They’ve done it again. Keeping it Real-ly Madrid style, as always.
First 15 minutes- hectic. The Reds were all over the field, mounting way more pressure than imagined. They had to. They were the unlikely contenders, that’s what most teams do when facing Real. Going all in from the first second. All whites marked. All legs accounted for. All options blocked.
Real doesn’t do that. We just mark the 2 most threatening plays and hope for the best, the gamble mostly paying off well.
Sharing some trade secrets (I think are secrets) that I picked up while my blood churns whiter with passing years, Real are masters of tiring out and standing tall. No matter what the pace is or how many players trounce upon them, sooner than later, it’s Madrid that’s calling the shots in the longer run. Contrary to the colour of our jerseys, we’re more akin to red muscle fibres, medically speaking. Takes time to pick up speed, build tension but we carry forward the load!
That’s exactly what happened today too. Liverpool were crushing us, initially. There were legit forwards right at the edge of our box during goal-kicks! The ball wasn’t even going far enough for us to be 4-3-3. We were 11 on 11 in one half of the field. It was speedy and scary. The Real defense wasn’t creaky, the flow was too rapid to hold.
The only one keeping pace, especially when the rest of the team was still sparking off their engines, was the wall we need and deserve- Courtois. And once the pole. He went all in and all out. The exquisitely exasperated expressions on enemy countenances- we live for it, no matter how mean it sounds. If the first half had no goals, it was because of him. Legendary saves. Legendary stuff.
Second half, new us, but overall- the same story. When the opponents run out of fuel, forget marking, forgo pressurising, that’s when we know the games have just begun. They cannot keep up with Real. No wonder the amount of extra times we’ve been to.
While Vini Jr and Benzema were carrying the weight of a total of 3 forwards, the 59th minute finally saw Valverde come along and deliver a chef’s kiss cross for Vini to bring home the chef’s best silverware.
And then, the famous psyche breaking came along. The Reds seeing it all turn white, resorting to fouls and fails, with some horror moments fought off by yours truly 13.
Other than tiring out, which is subtle and perfect, closing minutes saw the timing-out and time-wasting tactics which are not at all subtle and improperly imperfect. Nerve wrecking for on-lookers looking to equalise, properly hilarious for the rest of us. Added time doesn’t compensate, for Real. Suddenly our passes get accurate and our forwards send the ball backwards, turning football into ping-pong. Worth it.
Ceballos- a revelation. Hardly a few minutes, but he wanted to show he’s here to stay and ready to slay! Aggression and commitment. The kind we need to get another hat-trick.
Camavinga- pure beauty. Setting the field on fire every single time. The genius and skills.
David Alaba- fitting in so well and filling in the missing pieces. Conditioned and required.
Casemiro, Carvajal, Modric and Kroos- the golden quadrilateral, tested by time and space and everything beyond. Mammoths of Madrid.
Rodrygo, Vinicius, possibly Valverde, their promise and potential are the reasons we’re better off without Mbappe & Inc. We’re emphatically equipped as we are and should motor on with the pistons we have.
Also, despite this having occurred so many times, I don’t think Real foes have realised that they cannot outrun us, outlast us. They must not hurry. They’ll end up running on fumes while we fly. They mostly do. Since no-one actually reads my posts, I guess it will remain a secret after all.
And that means,
We’re going a long way. For Real.
Hala Madrid!
Trailblazers! 
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