Previous Direct
What the heck is football!
The echo of the Madrid tantrum for Asensio's conviction for a hand against Girona was still coming when the French referee Stéphanie Frappart followed the avant-garde manual of her Spanish colleague Mario Melero.
As a consequence, two penalties favored Real Madrid in the first twenty minutes.
Reasons?
Two slaps to the Asensio.
This Wednesday, with that arbitrary refereeing zeal, penalties.
In times of natural football, nothing at all.
RMAReal Madrid
5
Courtois, Marco Asensio, Alaba (Nacho, min. 66), Kroos, Eder Militao (Jesús Vallejo, min. 72), Ferland Mendy, Vinicius Junior (Benzema, min. 63), Federico Valverde, Rodrygo, Modric (Dani Ceballos, min. 66) and Dani Carvajal (Lucas Vázquez, min. 63)
CLT Celtic
1
Juranovic, Carl Starfelt, Kyogo Furuhashi (Georgios Giakoumakis, min. 62), Liel Abada (Joao Filipe, min. 62), Reo Hatate (O. Abildgaard, min. 82), Aaron Mooy (Turnbull, min. 62), Daizen Maeda (Sead Haksabanovic, min. 63), Hart, Greg Taylor, Matt O'Riley and M. Jenz
Goals
1-0 min.
5: Modric.
2-0 min.
21: Rodrigo.
3-0 min.
51: Marco Asensio.
4-0 min.
61: Vinicius Junior.
5-0 min.
70: Federico Valverde.
5-1 min.
84: Joao Filipe.
Referee
Stephanie Frappart
Yellow cards Matt O'Riley (min. 20) and Kyogo Furuhashi (min. 47)
Modric and Rodrygo did not discuss the historic Frappart – hopefully a female referee in men's football ceases to be an exception – and Real soon put the spirited Celtic boys in check.
To make matters worse, Courtois redeemed Mendy, author of the third penalty of the afternoon for a mowing to the Israeli Abada, the clearest sentence of the game.
The rest was taken care of by a player well above the game: Marco Asensio.
At the blow of a penalty and with Asensio in orbit all of Madrid came up, from Vinicius to Valverde.
An afternoon snack to close the first phase and certify the first place in the group.
The day was about penalties, luck from which no one is released today because the regulatory rectors have decided to be more fussy than ever.
It happens that, even with the damn VAR through, they are even more subjective.
Before, there were many times that they were guided by instinct and common sense.
Today, go to know what windstorm hits the VAR, the VOR or the field judge.
Of course, Frappart did not deserve reproaches.
Flashes of this football that is sold as the most scientifically just.
Hands up!
This time no one in Chamartín shouted to the heavens, except to celebrate the referee's decision.
A blow for Celtic.
A walk for the champion, group leader.
Bad business for his opponent in the round of 16.
Whoever it is will have to play the second leg at the Bernabéu, where the whole universe knows that supernatural phenomena occur.
In Madrid a countercultural Celtic was presented, with nothing to link it with the Celtic of Jimmy Johnstone and Billy McNeill.
In the Catholic team of Glasgow, the first British club to toast with a European Cup (1967), there are no longer saffron footballers, but Japanese ones.
He was influenced by the Greek-Australian Ange Postecoglu, a nomadic trainer with flying hours in Australia, Japan and Scotland.
Another Celtic, but with no taste for Scottish football.
In this European Cup, zero points, two goals for and 22 against for bottom side Glasgow Rangers.
Two points, four own goals and 15 others for Celtic.
The generous Celtic didn't just get out of hand, Jenz's and O'Riley's.
It is a team that flows with grace.
He is reluctant to simply assume his episodic role among the elite.
It unfolds with ease.
It does not chatter or in Chamartín.
It happens that Madrid responded viciously to each march forward of the Glasgow team.
Especially Asensio, who without cumbersome sentinels ahead felt that the afternoon was to have a great time.
He was like that.
Nothing from Asensio subject to the ball at the foot, to sporadic appearances.
This time, an Asensio with an eye for clinical unchecking, an Asensio give it a go, with and without the ball.
The player longed for by Real Madrid and Luis Enrique.
In the course of the two favorable penalties, the Balearic was always in the middle.
And Modric, everyone's youth guide.
More than enough for Madrid,
that without sponsoring the game he had one arrival after another before the general uncovering of Celtic, more willing to annoy Courtois – who had a cut – than to protect Hart.
So jovial is this Celtic, so crude in other times, that at halftime Real only needed one foul, that of Mendy in the penalty.
Arriving at the second act, the judicial
intervention lessened
and football allied itself again with Asensio and Modric.
The first certified the 3-0 assisted wonderfully by Carvajal.
The 4-0 had the label of the emerging white society.
Valverde and Vinicius get along great.
It is customary: the Uruguayan assists and the Brazilian scores.
If there is no thread, Valverde, who has taken 24 years to discover Valverde, solves it on his own.
He did it as soon as Vinicius left, with a shot with the inside instep of his right foot that would deserve a headline in every academy.
Unleashed Madrid, Celtic sounded, Carlo Ancelotti – already the coach with the most victories in the European Cup – ordered a touch of silence for Praetorians like Modric, Carvajal, Vinicius and Alaba.
Turn for Vallejo, Ceballos, Lucas, Nacho... The second unit, so necessary in this divided season, with an opening course —until Qatar— and a closing one —after Qatar—.
Once the job was done, everything was blessed in Chamartín: some hands in favor to quell the exaggerated arbitration tantrum after the duel with Girona, an Asensio from aúpa, another Modric for eternity, rest for some, happy trial for Benzema and leadership of the group .
All with partridges in Chamartín.
There was even time for jokes: "Cholo stay," people shouted.
What a bad grape.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on
and
, or sign up here to receive
our weekly newsletter
.