Real Madrid settles the match in the first half against Real Sociedad and then relaxes

The first half hour the match was full of action, good passing and understanding between the Madrid players and GOALS.

It again rained goals at the Santiago Bernabeu - 5-1.

And it could have been 6 had Morata not missed an easy goal off a Cristiano Ronaldo pass in front of the Sociedad goal.

For a change, Karim Benzema played well in the first 30 minutes and should be given credit for his assist in Cristiano's first goal. What I liked was Benzema did not pass the ball to Arbeloa who was going down the left ( the easier option ) but decided to cross the ball to Cristiano who was running at the far post.  

Cristiano returned the favour to Benzema by pulling the ball back and crossing the ball to Benzema, who to his credit ( or luck ) struck the ball along the ground, into the far right hand corner beating the outstretched Real Sociedad goalkeeper.

I would like to question the penalty given against Real Sociedad. I thought it was clearly unintentional as the defender challenged Ronaldo in the area and in the process, the ball went through the falling defender's legs and hit his hand. There was no question in my mind,  of intention whatsoever in the play.

Cristiano's free kick conversion was a treat to watch - specially as it went close overhead to where Khedira was standing in the defensive wall. It was or must have been practiced a lot but I wish there was more consistency in Ronaldo's free kick conversions.

Cristiano scored another hat trick this season.

Khedira scored as well from a Gareth Bale pass. It was well taken at almost point blank range giving the Real Sociedad goalkeeper absolutely no chance.

The Real Sociedad goal came in the second half when Griezmann beat Diego Lopez with a chip over his head. It needed a cool head to finish the job and Griezmann sure provided that.

I felt that Griezmann stood out for Real Sociedad and posed a continuous threat to Madrid. He has speed and ability and should be less selfish if he wants to develop into a top flight striker.

The man I felt a bit sorry was Gareth Bale. With everyone coming to the party and scoring, he missed out today.

Never mind Gareth, your time will come.

Real Madrid took home the 3 points.   

Pointers for Ancelotti. Arbeloa played well at the left back position. Alonso did not make much of an impression. He did take a couple of free kicks. Luca Modric again proved to be the work horse of the team. Pepe was dreadful. He should take the sole responsibility for the goal.

I am not sure that Ancelotti has found the best team as yet.

There is therefore room for improvement.

We need to improve so that we do better playing against the top teams at home and abroad.

 

 

 

 

 

Real Madrid gets the job done and should move on in the Champions League

A great game and Real Madrid pulled off a good victory beating the reigning Italian Champions - Juventus 2-1 at home at the Santiago Bernabeu.

This victory virtually assures Madrid to go through to the quarter finals stage of the Champions League heading their Group.

The match started in a frenzy and in the 4th minute, Di Maria dribbled the ball from the right and came to the top Juve's area and passed the ball inside through to Ronaldo. Cristiano very skillfully, side stepped the charging Buffon ( Juventus's goalkeeper ) and put the ball into the back of the net - even though the angle was very acute. The goal was well constructed and elegantly finished.

The score was 1-0.

The goal galvanised the Italians. Juve started dominating possession of the ball and the midfield. Juventus had so much of the possession that sometimes, there were atleast two or three Italians around the ball with Real Madrid players nowhere to be seen.

It has to be said that Pirlo, Vidal and Martin Caceres were in total command of the game. They did not allow Real Madrid to build up any move and on the contrary, were quick to put their forwards on the counter attack.

With so much pressure being built up, it was inevitable that during this period of play was when Juventus scored. A floating ball found a Juve forward who crossed the ball to the far post. The ball beat the Madrid defenders in the air and the Juve player headed the ball towards the Madrid goal. Casillas had to make a diving save but in doing so, the ball fell in front of the goal line and Llorente tapped the ball into the back of the net - giving Casillas no chance to make a save.

It was a defensive lapse - first Marcelo was out place and could not prevent the ball from being crossed and secondly Arbeloa was not guarding the far post. These fundamental defensive problems have been a constant problem for Madrid this season so far.

The scores were level 1-1.

The match was fast paced and it was end to end football. Very exciting to watch. Around the 35th minute a high ball into the Juventus area saw Chiellini grappling Sergio Ramos around the neck and bringing him down in the penalty area. The linesman very bravely and correctly signaled the penalty to Madrid. Cristiano converted beating Buffon going the correct way - but the kick went into the top left hand corner of the net. Buffon had no chance.

In the process, Chiellini received a yellow card for bringing Sergio Ramos down in a wrestling hold.

The score at half time was 2-1 in Madrid's favour.

The second half started with Madrid in the driving seat. Shortly after the start, Ronaldo picked up a through ball and was going towards the goal when Chiellini elbowed him in the mouth and sent him falling to the ground. This brought out the red card and Chiellini was sent off.

With the sending off, the stuffing was knocked out of Juventus. With 10 men Juve could not compete - their players were exhausted. When Pirlo was substituted, Madrid roamed the pitch freely but could not score even though they had two great goal scoring chances.

The first chance came when Di Maria chipped the ball to Arbeloa who had come into the box behind the Juve defence and made a great pass across Buffon's goal line. However Benzema kicked the ball over the crossbar - missing an open goal - a "sitter" as some would say. The Madrid supporters did not like Benzema missing such an easy chance and voiced their feelings.

The second chance came when Khedira found himself inside the Juve area with only Buffon to beat. He tried chipping the ball over Buffon's head but the experienced Buffon was not to be fooled.

Benzema was substituted by Gareth Bale - who was only given about 20 minutes by Ancelotti. He made a few runs but nothing special.

Morata and Isco were brought in for Di Maria and Iyarramendi. With what little time they had, they played well.

