Against Espanyol Barcelona in Santiago Bernabeau, Real Madrid won on the smallest of the margins (1-0) thanks to a realization of Marco Asensio. Gareth Bale was put to rest for this game.
Real Madrid hosted Espanyol Barcelona this evening for the 5th Liga day. At the age of 22, Alavaro Odriozola, recruited this summer after an excellent season at Real Sociedad, was taking his first steps as a right back. Julen Lopetegui had also decided to preserve Gareth Bale who was not a starting goalkeeper. From the 5th minute, Isco was dangerous. His volley test was right on Lopez’s goal. Shortly thereafter, Nacho received a yellow card for challenging a decision of the umpire. The game was beginning to harden and the mistakes multiplied. In the 14th minute, Espanyol Barcelona got its first chance. Perez leaned on Iglesias before shifting Piatti, but the Argentinean hit was too crossed and was close to courteous’s goal.
In spite of the few clear opportunities, we then saw a domination of Madrid. Varane tried his luck on corner in the 33rd minute, but his head ended up next to the opposing goal. In response, Espanyol Barcelona then got a second big chance in that game. Perez’s hit was repulsed by Courtois. Just before returning to the dressing room, Asensio found the way to the net for the first time of the season on a crosshuck. His goal was initially denied for a non-existent offside position, before the referee of the game decided to validate his achievement after using the VAR (41st, 1-0).
An unsuccessful domination
After the break, Modric and Isco are illustrated. The Croat first snuck into the surface and struck. His shot was cleared by Lopez (48′). The Spaniard, on the other hand, was eccentric on the left. He managed to roll a shot in the direction of the opposite skylight, but his shot just missed the frame (49′). In the 60th minute, Lopetegui decided to bring into play Casa Blanca’s number 7, Mariano. Shortly afterwards, Real Madrid, who controlled his match, got a little scared.
After an error by Ramos, the right winger from Espanyol Iglesias tried to lob Thibaut Courteois a little too far, but he hit the crossbar (65′). In the 73rd minute, Ramos worried Lopez. The captain of the Real rose to the surface to slam a head out of the corner by the doorman of the Espanyol. The people of Madrid were the minimum in this game. With their victory over the smallest of the margins, the men of Julen Lopetegui are back at the top of the league in front of FC Barcelona who will play against Girone tomorrow night.