In additional time, the merengue team beat the colchoneros 3-1, thus ensuring their qualification for the semi-finals of the tournament. The Brazilian striker closed the scoring and celebrated with everything, after the racist attack he suffered as the classic approached.
In injury time, Real Madrid qualified for the Copa del Rey semi-finals 22-23. With extreme effort, the meringues beat Atlético de Madrid 3-1, in the derby, to continue in the competition, the one they have not won since the 2013-14 campaign.
The match was marred by an unfortunate episode that happened in the previous one: a racist act against the Brazilian Vinícius Junior. A doll bearing the likeness of the Merengue soccer player was hung from a bridge over a highway at dawn on Thursday, hours before the game, along with a banner reading ‘Madrid hate Real Madrid’ .
Vini has been the victim of constant racist insults in Spain which has led the ex-Flamengo to file a complaint on his social media. Madrid have thanked the messages of support their footballer received ‘after the unfortunate and disgusting act of racism, xenophobia and hatred against our player Vinicius’.
The game had its own weight not only because it is the classic of the capital, but also because it is a unique key. Whoever wins advances to the Her Majesty’s Cup best four round. The merengues entered the field with the best they had, with the offensive trident Valverde-Benzema-Vinícius. For their part, the colchoneros opted for the Morata-Correa duo above, leaving Memphis Depay, their recent addition, from Barcelona on the bench.
For the rojiblancos, this competition was their closest option to securing a title in the season. And his visit to the Bernabéu started in an encouraging way, because they took the lead after 19 minutes, thanks to a goal from Álvaro Morata. The striker pushes the ball past a top class low cross from Nahuel Molina. Militao failed to close.
During the first half, Real Madrid generated little offensively. A shot from Valverde contained by Oblak and a deflected header from Eder Militao, under goal, was the only thing for Los Blancos in the first half. Moreover, Mendy’s injury changed Carlo Ancelotti’s approach, having to move Camavinga to the wing, for Dani Ceballos’ entry.
In the plugin, the White House came out with everything in search of a draw, cornering Atlético on their turf. At 57′, Karim Benzema almost scored the 1-1, but his shot from the left was deflected by Jan Oblak. The pitch leaned towards the visiting area, thanks to the impetus of the local, which showed something different compared to the beginning. Atleti’s approach has become much more pragmatic, trying to hold on and come out against quickly.
At 72 ‘, Antoine Griezmann brings the score to 2-0 on a free kick at the entrance to the surface. The powerful shot from the Frenchman, which went all the way to the goalkeeper’s post, was repelled by Courtois in a beautiful way.
Hope returned to the merengue team thanks to an individual action by Rodrygo. At minute 79, the Brazilian started to overtake his rivals at the dribble point and closed the action by defining the first post of the Slovenian Oblak. The fans present at the Santiago Bernabéu woke up. The 1-1 partial stretched the duel into overtime.
In the first part of extra time, Atlético were left with 10 due to the dismissal of defender Stefan Savic. This caused Simeone’s men to regroup even more on their land. The mattresses couldn’t support the tie. At the 104th minute, it was 2-1 from Karim Benzema, who appeared freely on one side and finished tight to beat the rival goalkeeper. The duel ended in the 121st minute, with Vinícius scoring for the final 3-1. The Brazilian celebrated ‘à la Dibu Martínez’, pointing to the rival supporters.
The four Copa del Rey semi-finalists were drawn 22-23, to seek Betis’ successor as champions. In addition to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Osasuna (who eliminated Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla) and Athletic Bilbao advanced, who beat Valencia this Thursday, at Mestalla.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
