"Talk now!" - Brahim responds to Simeone's pre-match statements

55th minute of the match. Real Madrid, after Julian Alvarez's equaliser, was in a moment of anxiety in terms of sensations and play. Atletico improved on the ball and took control of a match that was not looking good for Carlo Ancelotti's team. The Italian was looking for solutions on the bench, but the best one was on the pitch. Without lucidity, he showed daring. Brahim Diaz linked up with Vinicius and Mendy to find space and get inside the box. 

A street dribble, unorthodox and almost dangerous for his ankle, but Brahim lowered the center of gravity, threw a couple of feints and got rid of the Gimenez before beating Jan Oblak's with a classy finish to the far post. It was his moment of glory. He celebrated, first, with the fans before heading to the touchlin. First, he greeted Ancelotti.

After that, Brahim sent his -several- messages to the Atletico bench zone, where Diego Pablo Simeone was trying to give encouragement to his team after the 2-1 defeat. Brahim told him: “Talk now! Talk now! Talk now! Talk now! You talked yesterday! Talk now!”. Simeone, arms folded, did not respond. 

A rare gesture for him, as he does not usually get involved in this type of controversy and that responds, at least on paper, to Simeone's statements about what he could expect from Real Madrid's approach. “They will look to compensate, I imagine, with Camavinga alongside Modric and Tchouameni in midfielder. There is a possibility that it could be Brahim, but I don't think so because there is obviously a pattern that repeats itself and possibly they will play this way,” were his words.

Neither Simeone himself -at the press conference- nor Brahim -in the mixed zone- wanted to talk about this issue and both shied away from the subject.

 

March 4, 2025