hurt Real Madrid when they returned from the locker room: Anguissa He finished hard after a rebound and almost inside the area without opposition to make it 2-2. Damn inappropriate for Ancelotti. Napoli grew again and once again created danger in a counterattack badly carried out by Kvaratskhelia after Ceballos lost an inexplicable ball. Poor game by the Sevillian, who did not take advantage of his opportunity.

From there, total thickness in Madrid. Ancelotti put Joselu for a tired and disappointing Ceballos and not because of a Bellingham hit, and the Galician had the 3-2 in his boots, when he only had to push a sensational delivery from Mendy, but the shot went through the roof. As the minutes passed, Real Madrid suffered from a lack of gasoline, in a clear drop in intensity and energy that gave wings to Naples. Osimhen beat Lunin with a low shot outside the area, but the goal was not scored due to clear offside.

Madrid was thick, but Naples, with fewer and fewer ideas, did not know how to take advantage of it. Di Lorenzo overwhelmed Mendy in the area: it seemed like a penalty, but Letexier did not whistle it, and then came a double chance for Madrid, both from a bicycle kick. This unleashed the meringues, who had the clearest shot on the head of a mistaken Joselu, after Meret stopped Bellingham’s shot from down one on one, taking advantage of a great delivery from Carvajal.

It seemed that the goal was not going to arrive until Nico Pazwhich entered through a Brahim headdress, he cut in on the right side and lined up for his good leg, shooting with power to beat a Meret who could have done more. A goal to “freak out”, as the young youth squad recognized. The victory was signed by a liberated Joselu with the fourth goal, assisted by Bellingham, to redeem himself with the Bernabéu fans, to whom he wanted to apologize after all the chances he had missed previously.

In short, first place tied and now we have to think about Granada, on Saturday at the Bernabéu, to cling to the top of LaLiga.

Datasheet

Real Madrid, 4: Lunin; Carvajal, Rüdiger, Alaba, Mendy (Nacho, m.87); Toni Kroos, Ceballos (Joselu, m.57), Fede Valverde; Jude Bellingham; Brahim (Nico Paz, m.65) and Rodrygo (Lucas Vázquez, m.87)
Naples, 2: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Nathan, John Jesus (Zanoli, m.87); Lobotka (Scraper, m.87), Anguissa, Zielinski (Elmas, m.65); Politano (Cajuste, m.78), Gio Simeone (Osimhen, m.46) and Kvaratskhelia

Goals: 0-1, m.10: Simeone. 1-1, m. 11: Rodrigo. 2-1, 22 minutes: Bellingham. 2-2, m.47: Eel. 3-2, m.84: Nico Paz. 4-2, m.94: Joselu
Referee: François Letexier (France). He admonished Zielinski (49) and Ctrabajo (90), from Naples
Incidences: Match of the fifth day of the Champions League played at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in front of 83,186 spectators

2023-11-29 22:29:50
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