Zinedine Zidane put out a youthful Real Madrid team last night at Los Carmenes according to Marca, and it was a bet that paid off. A team led by Miguel Gutierrez (19), Marvin (20), Vinicius Junior (20), Rodrygo (20) and Fede Valverde (22) beat Granada 4-1 to keep Madrid alive in the race with Atletico Madrid for La Liga.
Madrid had no margin for error after Atletico’s gritty 2-1 win over Real Sociedad the previous evening, but they got the job done. It was a risk to leave experienced heads like Toni Kroos, Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio out of the lineup, as well as the mysterious omission of Marcelo, but the kids did alright.
Miguel assisted Luka Modric for the opening goal, while Marvin combined with Rodrygo for Madrid’s second. Valverde, out in recent times due to injury and a covid-19 positive, performed well, with Vinicius perhaps the only youngster starting to not really contribute completely. Zidane, forced by circumstance, is helping blood some youthful talent.
