Slow in the first act, Real Madrid finally accelerated in the second half to win against Alavés (3-0) as part of the 25th day of La Liga. A victory that allows the Merengues to revive after the defeat conceded in Paris and to temporarily count seven lengths ahead of Seville FC, dolphin of Madrid.
On the occasion of the 25th day of La Liga, Real Madrid, leader of the Spanish championship with 54 units, welcomed Alavés (19th, 20 pts) this Saturday at 9 p.m. At the Santiago-Bernabéu, the Merengues, beaten by PSG in the middle of the week in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League (0-1), could, in the event of victory, temporarily take a seven-point lead over Seville FC , who will play against Espanyol Barcelona on Sunday. For his part, Alavés, who had not won in La Liga since November 30 (6 losses, 3 draws), wanted to continue after his success against Valencia last week (2-1). For this meeting, Carlo Ancelotti aligned his usual 4-3-3 with the tenure of Benzema, accompanied by Vinicius Jr and Asensio in attack. Valverde replaced Kroos in midfield alongside Modric and Casemiro. Among the visitors, José Luis Mendilibar proposed a 4-2-3-1 without Laguardia (suspension) and Guidetti (injury). Joselu was therefore aligned at the forefront, while the French Lejeune chained the matches in central defense. Scorer against Valencia last week, the Senegalese Loum was the Basque double pivot with Pina.
Faced with the Babazorros, the people of Madrid, however, experienced a delicate start to the meeting. Uninspired collectively, Courtois’ teammates could not stand out around the opposing area, except for this failed lob from Valverde, who was finally signaled offside (12th). A guilty technical waste, like this very high recovery which allowed Jason to arm a first strike flirting with the crossbar of the merengue goalkeeper (26th). Offering a stereotypical game, very often focused on Vinicius, Real multiplied loss of balls and imprecise crosses, even causing the whistles of a game of Bernabéu. Just before the break, Modric was trying to wake up his team but again, the shot from the Croatian midfielder lacked the power to surprise Pacheco (43rd).
Real Madrid are stepping up a gear!
When they returned from the locker room, the Merengues, tasteless during the first 45 minutes, set a new pace. On a free kick, first of all, Alaba called on the Alavés goalkeeper to be vigilant against the pressing of Benzema (49th). And in the process, the Casa Blanca created the biggest situation of this meeting. Found on the left side of the area, Vinicius played his defender but his cross shot found Pacheco’s foot. On the lookout, Benzema saw meanwhile, in a second time, his shot diverted by Lejeune on his line (55th). Suffering from the new face displayed by the people of Madrid, Alavés was nevertheless very close to opening the scoring on a terrible error from Asensio. Pons took advantage of an uncertain delivery from the Spanish winger, dribbled past Courtois but failed to straighten the trajectory of the ball (62nd). A blunder that Asensio would quickly be forgiven for…
Alerted on the right side, at 20 meters, the number 11 of Madrid controlled, transplanted slightly in the center and fired a sublime strike from the left which found the opposite corner of a powerless Pacheco (1-0, 63rd). Slow in the game, Real therefore relied on this coup to take the lead. Authors of a more convincing second period, the men of Carlo Ancelotti ended this meeting better. While Carvajal once again appealed to Pacheco (74′), Benzema, served back by Vinicius, found the base of the amount of the last rampart of Alavés (77′). Cornered, Alavés logically ended up cracking on a magnificent three-way combination between Benzema, Asensio and Vinicius. Taking advantage of two heels from the first two cities, the Brazilian resumed victoriously at six meters to put his people under cover (2-0, 80th). At the very end of the match, Benzema even offered himself, on penalty, his 18th goal in La Liga (3-0, 90 + 1st). Thanks to this success (3-0), Real Madrid therefore consolidates its position as leader in La Liga and even temporarily takes a seven-point lead over Seville FC. For his part, Alavés remains stuck in a dangerous 19th place.
The official line-ups at kick-off
Real Madrid starting XI
📋✅ ¡Nuestro 𝗫𝗜 inicial 🆚 @Alaves! @UnicajaBanco | #RealMadridAlavés pic.twitter.com/Qv1d1n6cB9
— Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) February 19, 2022
Alaves XI
Ya tenemos 𝐗𝐈 para este #RealMadridAlavés👥 Estos son los jugadores que ha elegido Mendilibar para el partido en el Santiago Bernabéu 👇#GoazenGlorioso 🦊 pic.twitter.com/4bY393LaNJ
— Deportivo Alaves (@Alaves) February 19, 2022
