Actual Madrid fell to a second consecutive dwelling defeat on Tuesday night as they had been totally crushed 3-1 by AC Milan within the Champions League.
An entertaining first half piled extra stress on Carlo Ancelotti’s facet after their Clasico demolition, with Vinicius Junior’s penalty sandwiched in between a header from Malick Thiaw and tap-in from Alvaro Morata.
Milan had been a lot the higher facet within the Spanish capital and produced a clinching third objective within the 73rd minute as Tijjani Reijnders lashed dwelling from shut vary to punish a dismal Madrid efficiency.
How the sport unfolded
The competitors’s two most profitable sides share 22 Champions League and European Cup titles however Madrid entered their first duel in 14 years as sturdy favourites. Having been thrashed by Barcelona of their most up-to-date outing, the Santiago Bernabeu crowd was anticipating drastic enhancements from Los Blancos for the go to of Milan.
Nonetheless, it was extra distress within the first half for the house supporters, with Milan edging in entrance within the twelfth minute. Christian Pulisic’s glorious nook was headed dwelling by Thiaw on the close to publish and Mike Maignan helped the guests retain their lead with quickfire saves from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius shortly after the restart.
Madrid responded shortly to falling behind, stepping up the depth and profitable a penalty simply 9 minutes after the opener. Vinicius was felled within the space by a lunging Emerson Royal and the Brazilian winger tucked dwelling the next spot kick, calmly passing the ball down the center to stage proceedings.
However the reigning European champions remained a way off their finest regardless of the equaliser and so they had been punished for some lackadaisical defending earlier than half-time. A wayward cross from Aurelien Tchouameni was pounced upon by Milan and Rafael Leao’s parried strike was transformed from shut vary by former Madrid striker Morata.
Ancelotti made two alterations on the break as Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz entered the fray however the duo had been unable to show the tide. Milan continued to stifle a toothless Madrid and pose issues on the counter-attack, Leao forcing Andriy Lunin into an athletic save seven minutes after the restart.
Jude Bellingham and Mbappe each had possibilities to equalise across the hour mark however produced wasteful finishes attribute of their seasons. Morata virtually punished their sloppiness on the different finish however his near-post flick caught the skin of the publish.
Milan finally did benefit from their dominance following one other swift counter-attack. A flowing transfer down the left-hand facet noticed Leao burst in the direction of the byline, pulling again for Reijnders to fireside dwelling from shut vary and put daylight between the Italian giants and their hosts. Milan continued to slice by means of the Spanish champions at will.
Madrid thought that they had been handed a lifeline within the closing ten minutes as Antonio Rudiger produced a surprising end following Maignan’s poor punched clearance. Nonetheless, after a prolonged VAR assessment, the objective was chalked off for offside.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Diaz spurned alternatives to attain late within the match for his or her respective sides, however Milan held on for a deserved victory on the Bernabeu following one other underwhelming Madrid efficiency on dwelling soil.
GK: Andriy Lunin – 5/10 – Parried Leao’s shot into the hazard zone as Morata restored Milan’s lead however did make some sturdy saves to disclaim the guests.
RB: Lucas Vazquez – 3/10 – Struggled with a double-up of Leao and Theo Hernandez and could not affect proceedings within the Milan half. Crushed comfortably as Leao arrange Reijnders after half-time.
CB: Eder Militao – 4/10 – Left uncovered by an absent midfield as Milan flooded the Madrid half on the break. Crushed for pace and power by Leao because the guests grabbed a 3rd.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 5/10 – The often dependable German could not get out of second gear however wasn’t aided by a lacklustre midfield trio.
LB: Ferland Mendy – 5/10 – Failed to use sufficient stress to the in-form Pulisic and provided zilch within the Milan closing third.
DM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 4/10 – Gifted possession to Milan within the build-up to the guests’ second and spent the following jiffy being booed by his personal supporters. Hooked at half-time.
CM: Federico Valverde – 5/10 – Nameless in the course of the first half as Milan gained the midfield battle. Changed on the break alongside Tchouameni.
