Madrid started the game trying something very unusual: scoring on the kickoff from the center of the field. Arda Güler tried and the ball went to the back of the Bukaneros. It was not the first time that the Turk tried it from such a distance, but never in the first second. The whites continued doing strange things, but, from then on and for a long time, very dangerous for their interests. Contrary to what it might have seemed with the Ottoman’s shot, the team showed up in the Kas Valley with a dislocated foot and no head.
Jude Bellingham, alone, incomprehensibly gave him a pass to the corner; Güler made a reckless delivery to Rüdiger; while the German lost it inside the area and, when he tried to make amends, he almost caused a penalty. Madrid did not clear things up at the bottom, but they paid for it at the top. He didn’t have a good head to prevent the 2-0 score after half an hour.
“We are not a very big team. The sides are not tall,” justified the Italian coach. In the center of the defense were two stalks like Rüdiger (1.90) and the Frenchman (1.88), who could not prevent Unai López and Mumin from scoring two goals in two centers from the right. In the second, the two Real Madrid players who were closest to the Ghanaian centre-back, who is 1.88 tall, were Lucas Vázquez (1.73) and Güler (1.75).
A very crooked start to which Madrid had a response, good and quick, but insufficient at the end of the night. A tie, however, that Carlo Ancelotti wanted to differentiate greatly from the two draws with which the season began in Mallorca and Las Palmas. “It’s different. This [el de Vallecas] It is that of a supportive team,” he began a long and emphatic confession. “[Tras esos dos resultados iniciales en agosto] I thought it was very complicated to find balance, commitment and attitude. I was very worried and we have managed to recover the attitude of last year. Those two ties affected me a lot. It was difficult to think that in December we would be like this. I could be wrong, but I see 2025 very well. “We are on a good path, I leave here satisfied,” he assured. “Today we start without Mbappé, Vini, Camavinga, Militão, Carvajal, Mendy and Alaba. Seven starters. And the others have competed very well,” defended Carletto, who was able to use Camavinga again, back from an injury, and highlighted the performance of Rodrygo, who has also just returned from the medical report. On the Rayista side, the last-minute absentee was James, although neither his coach Iñigo Pérez nor president Martín Presa wanted to reveal the reasons.
Madrid’s unfinished comeback left goals with an asterisk. Valverde’s sharp blow made him the only one in the League to have scored four goals from outside the area. Jude Bellingham scored his sixth goal of the tournament, adding to the one he scored on Tuesday in Bergamo. According to statistician Mr. Chip, he is the first non-striker to score in six consecutive League games since Roque Olsen, also with Madrid, 72 years ago. And Rodrygo scored again for the first time since September 24, in the middle of two injuries and continuous stoppages. The night already seemed to be going downhill for the whites. Vinicius came out, exchanging a smile with Bellingham, but right there Madrid skidded in another curve. Isi tied it at three, Vinicius received another yellow card on a rebound with the referee protesting a possible penalty, and he will not play next Sunday with Sevilla due to an accumulation of cards.
Madrid ended up delivering a draw with his header. They conceded two goals through the air and did not finish off the night with another aerial ball in stoppage time. Fourth game in a row that runs aground against the Vallecanos. Ancelotti, yes, sees the future with optimism if he thinks about the immediate past.
