Brahim Diaz is taking advantage of his chance to show that he belongs at Real Madrid.
Two minutes left in the game, Real Madrid was up 2-0 against Granada and about to win their fifth straight game, which would put them in joint first place in the league. Fans in the Santiago Bernabeu rose to applaud Brahim Diaz.
Even though it wasn’t official yet, most people thought the cheers were for the player who would be named man of the match. The decisive moment came when Nico Paz took over for Diaz. He had helped Rodrygo double the lead that the Spaniard had created in the first half.
It was a great goal. In Carlo Ancelotti’s 4-4-2, Diaz was moved back to the right and got the ball in the 27th minute, but he was still a long way from the box. There was a murmur from the fans that only players who always sаy they’ll do something different can hear. Diaz has been one of those players for months now.
But no one would have guessed what the 24-year-old was thinking. Or rather, almost no one; Toni Kroos was the only one who did.
The German, who was in central midfield, took Diaz’s pass in the field. He knew that his teammate had sprinted forward to wait for a return, so he made a perfect first-time pass that went around four Granada players and into the path of his colleague. It was the perfect mix of subtlety and class. It was such a beautiful move that several teammates ran to hug Kroos before Diaz could easily finish.
The kid ran off to a corner to celebrate in a Jude Bellingham-style way, with his arms open as if to ask, “Do you like it?” “What else do you need?” Then the scorer and the giver came together, though they didn’t hug at first. Instead, Diaz got down on his knees to clean the midfielder’s boot.
Toni sees a pass that no one else does, and that makes me happy,” Brahim told Real Madrid TV from the field. “You should see how he looks for his teammate on the field—he is amazing.” It was my turn to clean his boots today.
Not only did Kroos not want the credit, but neither did the other performer. He said, “The pass is only good if it leads to a goal.” “The pass wasn’t very flashy. It turned out well.
The dаnger of Diaz was always there for Granada, and they couldn’t stop him all night. Real’s main problem player was hard to find both with and without the ball.
Just before halftime, there was a back heel that put Bellingham free in front of the goal, but he couldn’t score. Fans were shocked and gasped. After the break, Diaz got past Ignasi Miquel even though it didn’t look like there was any room and passed the ball to Bellingham again. Andre Ferreira did a great job of stopping the England player, but Rodrygo was there to score from the rebound. Bellingham had another good game, even though it was only the fifth time in 17 games this season that he didn’t score or set up a goal.
When Diaz left, he had two shots, tied with Bellingham for the most, two key passes, also tied with Bellingham for the most, and two fouls, tied for the second most among Real’s players. It was his desire to try anything that caused him to lose more things than anyone else (17), but that’s what makes the crowd love him so much. He fought so hard that no one won more duels than him (11), and he also got the ball back five times, which was more than any other player on the team except three.He might have thought about how quickly things change in football, especially at Real Madrid, as he zipped up his coat back on the bench.It had been a little less than a week since he was supposed to start in Cadiz but had to be taken out because of stomach problems. He thought the pasta he ate before the game made him sick, but the team doctors said it was just a bug. He hardly got out of the bathroom before it was time to go to the stadium. He watched the first half in the locker room. He never got out on the field.The forward spent three years on loan at AC Milan, but the Italian club never had the option to buy him permanently because Real Madrid was so confident in his skills. Now he is attempting to make the most of every chance in Madrid, no matter how small.It was a blоw when he lost last week, but it wasn’t going to stop him. On Wednesday, he set up Rodrygo’s goal to put Madrid ahead at home against Napoli. His unique style made him stand out. When he was taken off because of cramps, his fans yelled his nаme as he walked along the sidelines.Four of the five games Diaz has started, he has either scored or helped set up the first goal (three goals and one assist). “Great job!” Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, both from Brazil, wrote to him on Instagram after Granada won.
Ancelotti said, “He plays very well and works very hard.” “He does his job no matter what position he is in. We’re pleased with him. At the start of the season, he wasn’t given much attention, but now he’s showing all of his skills.Because of those games, he will be closer to being called up to the Spanish national team. This is the last time Luis de la Fuente will get his team together before Euro 2024. It will happen in March. Although he respects and is open to the idea of moving to Morocco—where his grandma is from and where sports and political leaders have tried to “sign” him—Diaz sees his future with La Roja.If that chance comes up next summer, it will depend on how well the surgery goes to fix the damage he got in the September match against Atletico Madrid. Diaz has chosen not to talk about the problem in public, but he is clearly in a lot of pаin. There is always a chance that things will get worse. In the first half of Saturday’s game, he hurt his shoulder when he fell, but he still played.It’s possible that his desire to do well at Real Madrid hides the pаin. His latest performances have helped him get ahead.He has already grown very tall.