CM: Luka Modric – 6/10 – Not often concerned bar one spectacular cross for the offside Bellingham and failed to supply any magic in central areas.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 4/10 – Continues to look a shadow of his former self as he snatched at possibilities and struggled to hyperlink up along with his fellow forwards.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 4/10 – Spurned a number of promising alternatives, choosing energy over placement, and appeared a centre-forward devoid of confidence.
ST: Vinicius Junior – 6/10 – One horrible piece of play appearing within the first half apart, Vinicius once more proved the spark for Madrid of their brightest moments. Nonetheless, he was nonetheless far off his electrical finest right here.
Substitutes
SUB: Eduardo Camavinga (46′ for Tchouameni) – 5/10 – Didn’t stamp any authority on the sport and was no extra commanding than Tchouameni as Milan sliced by means of the hosts.
SUB: Brahim Diaz (46′ for Valverde) – 5/10 – Could not hurt his former facet in a quiet show and missed an excellent likelihood in stoppage time.
SUB: Dani Ceballos (63′ for Modric) – 6/10
SUB: Fran Garcia (74′ for Mendy) – 6/10
SUB: Rodrygo (74′ for Bellingham) – 6/10
Subs not used: Fran Gonzalez (GK), Sergio Mestre (GK), Fran Garcia, Jesus Vallejo, Arda Guler, Rodrygo, Endrick.
Supervisor
Carlo Ancelotti – 3/10 – A dire efficiency from his facet, who’re nonetheless miles off the tempo in defence, midfield and assault. Too sluggish and cumbersome from first minute to final, along with his substitutions unable to alter the circulate.
GK: Mike Maignan – 6/10 – Made the mandatory saves however wasn’t overworked by Madrid’s ahead line. Dived remarkably early for Vinicius’ penalty and was lucky to not be punished with the disallowed objective.
RB: Emerson Royal – 6/10 – Conceded the first-half spot kick with a lazy and unnecessary problem on Vinicius however improved because the match wore on.
CB: Malick Thiaw – 8/10 – Powered dwelling a superb header to supply Milan the lead and was defiant when defending his personal penalty space.
CB: Fikayo Tomori – 8/10 – Seldom put a foot unsuitable within the coronary heart of defence and annoyed the likes of Mbappe and Vinicius all through.
LB: Theo Hernandez – 8/10 – The previous Madrid worker provided loads of attacking thrust on the overlap and confirmed a relaxed head when defending his personal field.
DM: Youssouf Fofana – 7/10 – Milan dominated the midfield battle and Fofana helped reclaim possession and maintain issues ticking.
DM: Yunus Musah – 8/10 – The 21-year-old impressed along with his ball retention and confidence in possession, driving by means of Madrid’s midfield to alleviate stress.
RW: Christian Pulisic – 8/10 – Produced some tantalising nook deliveries, one in all which resulted in Milan’s opener. The American’s tempo and willingness to run at Madrid’s defence induced all method of issues.
AM: Tijjani Reijnders – 9/10 – The Dutchman caught the attention with an all-action midfield show, placing within the onerous yards defensively and scoring a well-taken objective to safe the victory for Milan. Made some highly effective runs by means of an underwhelming Madrid midfield.
LW: Rafael Leao – 9/10 – After being dropped to the bench in current video games, Leao made an infinite influence right here. Punished Vazquez repeatedly along with his shut management and pace, and was key in two Milan targets
ST: Alvaro Morata – 8/10 – Silenced the house crowd’s jeers along with his first-half strike and led the road splendidly in opposition to his outdated facet, even when he typically resorted to using the darkish arts.
Substitutes
SUB: Tammy Abraham (70′ for Morata) – 6/10
SUB: Ruben Loftus-Cheek (70′ for Pulisic) – 7/10
SUB: Noah Okafor (78′ for Leao) – 6/10
SUB: Davide Calabria (90+3′ for Royal) – N/A
SUB: Strahinja Pavlovic (90+3′ for Musah) – N/A
Subs not used: Lorenzo Torriani (GK), Marco Sportiello (GK), Filippo Terracciano, Francesco Camarda, Samuel Chukwueze.
Supervisor
Paulo Fonseca – 9/10 – An distinctive show from his facet, who had been superior throughout the pitch. Defended in a low block when required and used their tempo and ingenuity to unlock Madrid’s defence on the break.