The game: 1-1
Real Madrid was saved by Karim Benzema on the lawn of Espanyol Barcelona (3-1) Sunday evening during the 3rd day of La Liga. Despite Vinicius Junior’s first goal (12th), the defending champions gradually lost track of the match and let the Catalans return to the game. Joselu (43rd) punished the wait-and-see attitude of the Madrid defense, the debates were balanced in the second half, but the former OL player reversed the course of the match with a volley from close range (88th) , then a free kick in added time (90th + 10).
Big favorite for the Ballon d’Or, Karim Benzema never ceases to be the savior of the European champion. While the two teams seemed to be satisfied with a draw which generally reflected the physiognomy of the meeting well, the French international sprang on a center with a line from Rodrygo, and took the ball back at the far post from the right to beat Benjamin Lecomte (88th). Overjoyed, the people of Madrid all threw themselves on their captain, who allowed them to chain a third victory in as many La Liga meetings.
If Carlo Ancelotti’s men were scared, they had nevertheless entered the match well, monopolizing the ball (72% possession at the break). Vinicius Junior perfectly concluded a movement initiated by Aurélien Tchouaméni from the 12th minute to open the scoring, before being close to doubling during a face-to-face with Benjamin Lecomte (19th). Espanyol proceeded by cons, and after a first alert on a header from Leandro Cabrera (41st), Joselu punished the apathetic defense of Real, which left Joselu hit twice on goal without opposition (43rd).
19
Vinicius Junior has scored 19 goals in 38 appearances for Real Madrid counting the last season. No Brazilian player has scored more than him over the period apart from Neymar (19 goals in 26 Ligue 1 matches)
The debates were particularly balanced in the second half: Karim Benzema saw a goal denied to him for an offside (67th), and the Pericos replied by Ruben Sanchez who was close to giving the advantage to his team (82nd). The top scorer of the last Champions League has chosen to pull out all the stops as money time approaches. First on his first achievement (88th), with the flat of the right foot on the center of Rodrygo, then on a free kick cleverly placed close to the post (90th + 10). A few moments earlier, Benjamin Lecomte was excluded for a hazardous outing on Dani Ceballos (90th + 7). A Catalan defender Cabrera took over in goal, and could not cope with the Frenchman’s shot.
28
Karim Benzema scored 28 goals for Real Madrid in 2022 in all competitions, the best tally for a player in the five major leagues (tied with Kylian Mbappé).
The fact of the match: a still fragile defense
Main black point of the start of the Merengues season, the defense again cracked at the end of the first period. Antonio Rudiger and his teammates have still not achieved a single clean sheet since the start of the season in the Championship. Worse still, they haven’t managed a game without keeping clean sheets in their last seven La Liga outings (5 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss).
The player: Aurélien Tchouaméni makes his mark
Already very strong against Celta Vigo last Saturday (1-4), Aurélien Tchouaméni had a reassuring match in Catalonia. Voluntary, serene, inspired, the French midfielder could put an end to questions about his legitimacy to ensure the succession of Casemiro as a sentinel. He was even decisive on his team’s first goal. On a ball catch, he transplanted in the axis and offered a decisive pass in finesse for Vinicius Junior (12th). A solid performance.