Open Thread: 27 January 2023

The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!

Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, Kung_Fu_Zizou, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Felipejack.

Another remontada for Ancelotti’s team!

On knockout games, it looks like our team only plays well on second halves. Even Ancelotti still doesn’t understand it:

I can’t understand how a team can play that bad in the 1st half and then so good in the 2nd half and extra-time. It’s something difficult to explain.

Once again, was it Ancelotti? The coach said:

We didn’t play well in the 1st half. Then I decided to move Modric closer to the attackers and it changed the game.

But the coach also emphasized that, besides changing the strategy, there is a mental change - so the players start to play with more energy.

The comparison with what happened last season was highlighted by Benzema:

It was magic tonight. The stadium, everything. We felt what we felt last season.

Magic indeed, what a goal from Rodrygo!

Camavinga continues to impress on his performances:

More injuries...

The bad news is that Mendy, Rodrygo and Nacho are injuried. Rodrygo said he felt discomfort (on achilles heel) even before the game and that’s why he didn’t play so many minutes.

Poll Time

Hala Madrid y nada más!