A gala Courtois, Williams and Garcia powerless… Find our Tops and Flops of the match between Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao (2-0).
TOPS
Courteous, impassable wall
The Belgian goalkeeper saved his team more than once. He disgusted the Basque offensives. After making several decisive saves in the last quarter of an hour, Courtois initialed his capital performance from the penalty spot. As soon as the ball landed, you could see that the former Chelsea player had taken over Raul Garcia, the shooter, psychologically. Even though he went to his right, he had the incredible reflex to lift his leg to deflect the shot full axis. A real feat which definitively confirmed the victory of Real.
A vintage Modric 2018 style
The Croatian environment was sparkling! Scorer on a magnificent shot near the surface, he splashed the meeting with his talent. The Ballon d’Or 2018 remembered the good memories of its detractors, technically dominating the game. Light passes, choices – almost – always good, small bridges, everything is gone. A veritable metronome that dictated the pace to both teams for 90 minutes. Well supported by Casemiro and Kroos, then Valverde on the hour mark, he is one of the reasons why Real weren’t really worried tonight. Royal for his 413th game with the Casa Blanca.
SEE ALSO – The best of Luka Modric at Real Madrid
Always stirring Rodrygo
The winger created differences with each percussion. On his right side, he is the one behind Modric’s goal. He fixes four players before shifting the Croatian, who improves his pass magnificently. De Marcos suffered all evening against the restless winger. The Brazilian confirms his good form and increasingly justifies his starting position to the detriment of Eden Hazard. In physical decline after the break, he was replaced to applause in the 64th by Valverde, to densify the midfield.
Flops
Dumb Basque scorers
Inaki Williams went through the game like a ghost. Never found by his teammates, the pet peeve of big La Liga teams has not added a new performance against a cador to his large collection. Already silent against Atlético in the semis, the Basque striker will have been less efficient than his little brother Nico, who entered today at the break.
The Friable Alaba-Militao Hinge
Imperial since the start of the season, the central hinge of Real has shown feverishness. If Inaki Williams was well muzzled, the entrants at the break did a lot of harm. Overtaken in the air, in particular by Raul Garcia, the two defenders also lacked serenity in their raises. Without a grandiose Thibaut Courtois, the note could have been much saltier for the Madrid rearguard. Enough to give ideas to Mauricio Pochettino and the Parisians, a few weeks before their double confrontation against the Merengue.
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