After beating Manchester Metropolis within the playoff spherical to advance to the Spherical of 16 within the UEFA Champions League, Actual Madrid confronted one other stern check as they hosted Atletico Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu for the primary leg of the Spherical of 16 tie on Tuesday.
The Merengues have been in a position to get a one-goal benefit from this sport and shall be hoping to make this benefit depend within the upcoming second leg subsequent week.
All three objectives on this 2-1 win for Los Blancos have been spectacular. Rodrygo Goes as soon as once more confirmed his unimaginable talent to supply his staff with an excellent begin to this sport, as he scored within the 4th minute.
Nonetheless, Atletico pushed again after happening early and have been in a position to get again on degree phrases within the first-half as Julian Alvarez additionally scored a shocking aim.
Within the second half, it was Brahim Diaz who took on the mantle, as he beat a number of Colchonero defenders to attain one other wonderful aim, probably the greatest within the Moroccan worldwide’s profession.
Whereas Brahim himself did a lot of the work for this aim, Ferland Mendy was in a position to get the help, because it was after getting a go from the Frenchman that the previous Manchester Metropolis ahead had weaved magic along with his toes and despatched the ball into the again of Oblak’s web.
Thus, the French defender was in a position to get assists in fast succession, within the final sport towards Actual Betis. He had not offered a single help within the final season, regardless of being a key a part of the staff that gained a La Liga and UCL double.
Moreover, it was solely this help that made him stand out on this sport, as his total efficiency was additionally fairly good, and in accordance with the current enhancements he has proven after a really poor first half of the season.
In opposition to Atletico Madrid, statistics present that the Actual Madrid left-back acquired on the ball 80 occasions and was spectacular along with his passing as he registered a 95% success price, finishing 59 of his 62 tried passes.
He additionally offered 2 key passes and tried 2 lengthy balls, just one of which was correct. Mendy additionally had an excellent probability to get on the scoresheet himself, however Oblak saved his shot.
Defensively, he didn’t have a lot to do and made 1 interception and blocked 1 shot. On the opposite finish of the pitch, he might be seen combining with the likes of Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe regularly and helped within the build-up of assault from his facet of the pitch.
Hopefully, he’ll be capable to construct up on this efficiency and assist his facet within the upcoming two troublesome matches, towards Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid, as properly.