What was clear to see in the Madrid derby on Sunday night was that whilst Atletico Madrid were putting everything on the line to secure Champions League qualification, Real Madrid were still celebrating.
With the LaLiga Santander title wrapped up, Carlo Ancelotti‘s priority was to rest his most important players after the semi-final victory over Manchester City.
Andriy Lunin deputised for Thibaut Courtois in goal, whilst Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Fede Valverde, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior were all on the bench.
Including David Alaba‘s injury, eight automatic starters for Real Madrid were rested at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.
However, Ancelotti explained at full time that he would bring back his most important players in the upcoming fixtures, starting with Levante on Thursday.
“Those who played less today will play on Thursday [against Levante], the same against Cadiz, and against Real Betis it will be more or less those who will start the [Champions League] final,” he said.
Laughing on the sidelines
There would have been little surprise if so much rotation had had a detrimental impact on Real Madrid.
However, with no pressure on them, they played with freedom and surprised Diego Simeone‘s side with a strong performance.
A series of images showed that the Real Madrid players were relaxed and still celebrating their achievements over the past week.
Thibaut Courtois, Casemiro, Eder Militao and Karim Benzema smiling on the bench.
When Casemiro was replaced by Fede Valverde after 60 minutes, the Brazilian midfielder was seen laughing with his coach on the touchline.
Then, Courtois, Casemiro, Eder Militao and Benzema could be seen joking around in the technical area. Losing a derby never mattered so little.
Marca
