A Real Madrid going through the motions, amidst a cold and indifferent atmosphere, remains hanging by a thread of hope in the League after defeating Alavés with goals from Mbappé and Vinícius, booed at the start, redeemed later, a bipolarity repeated ad nauseam this season at the Bernabéu, which at times doesn’t know what feeling to identify with its team (2-1).
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There is no worse scenario than indolence, and that was the most predominant feeling in the stands – countless empty seats – of Real Madrid after falling in Munich and saying goodbye to the Champions League. Another title lost down the drain in a season that looks as white as the club’s colors, which awaits a ‘molto longo’ end to the work (to emulate Juanito’s famous phrase about matches at the Bernabéu). If Barça beats Celta today, that thread of hope becomes invisible.
Amidst that funeral atmosphere, Alavés came out more focused on the match. After two minutes, Quique Sánchez Flores’s pupils had entered Lunin’s area twice. Well-protected in a 4-4-2 that occasionally transformed into a back five, they found Boyé with his back to goal, a headache for Huijsen and Militao in duels.
The Bernabéu did not raise its tone and only the decibels from the cheering section were heard until Vinícius touched the ball. There were boos. Something has broken forever between the Brazilian, who must renew before the World Cup (“we have to find the right moment,” he recently said), and the members, once protectors, now accusers every time an action doesn’t go his way. In the 18th minute, the winger went to chat with Arbeloa on the sideline, annoyed with ‘things’ from the match.
Little by little, without knowing why, Madrid began to push Alavés back. The meringues accumulated in interior zones, at the same heights, a kind of totally disordered Rubik’s cube; but in chaos, exceptional figures emerge. After half an hour, a shot from Mbappé from outside the area touched Jonny’s backside and slipped in. Nobody at Madrid could hide their smile. Not even Mbappé imagined that his cheeky shot would end up making it 1-0.
That’s when the best Madrid emerged. Mbappé had two more chances. One went wide, another was repelled by Sivera. Even Militao hit the crossbar. It was a bitter game for the center-back because, once again, he left injured with knee problems after the shot. This Wednesday he will undergo tests.
Toni Martínez hit the post and Lunin saved the rebound. A promising farewell to a yawning first half.
Whether there would be a match depended on Real Madrid and their accuracy. And they didn’t take too long to finish it. In the 49th minute, Vinícius received a pass near the area, guided the ball to the right, and shot powerfully close to the post. Sivera couldn’t take his eyes off the net, where the ball ended up (2-0). The footballer apologized and was applauded. There is always clemency in the white coliseum, awaiting what will happen next season with the changes Florentino Pérez must make.
One of them is the sale of Camavinga, a footballer singled out for the defeat in Munich due to his expulsion with the score at 2-3. He received the most consistent scolding when he came onto the pitch and every time he touched the ball.
There were still 25 minutes left, Alavés took a step forward more out of decency than conviction, and Madrid found spaces. Mbappé and Vinícius flirted with 3-0, but this time without success, and the Vitoria team began to dominate against a less impetuous Madrid, sad in its shell. Some timid boos returned every time Alavés shot at Lunin’s goal.
Like Toni Martínez’s, who hit the post for the second time and, immediately after, Lunin cleared another venomous shot for a corner.
People were leaving and the final image of the Bernabéu was that of an empty stadium while Alavés obtained the reward, at least, of the goal they so deserved for the missed chances. It was the 93rd minute. Toni Martínez sealed the 2-1. The public address system blared loudly to camouflage the whistles of the few remaining. Camavinga went to apologize to the cheering section. Few were left to address.
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