Juventus continued to hold through the valiant efforts of Vidal and Martin Caceres. With only 10 men, they created two clear chances of goal but then with fatigue and being overwhelmed by the Madrid numerical superiority, they could not convert.

The match ended 2-1.

Two incidents stood out during the match which are worth noting. It tells the story of what Real Madrid stands for. The first came when Fernando Llorente was being substituted. You will remember Llorente used to play for Atletico Bilbao and this was his first match in Spain after his move abroad. The Madrid fans gave him a standing ovation for the hard work he put in and the goal that he scored. The second standing ovation was reserved for Pirlo. When Pirlo was walking off the field after being substituted, the Madrid fans clapped and acknowledged what a great footballer he is and has been all these years. Yes Madrid fans acknowledged the class of this great footballer.

Hopefully this victory will boost the team morale for Saturday's CLASSICO.

If Madrid wins on Saturday, they will be equal on points with Barcelona.

Something to look forward to.

HALA MADRID.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oooof finally Real Madrid managed a win over weak Copenhagen

The Madrid team did not start with Sergio Ramos, Isco and Arbeloa but instead selected Marcelo, Carvajal and Varane. These were good moves as Madrid protected its left flank and Marcelo's speed and skills helped mount attacks from the left wing.

Carvajal played a more attacking game down the right hand side but he also seems incapable of crossing or centering balls to the forwards waiting in the area. This has become a major concern this year.

In the first half, Madrid attacked frequently but most of the moves fizzled out due to lack of ideas. The Madrid forwards were at one time lining up to take shots at the Copenhagen goal but the lack of accuracy was quite pathetic to watch.

As usual Benzema was not playing well but later in the match, he made a couple of good passes that brought back some of the Madrid fans to his side.

Late into the first half, Marcelo's measured, floating cross from the left completely fooled the Copenhagen goalkeeper and Ronaldo made no mistake in heading in his first goal. The cross was a beauty and all credit to Cristiano Ronaldo to head the ball down onto the grass and then bounced it in.

Madrid went into the interval with a goal advantage.

The second half began in the same manner as in the first half. Madrid lacked finishing skills and then after the first 10 minutes, the game changed. Madrid it seemed woke up and started playing some attacking and attractive football.

The second goal started with back heel from Benzema to Di Maria inside the area and Di Maria floated the ball to the near post. The beauty of this goal was that Ronaldo who was behind the defender, moved out in front of the defender and headed the ball home. The move to go in front and meet the ball and thereby taking the defender out the equation was really great thinking.

Madrid made two substitutions - bringing on Isco for Khedira and a little later Morata for Modric. The substitutions were applauded by the fans because firstly Khedira had not played particulary well and secondly Isco and Morata are fast becoming the Bernabeu favourites.

The third goal was a solo run by Di Maria at the Copenhagen goal and he curled the ball into the far left hand side giving the goalkeeper absolutely no chance at all. It was a great goal to see - specially when you can see the ball turning and beating the goalkeeper - a treat for the eyes.

Madrid made their third substitution for the night bringing on Jesse for Benzema.

The fourth goal came from the right hand side when Morata managed to "rob" the ball from the Copenhagen defender and pass the ball to Di Maria who made no mistake in putting the ball into the back of the net.

The match ended Real Madrid 4-0.

Although the fans were happy to go home with a victory, the Madrid defence let the Copenhagen forwards too much space and time with ball in their area. The Copenhagen team created quite a few dangerous chances. The first was in the first half when Luka Modric had to kick the ball away from Madrid's goal line. And in the second half, a Copenhagen forward found himself solo in front of the Madrid goal and thank Saint Iker for bringing off a brilliant save. That save was followed by a corner when Iker again had to pull off a left handed save. These were three clear chances of goal that Copenhagen missed.

Ancelotti should be careful of corners because everytime Copenhagen had a corner, the Madrid defence was caught out. This is a very serious weakness in the Madrid defence. The finishing skills have to be honed and finally the accuracy of passing needs improvement.

Anyway it looks like Real Madrid will sail into the next round with this victory.

So lets concentrate on the Liga.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Shameful display by Real Madrid in front of 80000 fans

Shame!! Disgraceful!! Shocking!!

Is this the result of Ancelotti being brought to the Bernabeu?

Is this the result of Zidane's influence on the team as the Assistant Coach?

Is the result of buying super stars?

I don't mind Real Madrid being beaten by a good and better team. But for Heaven's Sake - do not go down in this pathetic manner. It was the worst display of ineptitude I have seen from Real Madrid. And I can only blame Carlo Ancelotti and Florentino Perez.

One does not have to be "professional" football coach to tell you, and tell you correctly, that Real Madrid today is carrying Benzema , Arbeloa and Khedira. Without these three millstones around the Team's neck, I am sure Real Madrid will be a better team.

Forget analyzing the game.

We should discuss what is fundamentally wrong about the Team.

1. How many scoring chances were created in the first half?

2. How many passes were incomplete?

3. How many shots were taken at Atletic's goal?

4. How many times did Arbeloa pass the ball BACK to Pepe or Khedira?

5. How many times did Arbeloa cross the ball to his forwards?

6. How many times did Ronaldo enter Atletic's area?

The problems go on and on.

It was terrifying to see Atletico get the ball and run at the heart of the Madrid defence. The defence was like a house of cards - frail, weak and vulnerable. Everytime an attack was on, we felt the panic and terror in the defence.

Madrid's midfield was non existant today. Di Maria was awful. I was sorely missing Ozil weren't you Mr. Acelotti?

The only saving Grace was Diego Lopez. He was Madrid's savior yet again.

I really don't know where Madrid goes from here.

The Management needs to go back to the drawing board and start from the basics.

My simple advice is. You DO NOT need 11 men on the field. You need 11 professional, confident, skillful footballers who play in specialized positions and play as a team.