We were hoping for fire, goals, entertainment and French people at the party. If this Real Madrid - FC Barcelona, crucial shock in the race for the title in Spain, could not keep all its promises, it gave birth to a rather pleasant meeting, Sunday evening, at the Santiago-Bernabéu. A Clasico won by the men of Zinedine Zidane, thanks to goals from Vinicius (71st) and Mariano (90th + 2). Building on this success, the first against Barça in Liga since 2014, the Merengues regain the lead in the Championship, one point ahead of the Catalans.
However, in front of the services of Raphaël Varane, Samuel Umtiti and Antoine Griezmann, Didier Deschamps, the coach of the France team, did not often have to jump from his couch. Aligned on the left flank during the first leg, in December, and during the defeat against Manchester City in the Champions League (1-2), Wednesday, Ferland Mendy meanwhile attended the meeting from the bench, Zizou having preferred him a Marcelo with a more offensive profile. Back on the game of the Blues.
Griezmann, on alternating current
It was he, no doubt, who played the biggest on Sunday evening. Savior of the Catalan club with his equalizing goal in Naples, Tuesday, in the Champions League (1-1) but criticized since the start of the season for his difficulties in adapting to the Barcelona system and for his difficult technical relationship with Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann had the opportunity to silence his critics. Despite some interesting sequences in the first period, in the role of fake number 9, he delivered a halftone copy. Good discounts, an ability to free up space through calls, but always a crying lack of confidence and bad choices when it comes to concluding. Ghostly in the second half.
Umtiti disappoints
Preferred to his compatriot Clément Lenglet alongside Gerard Piqué, Samuel Umtiti also had things to prove, while Didier Deschamps will unveil on March 19 his list for the friendly matches of the French team against Ukraine (March 27) and Finland (March 31). Quite little solicited in the first period, he was unable to weigh in the second in the image of his inactivity on the goal of Vinicius. An error which makes spot while the old Lyonnais returned well, since the arrival of Quique Setién on the bench blaugrana.
The first Madrid goal
[⚽ GOAL VIDEO] 🇪🇸
🔥 Vinicius Jr unlocks the #Clasico!
💥 Off center on the left wing, Vinicius Jr enters the penalty area and sees his shot blocked by Gerard Piqué, which surprises ter Stegen!
😍 The Clasico is finally launched! pic.twitter.com/Zf3rmm4cTS
Solid varane
His numerous interventions (17th, 55th, 70th ...) before Griezmann, Messi and others - coupled with a great first period of Courtois - allowed Real to not concede a goal. Solid alongside Sergio Ramos, Raphaël Varane once again donned the prisoner's costume in the waterproof white curtain, Liga's best defense. An excellent performance.
The number
500. Finally, note the beautiful copy made by Karim Benzema, at the forefront of the Madrid attack. If it will not, a priori not concerned by Euro 2020, it celebrated with dignity its 500th appearance in the Madrid jersey in official competition.