Brahim's magic puts Real Madrid ahead in the Champions League derby
Five minutes before nine in the evening, the four thousand Atlético de Madrid fans who had come to the Santiago Bernabéu decided to dishonour the minute's silence for Javier Dorado by shouting ‘Madridistas, hijos de...’! The rest of the stadium decided to silence these heartless individuals by applauding in memory of the former Real Madrid player. Tense moments, which, although expected, should not be justified when what should be respected is a deceased person.
The Euro derby began with Real Madrid on top form, to the point of stringing together a very fast move in which Valverde slipped a pass behind Galán that Rodrygo took advantage of to enter the area and cross the ball, which was unstoppable for Oblak. The first goal came after four minutes as a result of a defensive error by the Rojiblancos defence.
That was Ancelotti's team's game. Waiting for their opportunity and retreating back with a muscular midfield thanks to Tchouaméni and Camavinga in which Brahim played Ceballos. At the back, Asencio returned to the starting eleven and Valverde to the right wing with a bandage on his thigh that only allowed him to play 80 minutes of pure football.
Simeone decided to take charge of the ball with De Paul and Barrios while Simeone and Lino tried to get in down the wings. And there was the goal. Real Madrid's makeshift defences have small errors that cost goals. Only Asencio performs at a good level because something is wrong with Rüdiger, as could be seen from the bandage and the way he ran in the match against Betis. Mendy is a lottery and, in this game, it paid off for Real Madrid because he made no mistakes and a gallop could have ended the goal.
A bad clearance on the left wing by Camavinga allowed Julián Álvarez to produce a perfect shot that ended up in the back of Courtois's net. Two great goals in half an hour. Two defensive errors that left the Champions League derby wide open
There were no changes in the second half. Atlético changed their mentality and took control of the game. They pinned Real Madrid back in their own half, but barely had a shot on goal, with Griezmann's effort the only one. Brahim was waiting for his moment. He put in a spectacular performance, filling in for Ceballos and Bellingham.
In the 55th minute he entered the area and danced past Giménez who ended up at his feet after an impossible dribble and a low shot that became Real Madrid's second goal. Madness in the stands and the Morocco international merged with the Bernabéu crowd celebrating a goal of the utmost importance. On his return, Ancelotti whispered in his ear about his new position after the changes, but the man from Málaga was more concerned with telling Simeone ‘Talk now!’ after his words in the preview in which, surprisingly, he said he was not going to play in the Whites' midfield without giving further explanation.
Mbappé and Vinicius disappeared from the game. According to some journalists who are well-informed about the current situation at the club, something is wrong with the Frenchman. It is not a toothache and his performance leaves the door open for rumour. The Brazilian was not at his best either, although Ancelotti settled the controversy by assuring that nothing is wrong with Mbappé and that Atlético's defence is impenetrable. El Cholo also wanted to recognise the value of the Whites' forwards, praising their capacity for sacrifice in defence.
The Euro derby ended with Endrick playing for 10 minutes in place of Brahim to see if his nose for goal could have given Madrid a third, although it was Vinicius who had a very clear chance in injury time after some good pressure from the whole team. Lucas and Modric were Ancelotti's other substitutions. The Croatian came on in the 60th minute to prevent further disasters from Camavinga and the Galician in the 80th to avoid Valverde being completely injured.
Simeone was not successful with the five changes. He took off Simeone and Lino in the 60th minute and Griezmann and De Paul in the 70th, which left the team disorganised. Correa and Sorloth were his plan B in attack, but Asencio was once again supreme in the centre of defence.
Everything is still open for the return leg at the Metropolitano. The second leg of this Champions League derby will decide which team goes through to the quarter-finals and faces Arsenal, who are already waiting after the 1-7 defeat of PSV. Bellingham will be back and Valverde is expected to improve. Atlético will rely on their stadium, their people... even those animals who made a fool of themselves at the Bernabéu.
