The Gossip

 Los Blancos’ early exit from the Spanish cup was attributed to a significant error made by their reserve goalkeeper, allowing a familiar adversary to once again trouble them.

Real Madrid suffered a defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey, thanks to an error by reserve goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and the attacking brilliance of Antoine Griezmann. The match, which was a thrilling cup tie, required extra time to determine the winner. Unfortunately, Los Blancos made individual mistakes while Atleti showcased moments of brilliance, resulting in a well-deserved 4-2 victory for Diego Simeone’s team.

Bellingham came incredibly close to scoring, maneuvering past two defenders before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot that struck the crossbar from a short distance. Jan Oblak, the goalkeeper for Atletico Madrid, played a crucial role in keeping Real Madrid at bay by making two impressive saves to deny Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr.

However, it was Atletico who eventually took the lead. Samuel Lino capitalized on a deflected ball and calmly finished into the bottom corner after a period of disorganized defending from Madrid.

Oblak played an unfortunate part in Madrid’s equalizer, as he inadvertently punched Luka Modric’s free-kick into his own net. However, Lunin made a goalkeeping error of his own, punching an awkward cross off Antonio Rudiger’s leg under seemingly little pressure, which fell into the path of Alvaro Morata, who gratefully finished into an open net.

Rodrygo came close to leveling the match, but his poked effort deflected off a defender and hit the crossbar. Joselu, who came on as his replacement, did even better by nodding Bellingham’s sliced shot into an empty net, which survived a VAR check and led to an exhilarating extra 30 minutes of play.

In extra time, Griezmann turned the scoreline back in Atleti’s favor, creating an angle and rifling a shot into the roof of the net, leaving Lunin helpless. Madrid thought they had scored in the 110th minute, but Bellingham was deemed offside. Ultimately, Atleti secured a decisive fourth goal late in extra time, with Rodrigo Riquelme completing a superb attacking move, knocking the defending champions out of the competition at the last-16 stage.

GOAL assesses the performance of Real Madrid’s players at the Wanda Metropolitano…

Andriy Lunin (4/10):

Lino’s goal could have been saved by Lunin. He was entirely responsible for Morata’s goal as he failed to control a cross. In games as big as these, mistakes cannot be made.

Dani Carvajal (4/10):

Carvajal made the wrong decision by not tracking on Atleti’s opener. He didn’t push forward enough and his performance was unusually sloppy.

Antonio Rudiger (5/10):

Rudiger unintentionally flicked the ball into Lino’s path, resulting in the home side taking a 1-0 lead. He repeated the same mistake for the second goal. It was an unfortunate night for him.

Nacho (6/10):

Nacho made a crucial defensive intervention towards the end of the game. Apart from that, he was reasonably tidy, which is typically his style.

Ferland Mendy (6/10):

Mendy performed solidly at left-back. He won his tackles and covered the space well. However, he appeared tired when he was substituted.

Federico Valverde (6/10):

Demonstrated effective coverage of the ground in the central midfield position. Showed great determination and made some intriguing forward runs. Perhaps unfortunate to be substituted.

Eduardo Camavinga (7/10):

Tasked with handling Antoine Griezmann, he had a mixed performance. Managed to make some impactful forward runs. Showed better performance when positioned at left-back.

Luka Modric (6/10):

Displayed accurate passing and managed to find spaces against a resilient defense. However, he often found himself physically outmatched. Not his most exceptional game.

Jude Bellingham (8/10):

Once again, delivered an outstanding performance in an attacking role. Made numerous driving runs and hit the crossbar after 10 minutes. Despite attempting to shoot, he assisted Joselu.

Rodrygo (6/10):

Initially posed difficulties, but his impact diminished as the match progressed. Showed some sluggishness in his passing during the final third. Unfortunate to witness his attempt hitting the crossbar towards the end.

Vinicius Jr (7/10):

Displayed a constant threat right from the start. Generated opportunities and established good coordination with Rodrygo. Managed to not let the continuous provocation and fouling affect him significantly. However, he carelessly surrendered the ball to Griezmann and was subsequently easily outplayed for Atletico’s third goal.

Brahim Diaz (5/10):

Managed to secure a booking within just 60 seconds of being on the field. However, his performance declined significantly after that.

Toni Kroos (5/10):

Brought in to provide control in the midfield, but unfortunately, he didn’t quite deliver on that front.

Joselu (8/10):

Made an immediate impact by scoring the equalizer shortly after being substituted. Despite his awkward style, he consistently proves to be highly effective.

Aurelien Tchouameni (N/A):

Struggled to keep up with the pace of the game after being brought on.

Dani Ceballos (N/A):

Believed he had scored the equalizer, only to have it disallowed due to an offside call.

Fran Garcia (N/A):

Didn’t have enough time to make a significant contribution to the match.

Carlo Ancelotti (5/10):

Opted for a lineup consisting of mostly first-choice players. While Real Madrid displayed moments of brilliance in their attacking play, their defensive fragility and individual mistakes ultimately cost them the game. Unfortunately, the manager had limited control over these factors. It seems that a treble victory is not in the cards for them this year.