On Sunday evening, Real Madrid signed off for the March international break in style, with a 3-2 win over city rivals Atletico Madrid to increase the pressure on league leaders Barcelona. 

Another goal for Federico Valverde, a brace for Vinicius, including a sublime goal to win the game, an assist for Trent Alexander-Arnold, more minutes for Kylian Mbappe as he completes his comeback from injury, etc etc. Almost the perfect evening. 

But not quite. Indeed not, as in the second half, not long after Vinicius has made it 3-2, Valverde picked up a straight red card for a foul on Alex Baena from behind, in a challenge that many thought was worthy of just a booking. 

Real Madrid also thought the same and thus decided to appeal the decision, in the hope that the Uruguayan would not miss any games after the break due to suspension. 

However, the appeal has been unsuccessful, and Valverde will face a suspension. Although it has not been officially confirmed, it is said that the 27-year-old could be out for two games, meaning he would miss the home game against Mallorca and the away game against Girona. 

The one good thing about this is he would be fresh for the huge Champions League games against Bayern Munich, which would certainly help. However, La Liga is also very important at the moment, and it is crucial not to lose any further ground to Barcelona. 

Not only will Valverde's energy and intensity be missed, but his goalscoring will be too. In the month of March, Real Madrid's number 8 managed to find the net six times. His goals won the club four points in the league alone, as well as being the difference between a draw and a 3-0 win against Manchester City in the Champions League. 

In the meantime, he could be in action for Uruguay over the international break. The two-time World Champions will face England at Wembley this Friday, where they could face teammate Jude Bellingham. They will then face Algeria in Turin on Tuesday evening. 

So, although there is the idea that one of the club's key men will be fresh for the games with Bayern, there are still two more games he could play before then, and therefore two games for Los Blancos to wince at and pray for no injuries or knocks. 

Pretty frustrating outcome, but things could be worse. 

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