Real Madrid were at their clinical best when the two sides last met back in September, and they won 2-1. After a recent dip in form, Carlo Ancelotti’s side seem to be back on their feet after an inspiring win in the last round of this competition. Trailing 2-0 at halftime to Villarreal, Los Blancos made a stunning comeback to win 3-2 away from home. Furthermore, against Athletic Club, they kept their first clean sheet in five games.
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Ancelotti made two changes to the Real side that won their last game, as Modric and Kroos came in for Ceballos and Asensio.
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Nacho Fernandez, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy; Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos; Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
SUBS: Andriy Lunin, Luis Lopez, Jesus Vallejo, Marco Asensio, Alvaro Odriozola, Dani Ceballos, Rodrygo, Mariano Diaz, Mario Martin, Sergio Arribas.
🤍 ¡Y NADA MÁS! 🤍#CopaDelRey pic.twitter.com/gWqwtcwvt9
— Real Madrid C.F. () January 26, 2023
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Diego Simone’s Atletico often bring the fire to this fixture to try and lower the quality of the match and rattle their opponents. In their most recent defeat to their rivals, Mario Hermoso came on as a substitute and scored before receiving two yellow cards in as many minutes to be sent off. Atletico are also in good form after beating Real Valladolid 3-0 in their last match, their joint-biggest win in the league since early September.
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Simeone also made two changes to his starting lineup, as Savic and De Paul replaced Witsel and the injured Marcos Llorente.
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Nahuel Molina, Stefan Savic, Mario Hermoso, Reinildo Mandava; Koke, Rodrigo De Paul, Thomas Lemar, Antoine Griezmann; Angel Correa, Alvaro Morata.
SUBS: Ivo Grbic, Jose Gimenez, Sergio Reguilon, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Memphis Depay, Saul Niguez, Felipe, Axel Witsel, Yannick Carrasco, Pablo Barrios, Carlos Martin.
XI ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/kZrvaX9X0r
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) January 26, 2023
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It was clear that Atletico did not want to rush their attacks. They were being very patient on the ball in their build-up play, something Real seemed happy enough to defend. Real had yet to make their mark in this game. Atletico were doing well to close any space in the midfield, making it difficult to play through them. Real were moving the ball well but lacked presence in the box as Benzema dropped deeper to help bring the ball up. And it happened again. The same problem exists in Madrid. The defense was once again exploited. WHAT A GOAL!! 1-0 ATLETICO!! MORATA!! Morata gave Atletico the lead after a brilliant passing move! Correa passed to Koke, who picked out the overlapping run of Molina with a lofted pass. Molina sent a low cross along the six-yard box for Morata to tap home with ease.
ÁLVAR⚽ M🔥RATA pic.twitter.com/HVAsVQiUTL
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) January 26, 2023
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The home crowd inside the stadium was trying to help their team by increasing the noise in the stadium, but the players remained calm with their passing. I don't know why Ancelotti always needs a hard lesson to learn. Valverde is a great midfielder. The guy can run, pass, shoot, tackle, and score banger, but that doesn't mean he can do it everywhere. The right flank of Madrid was struggling. Valverde wasn't able to dribble past defenders. He's not very good in one-on-one situations. On the other hand, Nacho is a decent defender but not a wingback. He wasn't able to make overlapping runs. His crossing is not that good, and why would he be? The guy is a center back. Odriozola was unused on the bench. I mean, why? I would even prefer Militao as a right back rather than Nacho. So he could have switched them. He has done it in the World Cup, and he wasn't bad. The man in form Ceballos, was also on the bench.
Time was running out, and Madrid was yet to find a solution. Atletico have avoided defeat in their last three matches by scoring the opening goal in the Copa del Rey dating back to the 23rd of January 2020 against Cultural Leonesa (L1-2). They have only conceded one goal in four Copa del Rey matches this season. Things weren't looking good for us, but Rodrygo came to our rescue with a wonder goal. What a goal it was! Just look at it.
🎶 Hola, ¿qué tal? Soy el chico de las remontadas...@RodrygoGoes | #CopaDelRey pic.twitter.com/gYZcc5NVNS
— Real Madrid C.F. (
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This is the sixth time that Real and Atletico have faced each other in a single-game cup tie since Simeone has been in charge of the visitors. All five previous games went to extra time, and this was no exception.
M🤍DRID pic.twitter.com/72Ojptsw62
— Real Madrid C.F. (
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Benzema and Vinicius sealed the victory with one goal each. Every Madridista is thrilled with this comeback. But I am more tense than pleased. The way our defense is being exposed, it's bringing on danger every time Madrid is playing. Ancelotti should worry about the next match and focus on the deficiencies as soon as possible. Valvarde on the wing is the worst thing to do. Nacho is not working as a wingback. He is competent defensively, but his attacking ability is lacking. I am not surprised by Camavinga's blockbuster performance as a left back. I have seen this guy do those with ease in the World Cup.
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With the introduction of Ceballos and Asensio, the match was more controlled and smooth. They deserve more chances.
HIGHLIGHTS
Back-to-back comeback victories see Real join Osasuna, Athletic Club, and Barcelona in the final four of the Copa del Rey. In their next league game, they will face Real Sociedad, while Atletico will look to rebound against Osasuna.
