by The Madrid Trilogy closed with a twist in the final scene. Three derbies in three weeks on three different stages and in three competitions left Real rising to the Super Cup, Atlético prevailing in the Copa del Rey, and Real’s supremacy reaffirmed in the league, the Empire back in power. But then in the 93rd minute, Marcos Llorente, son, grandson, nephew and great-grandson of the men who made history in white, headed in the goal that gave their great rivals a dramatic late equalizer, raising his arms to the sky and it. he ran to the corner, striped shirts chasing him.
Episodes I and II needed extra time to find a winner; Episode III had none so it was a battle but no one was defeated. The first two periods brought 14 goals, wild epic nights, 120 minutes of drama and tension, ending 4-2 and 5-3; the last of them had only two. And if the draw was enough to see Carlo Ancelotti’s side two points clear at the top of the table, 10 ahead of Atlético, it was the 100 supporters of Diego Simeone’s side who were sitting high in a tiny corner of the north stand celebrating at the end.
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Just when it seemed done, Real’s impressive midfield pushed themselves, Memphis Depay turned the ball forward and Llorente was there to make it 1-1, Madrid’s early start gone, d ‘turned the story on its head. It looked like an unlikely hero: Brahim Díaz, the man who scored in Saudi Arabia by bending Jan Oblak into an open net, opened the scoring here, scoring what looked to be the winner , when he least expected it. to play at all. He only found out he was in the team minutes before kick-off.
Vinícius Jr felt pain in his neck during the warm-up and was withdrawn. It was only four minutes until kick-off when the Bernabéu Tannoy announced that Joselu had secured the Brazilian’s place in the starting XI but when the team came out, it was actually Díaz. By the time Vinícius had taken his seat on the bench, hoping that the painkillers he had taken would allow him to play some part, his substitute had already focused on Atlético’s back as Madrid started on the front foot .
That effort Díaz, after three minutes, was not even their first attempt at goal. Jude Bellingham slipped the ball through the legs of Mario Hermoso and broke in to hit the sideline moments before and a few minutes later, Eduardo Camavinga chipped over the bar. Atlético were deep in their own area, overwhelmed: at this point, they did not have possession in Madrid’s half and their best player, Antoine Griezmann, did not have it all.
The first time he did, he made a great pass to play Álvaro Morata in, but Andriy Lunin made a sharp save with his right hand. The next time he did, he was taken out. Atlético seemed to have fought their way through that early pressure. And yet, they no sooner settled than surrendered. Two deflected passes from Díaz and then Lucas Vázquez – the first from Saúl, the second from Koke – came as the perfect setup for Díaz, leaving him one-on-one on the edge of the six-yard box, where he controlled and he took the shot down. Oblac.
Axel Witsel should have got a quick equalizer from a beautiful inswinging cross from Rodrigo Riquelme but Lunin was leaping behind him, body stretched into his star, and he pushed it wide. From the corner, Stefan Savic’s clean header slid past the far post from three yards.
This was becoming a lot of fun. Rodrygo shot wide after an exchange with Díaz and Vázquez, who had the next chance. To allow him to progress, the Atlético defense expected to pull the ball across, Vázquez eventually chose a shot that hit the side netting.
At the other end, Llorente sent Saúl just wide. And then Hermoso had almost sneaked in at the far post, where the great ball Rodrigo de Paul had fallen, but Rodrygo had tracked it all the way. Atlético thought they had equalized at the start of the second half when Savic headed in from Griezmann’s corner. But Saúl was in front of the warden on the line while he was outside.
A brilliant late strike earned Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Naples 2-1 home win in a very hard fought game Veronawho took the lead with less than 20 minutes left to play.
Visiting keeper Lorenzo Montipo produced two early saves to deny Kvaratskhelia, then denied Pasquale Mazzocchi and Jesper Lindstrom after Diego Coppola deflected in Tomas Suslov’s free-kick to put Verona ahead.
Montipo looked impressive but Cyril Ngonge, who joined Napoli from Verona in January, came off the bench to score from Lindstrom’s pass. With three minutes to go, Kvaratskhelia [pictured]he curled a long-range shot past Montipo to earn all three points.
Atalanta They boosted their hopes of winning the race for fourth place with a 3-1 home win Lazio. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice, including one from the penalty spot, after Mario Pasalic’s opener. Ciro Immobile scored a late penalty but the visitors slipped to ninth in the table.
In Germany, RB Leipzig they ended their losing run in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 away home win Berlin Union. Goals from Loïs Openda and Benjamin Sesko in each half were enough for the hosts, and Union saw Christopher Tremmell sent off late in the game.
In Ligue 1, Lille capitalized on a goalless draw between Brest and Niceand Monacoand pull with Le Havreearning a 4-0 home win over him Clermont which boosts their hopes of reaching the Champions League.
Lyon they allayed their relegation fears with a vital 1-0 home win Marseilles. Alexandre Lacazette scored the only goal, turning the ball home while on the floor in the 37th minute of the match.
In Spain, Celta Vigo moved three points clear of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win at Osasunaand it is finished Villarreal 0-0 Cádiz and Real Betis 1-1 Getafe.
Atlético were looking for a way back but there was little chance. The best, indeed, came at the other end, as the game dragged on, Madrid’s midfield four begged for themselves. Bellingham appealed for a penalty when Savic fouled him; a break under Fede Valverde, bursting through the right, gave Rodrygo the chance to finish but he fired straight at Oblak; and Díaz got up a moment of magic, the legs flashing, the ball going as he stopped, he pulled Hermoso in, nutmegged him, then turned inside Witsel and bent his shot just wide.
It was withdrawn immediately afterwards, the Bernabéu standing to deliver an ovation. This was their night, or so they thought. Instead he had to sit on the bench and watch as the Madrid Trilogy took one last turn.
