Open rotation in the Madrid goal, Lunin or Kepa?: "In the next game we will see"
Andriy Lunin has forced Carlo Ancelotti to change his mind and the Italian, always tolerant in reflection, has had no problems in facing an unusual situation. Right now, there is no starting goalkeeper at Real Madrid. A month ago, Kepa's injury during the warm-up against Braga opened the doors of the Ukrainian goal again. The Spaniard was indisputable and there was no debate about the white team's goal.. But now it's different.
Against Betis, Lunin once again put together a remarkable performance. He saved the 1-0 with a shot from Ayoze and was confident between the posts, both in high balls and in playing with his feet, something that the coaching staff values positively.. He conceded Ruibal's great goal, but the full-back's shot, unopposed, slipped into his right corner.. It was almost unstoppable. After the meeting, Ancelotti did not want to put an end to the debate that he himself has been opening and closing in recent weeks: «Lunin has done well, he showed confidence and security.. We will see the next game,” he said, without indicating which goalkeeper will be in the starting eleven this Tuesday in Berlin.
The Ukrainian has conceded 5 goals in 8 games and averages 88.2% saves in the League, the best figure in the competition. He makes 3.3 stops per game, one more than Kepa, who averages 77.4% and received 10 in the 13 he played consecutively before getting injured. In the week that he returned to training with the team, just before the game against Granada, Ancelotti was very forceful with the goal situation: “If Kepa is fine, he will play”. However, the Spaniard was on the bench against the Andalusians.
«Character and personality»
Lunin saved a penalty against Braga and has kept a clean sheet in three of Madrid's last six games. In the press conference he gave this Friday, Ancelotti was no longer so direct about his intentions in goal and opened Lunin's options. “I will decide between one of the two,” he said in Valdebebas. And in Seville he decided that the Ukrainian would play. «Lunin's matches have been good and he deserves that I take into account that he can also play. He has shown character and personality. With Kepa nothing has changed, I have total confidence in him,” he said on Friday. At Villamarín, after 1-1, he repeated the same argument again. “We will see the next game,” he said after praising Lunin.
In August, after Courtois' injury and the signing of Kepa, the idea of the coaching staff was to give the Spaniard the starting job without hesitation, but now the rotation is more than open. A situation that has been seen a few times in recent years in Chamartín. Courtois and Navas exchanged positions during a stretch of the season in 2018. Now, at least until the Spanish Super Cup that will be played in the second week of January in Arabia, Kepa and Lunin will rotate between the sticks.
The draw leaves Madrid pending Girona, which if it wins in Montjuic will be the sole leader. «I leave here satisfied, it is a good point for the table. Do you want me to say that I am sad or angry? It is not like this. “I'm happy,” Ancelotti insisted.. A reflection that Alaba shared: “I think this is a very difficult field, it is an important point against a good team like Betis”. Madrid has already visited Athletic, Atlético, Girona, Sevilla, Barcelona and Betis with 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. The next stop, after passing through the Champions League, will be against Villarreal at the Bernabéu before traveling to Vitoria to end the year 2023.