After the recent crisis Real Madrid has gone thru Solari was appointed as the new manager of Real Madrid and today was his first real test as Los Merengues faced Valladolid at their home: Santiago Bernabeu!!!
Why the first test?
Solari was appointed as the new manager after the disastrous defeat against Barcelona in El Clasico last weekend, the day after Solari was appointed and had his first match at La Copa Del Rey against the modest Melilla side, as expected Real Madrid crushed them 0-4 because they were a third division team.
But todays game against Valladolid will be the first test as this team hasn't been defeated in the last 5 games and they are at a better place of the championship table at the sixth place while Real its at the ninth one.
What was expected?
It may be the first game at La Liga for Solari but he is an experienced manager with many seasons under his belt with the inferior divisions of the white team and also as a professional player, so he understands what it's at stake at this game and surely will take the right decisions regarding the lineup and what to tell the players before the game.
Also, he will in someway re-encounter with his fellow teammate Ronaldo “El Fenómeno” Nazario, as he bought at the beginning of this season the majority of the Valladolid team for 28 million euros. They played together for a couple seasons at “Los Galacticos” team that Florentino Perez assembled during his first term at Real Madrid.
Vinicius
Another interesting ingredient for this match is that people are expecting to see Vinicius Junior again on the pitch after his great performance last game against Melilla, where he played the entire game, in contrast with the Lopetegui administration where he only had 12 minutes on the pitch.
But as Solari said in the press conference prior the game, the most important thing is that team wins and not what names are on the starting eleven, therefore no player has a place guaranteed for this important match.
The Game
Real dominated during most of the game time, but there was a keay factor that changed the dynamics of the game.
During the first half of the game Madrid kept the possession of the ball and tried a few times to score the opener but the team lacked that passion and drive that has made Los Merengues the biggest team on Europe, but at the second half they started to press more and more Valladolid but still couldn't score the first goal of the game, wasn't until the 73' that Ascencio was substituted by Vinicius and all started to change.
The youngster was eager to show he was worthy of a starting spot at Real Madrid and as soon he stepped on the pitch the game dynamic changed and the home side was closer to the first goal, just 10 minutes after he kicked a ball that deviated on Kiko Olivas, it was the opener for Real Madrid in the form of an own goal for Valladolid but it was all Vinicius, 5 minutes later Ramos scored another one from the penalty kick spot to sentence the final score.
Valladolid did a great game but at the end, Real Madrid, won with a bit of luck and the drive of Vinicius, it seems that what Real needed to find was a new player with the hunger to prove he can be one of the best players on Europe and of the World.
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