Real Madrid fans waxed lyrical about Aurelien Tchouaméni for his performance during their LaLiga clash with Barcelona on Sunday, October 26. The midfielder was solid at the base of the midfield as Los Blancos got the better of their archrivals with a 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Xabi Alonso’s men entered the contest with a point to prove after Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal joked that the Whites ‘steal’ and ‘complain’ days before the highly anticipated clash. While the Catalans enjoyed possession from the start, it was Real Madrid who came closest to scoring in the early exchanges.
The hosts could have found themselves 2-0 up by the 12th minute. Vinicius Jr thought he had won a penalty for Madrid just three minutes in, but the decision was overturned after a VAR intervention. Kylian Mbappe then had a goal ruled out for a narrow offside. However, it was only a temporary reprieve for Hansi Flick’s side, as Mbappe finally broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute after Jude Bellingham played him through.
It was a wake-up call for Barcelona, who rallied in response. The visitors were back on level terms in the 38th minute when Fermin Lopez slotted home a low pass from Marcus Rashford.
However, Bellingham restored Real Madrid’s lead two minutes before halftime. Mbappe had the chance to put the game to bed in the second half from the spot, but he was denied by Wojciech Szczesny. The second 45 minutes was much more subdued, as neither side was able to find the back of the net.
While several Los Blancos players impressed on the night, Tchouaméni’s performance didn’t go unnoticed by fans. The French international had a 90% pass accuracy, created one big chance, made eight recoveries, and received a match rating of 7.6, according to Sofascore. After the match, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to heap praise on him, with one writing:
“Tchouameni has been absolutely spectacular. One of the best games I can remember him playing.”
A fan tweeted:
“Tchouameni gave a monstrous performance. Tackles, blocks, playing line breaking passes, he did it all. MASSIVE 👏🏽👏🏽.”
“Tchouameni was QUALITY today …. my MOTM,” another added.
“Tchouameni is the MOTM, he did everything,” a fan echoed the same sentiments.
“Tchouameni was everything today 10/10,” another chimed in.
“I hope everyone noticed that Tchouameni performance,” another remarked.
The result meant Madrid have opened up a five-point lead at the top of the LaLiga table.
‘We deserved to win” – Aurelien Tchouaméni on Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Barcelona
Tchouaméni was delighted with his team’s performance after beating Barcelona for the first time in their last five meetings. Speaking after the match, he told Real Madrid TV:
“We knew we had to give everything. The whole team played well and we deserved the win. The coach did an incredible job with the game plan. We did everything we wanted to do, pressing hard together and trying to create chances when we won the ball back. We did that and we’re very happy”.
For Xabi Alonso, he became the first Real Madrid manager to win his first El Clasico in LaLiga since Zinedine Zidane in 2016.
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Edited by Ezekiel Olamide
