In the early morning of Beijing time today (4th), in the 1/4 final of the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid lost 0-1 to Athletic Bilbao and missed the final four of the Copa del Rey.
Take revenge and slay the dragon. Once again, San Mamés witnessed the feat. Following the last time heli kebaça, Bilbao eliminated Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey and advanced to the semi-finals. The Basque Lions not only avenged the previous Super Cup final, but also sent away the last big team. So far, Real Madrid, Barca, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have been out. This season's Copa del Rey titles will be produced between Bilbao, Betis, Valencia and Vallecano.
Real Madrid has never taken the Copa del Rey as its core goal, and several tragic defeats in the past have been remembered for this reason. This time against Bilbao, which attaches great importance to domestic cup matches, Ancelotti faces the embarrassing situation of Mendy's absence due to injury and Marcelo's suspension. So Alaba was back at left-back and it turned out that something went wrong here. The biggest controversy was Benzema's absence. Ancelotti made it clear before the match: "This is not a Champions League final again, and I am not going to let Benzema take any risks." ”
So Real Madrid started with a combination of Rodrigo, Asensio and Vinicius, showing a strange scene of 3 people taking turns to insert into the middle position. The reality was not as good as Ancelotti had envisioned, with several people struggling with the chaotic division of labor and the lack of back-up support on the left, and most of the Real Madrid attacks went it alone and eventually failed. And until the end, Ancelotti did not send Bale, Hazard and Jovic, who had extremely high transfer fees, to pay the price for the rigidity of employment.
In terms of the first half alone, it is not surprising that Bilbao won in the end. Nico Williams and his brother Ignaci kept the initiative firmly on the right, holding Araba and Casemiro in the defensive zone. In times of danger, you can even see Vinicius returning to the front of his own penalty area. Several Basque forwards were very impactful, relying on the conduction of Munyain and the strategy of Raul Garcia to drive the fast attack, firmly controlling the pace of the game. Although Real Madrid are also good at playing fast, they are also very panicked in the face of endless hedging.
Bilbao was very imposing, but suffered from the lack of efficient shooters, often carrying the ball into the box but not following. In the first half, midfielder Dani Garcia made two high-quality shots that forced Courtois to make an extreme save. Shortly after the start of the second half, Raul Garcia's header was slightly off target. In the past, according to this script, Real Madrid, which has a stronger and more efficient lineup, has a better chance to catch up later. In the last round against Elche, Real Madrid, who played one less, relied on Hazard's sudden outburst to reverse victory in extra time. And Bilbao quickly lost his commander.com. Serena Williams showed too much, and once a heel bumped the tendon and was replaced. This caused the established route of advance to shift from the right to the left, with temporary adjustments to the offensive routine.
Ancelotti made very careful adjustments and didn't seem to worry that his opponent's frantic attack would work by accident. In the 60th minute, he replaced the in-form Vinicius with Isco, and indeed saved some control locally. But then replacing Kroos with Camaringa was a bit sloppy. That's where Bilbao's attack started. Dani Garcia and Berenguer were suddenly relieved to see two less difficult opponents in front of them. Coupled with 18-year-old Nico Serrano, who debuted in the 80th minute, Bilbao regained the momentum of the opening punch to kill the teacher.
Real Madrid was killed by a goal due to the opponent's continuous vertical attack, and the side failed to release the ball into a safe area and control it several times in a row. Finally Bilbao made the third attempt to pass forward, the Real Madrid defensive formation was scattered, And Berenguer clipped Nacho and got up to send the ball into the far corner. Bilbao had previously launched a deadly offensive in the same position, but was heroically defused by Militang. This time it was clearly not so lucky, Bilbao scored 15 shots on goal and finally paid off in the 89th minute. At this time, although the situation is not irreparable, and the Real Madrid bench is in place, Ancelotti seems to have lost interest in this line, and Bilbao waited for the storm before the finale. The match began with the drums and horns of San Mamés and ended with a triumphant triumph of the Basques.
Ancelotti's insistence on not using Hazard and others has made the media wonder whether the high-level authorization is to treat these high-paid players coldly. The Italian denied this: "Kroos and Vinicius were replaced because they couldn't keep up. In addition, there is no deliberate correction of players who are not allowed to play. Ceballos and Vallejo didn't play either. I just wanted to wait until extra time to change people, and I ran out of time. ”
Listening to An Shuai's summary, the reason for the defeat is actually very simple: careless. He said: "There is no change in tactical thinking, but there are no players in the squad who are at the same level as Benzema. Bilbao was able to create extreme pressure until 70 minutes ago. I thought the team would be able to show the advantage in extra time, and the opponent scored in the last minute. We played too many away games. The role of Araba and Casemiro should be highlighted more, but unfortunately their performance has not been expected. ”
Wen | Wu Yifan
Edit | Peppery Soup