BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – After being humiliated through a newly promoted club and a Ukrainian look betting with the subsidiary, Real Madrid left for Camp Nou.
Barcelona receives Madrid on Saturday in the first classic under the direction of new coach Ronald Koeman. And although Barcelona is rebuilding after finishing a trophy last season, Madrid come to the crash with even more doubts.
Madrid ruled at home through modest Cadiz and a Shakhtar Donetsk that without several headlines because of a coronavirus epidemic inside the team.
In any of the defeats, Madrid were slow and disorganized in defence, giving time to their warring parties and effectively launching counterattacks. The blue-blue attack by Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho and the young legs of Ansu Fati, Francisco Trinco and Ousmane Dembélé will have noticed.
Madrid were stunned by 1-0 last Saturday through a Cadiz full of several players who spent their career in the department so far until last month. During the defeat, coach Zinedine Zidane said he would have been surprised if Madrid had returned at half-time. two or three goals.
That is precisely what happened on Wednesday when Shakhtar won 3-2 in their first Champions League match after a lag of Madrid fell without Sergio Ramos, who rested after injuring his left knee against Cadiz.
Madrid hopes to recover its captain Barcelona.
Zidane tried to blame the shameful defeats.
“I’m responsible, as the first negative part for my team, it means I did something wrong,” Zidane said after the defeat to Shakhtar.
“I’m sorry for the players because they helped me win a lot of things. It was a bad match and they don’t deserve it. But that’s football. We’ll have to stop by and think that if it’s gray today, it’ll be sunny. “.
But your team is pressure, whether veterans or newcomers.
Against Shakhtar, Raphael Varane deserved to have been their defensive leader without Ramos, but Varane showed the same fragile defence as his two errors that led to goal when Madrid left Manchester City in the Champions League in August.
He caught a Shakhtar player, Varane’s slot to push the ball back put him in his own net, taking the score to 2-0.
Marcelo and Eder Milito were unable to avoid Teto’s goals in the 29th minute and Manor Solomon in ’42.
Down 3-0 in part-time, Luka Modric and Vinunius Junior scored two goals from behind, but with part of an hour to the end, the team can finish the comeback.
“When we don’t play well under pressure, everyone suffers. We found it complicated in the back,” Varane said. ” It’s a tough time for the team, but we have a very (Barcelona) game and our goal is to win. “
Marcelo, who lost his undisputed control in a spot last season against youngster Ferland Mendy, has played three games this season, two of them were those consecutive defeats.
This leaves Zidane with a complicated selection for the classic if the injured right-back Dani Carvajal or the ‘vlaro Odriozola do not do it in time. If you play Mendy on the right to handle the speed and haggling of Fati from Barcelona, then you will have to do so. Marcellus remains on the left back, where he will face Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Dembélé or Trinco, all faster.
But if Zidane put Mendy back on the left, then he’ll have to hire Nacho Fernandez, central defender, to face Fati. The teenage feeling of Barcelona has the merit in this duel, which means that Fernandez would want assistance and that Messi therefore has more area in between.
Barcelona arrive at the harvest after beating Hungarian Ferencvaros 5-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Still, Modric says it’s having Barcelona next door.
“It’s smart that the next game comes soon and it’s the classic,” Modric said. “We haven’t forgotten how to play football. We can do it right. “
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