What could be said of the young Brazilian winger that hasn't been said already? Would there be a day we would stop talking about him? I honestly hope not, at least not until we have all left planet earth. He was once again at the heart of everything good for the team last night and produced a man of the match performance. With this consistency from the Brazilian and at just 18, the sky is his limit.
However, we won't be heaping all the praises on just a kid that happen to possess this fearless attitude and some superhuman skills on the ball, would we? It was a win as a result of team work.
How It Happened
Real Madrid welcomed Girona at the Bernabeu for the first leg of the Copa Del Rey quarter final. They seek above all things to seal the tie in the first leg with a huge win margin and most importantly, avoid conceding a goal. They ended up rekindling that "Never give up" spirit they always had under former manager Zinedine Zidane and cruised to victory.
Solari unleashed his starters and most important players at Girona, with the exception of Dani Carvajal who was rested. Nacho continued at central defence in place of injures Raphael Varane. He was partnered by Captain Sergio Ramos. Alvaro Odriozola replaced Dani Carvajal at right back and Marcelo who have been playing second fiddle to young Sergio Reguilon lately was brought on at left back in place of the youngster.
The midfield saw the same set of players for the past three matches. Anchor Casemiro in central midfield was partnered by the Croatian magician Luka Modric and Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos.
The attack saw very much the same faces we have been seeing for the past three matches. With Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio still injured, Vinicius Junior retained his place at the left wing and Lucas Vasquez continued at right wing with Karim Benzema forwarding the attack.
Los Blancos started on a positive note, freedom of movement was offered to the front three and they constantly looked to play through the Girona defensive high line which was successful most times but with no clear cut chances created. The first blood was drawn by Girona in the 7th minute, their counter press made Odriozola sluggishly gave away the ball and a cross was sent into the eighteen yard box from the right side of the pitch. With Vasquez not in position to cover, Nacho caught in a world of two minds, he was however, too sluggish to arrive at a conclusion on which of the Girona players lurking around the 18 yard box to mark. This in turn pushed Sergio Ramos over to mark Raul Garcia and Marcelo was typical Marcelo, arriving late before Anthony Lozana would push the ball with his feet into the net unmarked.
Real Madrid continued from the centre of the pitch like the match was just starting and continued to go at the Girona defence. Not too long after the first goal of the match was scored, the constant through balls from Modric, Benzema and Casemiro to the overlapping Odriozola finally paid off. A fast run from the Spanish right back in the 18th minute saw his cut back pass to Lucas Vasquez pushed into the net by the Spanish winger to level the scores.
The constant driving runs and nice touches from Real Madrid's winger Vinicius was made notable when he won a penalty in the 42nd minute inside the eighteen yard box with a deft touch of the ball. Sergio Ramos converted with his trademark Paneka penalty to send the whites ahead.
The second half continued in the same vein. Although Real Madrid's intensity reduced and they sort to play conservative football. This is turn provided more chances for Girona to get into good crossing positions and one of those crosses led to their equalizing in the 66th minute. A perplexing looks on the faces of everyone as Llorente, who is playing his first match since after injury and was brought on to replace Casemiro purposely raised his hand to hit off a crossed ball from the right flank. "What was he thinking?" Was the question on the minds of everyone cognizant of what is happening. However, an understanding explanation to that rather confuzzling situation is that Llorente was fouled while lifting and thought it was coming from a Girona player, unknown to him, his teammate was the culprit and a penalty was the only decision the referee could present, one that was converted by Girona to draw level.
From then on, Real Madrid assumed full control, knowing fully well heading to the Estadio Montilivo for the second leg with a 2-2 scoreline, they stand to be eliminated from the competition before reaching the semifinals once again. Their patience and resilience paid dividends in the 77th minute as Marcelo lifted a perfect curled cross to the defender/striker Sergio Ramos to power a header into the roof of the net to make it 3-2.
Real Madrid continued to maintain proceedings and three minutes later Benzema made it 4-2. A cross from the left hand side from Vinicius Junior was put into an empty net by the French man to make it 4-2 and seal the tie in their favour.
Conclusion
Two goals conceded and a two goal lead heading into the second leg doesn't sound or look all juicy for Rea Madrid as they would need to score first or at least score at Motilivo to give them a greater chance of qualifying. The first goal conceived played a part in giving Girona the life line they had after the match. Marcelo was once again caught ball watching as the ball was put into the back of the net from his side of the pitch. I bet "I knew it" would be the words on Solari's mind after that goal. The replacement, selection or apparent preference of Sergio Reguilon over Marcelo in recent matches by the coach is no surprise that he, the coach is aware of Marcelo's defensive fallibilities and how much it costs the team. Although whatever the Brazilian fails to do at defence, he makes up for them in the attacking third. It was his inch perfect cross that out Real Madrid ahead and his overlapping brilliance always puts the opposing side's defence to the swords time and time again.
However, a win is a win and Real Madrid would be very happy to have weathered the storm on this one and most importantly, lucky to have Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian won the man of the match award with another performance that wowed the fans. There is so much positives to take from this match but in summary, Real Madrid are beginning to put their pieces together and it is very essential for the crucial stage of the season.
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