Has the World Cup in Qatar already begun? I ask because yesterday in Vallecas I had the feeling that today some players could make their debut with their respective teams. FIFA’s misdeed will completely affect the season. We will discover the consequences of the World Cup as the days go by, but now we can analyze the first consequences, what is happening before the World Cup. There are quite a few players who have been thinking of Qatar for a long time and not the club that pays them the high salary and that they represent until this Thursday.
Every hobby has located them. In Seville there is a lot of talk about Argentines. In the Atletico Madrid Miguel Ángel Gil Marín also mentioned this in the letter he published a few days ago. At PSG there are Mbappé or Messi who did not play the last Ligue 1 match due to some inconvenience. In the Real Madrid is Benzema as the first designated. He missed four of the last five games “due to muscle fatigue” and the one he played against Celtic only played for a few minutes and without any previous training with the group. Commitment can be suspected and questioned. Blaming FIFA for organizing a World Cup, the greatest dream of almost all footballers, in the middle of the season, but obviously the fault of all the players who are more focused on Qatar and also some overly condescending clubs.
You just have to check the number of duels lost in Vallecas for not sticking your leg to see that the heads of many Real Madrid footballers were in the World Cup. They want to avoid any injury at all costs. Carvajal was scary and we all automatically think of the Spanish team. The attitude, questioned by Ancelotti himself, was bad and conditioned the game and the result. The first defeat came in Vallecas, but these symptoms began to be visible a few weeks ago, particularly since Real Madrid won Clásico. Since the victory against Barcelona, the white team has lost ground. They no longer emanate the same energy and ambition. Yes, there are peaks, it’s Real Madrid. Sure they had good times and wins, but playing against Elche or Celtic Glasgow is not like playing against super Rayo Vallecano.
Real Madrid went, after Clásico, from having a +3 compared to Barcelona, to having a -2. Everything changes very quickly and if you disconnect for a week for the World Cup, the situation changes completely and more against this Barcelona than in the league, it will not seem like last season. It is not the confrontation between Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the confrontation between Real Madrid and Real Madrid a month ago. The last championship was won by Ancelotti’s team because they placed fifth at the first kilometer and only shrank when they saw the finish line and turned back and couldn’t distinguish the competitors on the horizon. Real Madrid no longer go with the fifth and allowed Barcelona to save a breakthrough, even with the psychological blow of losing to Madrid and being eliminated from the Champions League in the same week. Perhaps that +3 could have turned into a +5 or +6 if it was pressed with more wins. Merit for Barça, but also demerit for Real Madrid, which in recent games has suffered a collective disconnect.
Real Madrid can come out in the dark, in the grind or 80% against Celtic or Elche, who will take the three points, but not against this Rayo and Vallecas. Real Madrid were beaten throughout the match and failed to even take advantage of the unfair 1-2 lead. Apart from Marco Asensio, it was a horrible match for everyone. Carvajal, Mendy, Tchuameni, Alaba and even Modric These are the first names that come to my mind. I’ve never seen Luka lose as many balls as this Monday. He was uncomfortable because if he didn’t have two players on he couldn’t find an easy pass. And this is where the credit for the Super Lightning by Don Andoni Iraola who is about to become the best manager in club history. How the Rayo Vallecano sounds! It is a real pleasure to watch their games. I wish all the teams worked so well. How they defend themselves, how they attack and the energy they give off … It had been a long time since I had seen such a physically strong team. It is energy, but it is also quality. Isi Palazon will go with the Spanish team, Alvaro García or Fran García, who is for Real Madrid to sign him as he thought last summer.
Separate mention has Vinicius Jr. The better the player, the more they will provoke him and he doesn’t know how to manage this change. You can’t protest every two minutes, you can’t talk to your rivals throughout the match, and you can’t be aware of what they tell you from the stands. Carlo Ancelotti had to take the field to take him by the arm and expect him to forget all this. He had already seen the yellow one to protest and smelled any red one. Responsibility of Vinicius and also of the referees. Ivan Balliu does not need a free crossbar to commit fouls, not even to hit him with both hands (without force) in the face. The yellow card came very late, when Vinicius had already exploded. There is a last day before the big break. Rayo had already beaten Sevilla, Valencia and drew with Barcelona or Atlético de Madrid. Real Madrid have been booked. For some, the World Cup has already begun and that is why the new leader of La Liga is Barcelona.
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