Liga: Real Madrid-Osasuna 1-1. Barça docking at the top

The march is interrupted, the curse from eleven meters continues. After six wins out of six league matches, Real Madrid stop at the Bernabeu against Osasuna just like last year. Lack of brilliant performance from the team of Carlo Ancelotti, which does not go beyond the 1-1 even if he can rightly regret having failed the match point. After the goals by Vinicius and Kike Garcia between the first and second half, the returning Benzema gets a penalty kick in the 78th minute, which he sends against the crossbar: he is the third in a row who misses when Sergio Herrera is between the posts, after the two saves by the goalkeeper last season. Thus, two weeks from the Clasico, the Blancos and Barcelona are paired at the top of the table at 19.

The match

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Without the injured Modric, Ancelotti also has to do without Courtois due to a muscle discomfort. The main news, however, is the return of Karim Benzema after three games of forced absence at the center of the attack, with Rodrygo and Vinicius acting on the sides. Arrasate responds to rhymes with his 4-3-3 where Kike Garcia is preferred to Budimir to lead the offensive trident. After paying homage to the victims of the clashes in Indonesia, he leaves. Real maintains territorial dominance, but remains stuck in the low pace imposed by Osasuna. Such conditions favor the guests who have the first chances of the game. In the quarter of an hour it is Abde Ezzalzouli who frightens Lunin with a powerful shot from close range that finds only the outside of the net. An invasion of the field causes an interruption in the middle of the fraction, then the game comes alive. Moncayola and Vinicius wasted two shots from an excellent position with central trajectories, in the 37th minute Benzema touched the feat with a flying right on the suggestion of the Brazilian. The game is released five minutes later, almost by chance: Vinicius lets a cross from the left start, no one intervenes and Herrera is mocked. Some shadows remain, as Rudiger and Benzema are in offside positions and the defender also tries to get to the ball that is out of his reach. The decision of the Var, therefore, is to not consider the two Real Madrid players active.

The recovery

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The people of Madrid return from the locker rooms too relaxed and Osasuna takes advantage of it. At 50 ‘Unai Garcia crosses from the trocar for Kike Garcia who, from behind, hits his head and overrides Lunin. Three minutes later the striker also has the chance to double up, when he kicks at the height of the small area after Abde’s initiative on the right. Ancelotti is not there and something changes: outside Tchouameni and Ceballos, inside Camavinga and Valverde (winner of the month of September from La Liga before the match). The changes raise the center of gravity of Real Madrid, but do not increase the danger. Rodrygo tempts us from the outside, his left is easily saved by Herrera (66 ‘). At 76 ‘the most important episode of the match: Benzema in front of the goalkeeper is clearly pushed by David Garcia, the referee Cuadra Fernandez – author of an approximate direction – initially does not take action, but after the on-field review he expels the central and grants the penalty. The Frenchman goes from the spot but hits the crossbar in full. For the final forcing, Ancelotti inserts first Asensio and then Mariano Diaz, keeping Hazard on the bench, the only one who frames the goal is still Vinicius with a sharp right from the distance that Herrera blocks on the ground. The last thrill provokes Moi Gomez, kicking on the fly from outside: the ball ends a few centimeters from the post to Lunin’s left.