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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real Madrid again pulls out the rabbit to win at Levante 2-3

Again it was an anxious, nervous thriller for us - Madrid fans.

The Real Madrid supporters had to wait till the last minute of extra time for Cristiano Ronaldo to ensure a Madrid win with a shot that was deflected off a Levante defender to beat the Goalkeeper.

Do we have to suffer such? When can we see a comprehensive victory where Madrid  dominates by playing great football?

The first Levante goal came in the 57 min when the Levante forward found himself in front of Diego Lopez and had no problems in putting in the back of the net. The chip lob pass for the goal was the product of a really cool headed play.

After a long time we saw Sergio Ramos equalize with his legs from a corner!! Yes you read correctly. He did not head in the corner as he usually does, but he found himself close to the far post and he had to jump and guide the ball in with his right foot. It was well taken. Good man.

Ramos had another scoring opportunity but the ball hit our dear Karim Benzema in front of the Levante goal. For your information, Karim Benzema not only doesn't score goals, he now stops Madrid scoring goals!! Does Benzema play for Madrid or is he the original fifth columnist? 

Levante's second goal was puzzling. Here was the Levante forward inside Madrid's area and was surrounded by 4 white shirts and ofcourse Diego Lopez. How this guy with his back to Diego Lopez, twisted and kicked ( scooped ) the ball into the net, I will never know. What were the 4 white shirts doing? Shocking that 4 so called word class defenders allowed this goal to be scored.

At the end of regulation time, Levante was ahead 2-1. Their fans were going absolutely ballistic. A victory over Madrid at home!! It doesn't get any better than this.

During extra time, Morata got the ball in the Levante area and quick side step found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat and he did just that. He shot the ball passed the diving goalkeeper.

Madrid had equalized 2-2.

Still the match was not over. There was about a minute left of extra time.

Shortly after, with time running out, Marcelo gives the ball to CR7 and the rest is history. Beautiful shot on goal deflected off an defender and went in. This was sweet justice for the free kick that he had missed earlier in the match. The amazing free kick went over the barrier, bounced in front of the goalkeeper and hit the post and went out. It was a very well taken shot but unfortunately did not provide the desired result.

At the end....

Another game - another victory.

Three points in the bag.

But boy did we have our hearts pumping.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Lucky Real Madrid salvage a point at Villareal

It was a treat and a pleasure to watch the young Villareal squad play such open, attacking and exciting football. They ( Villareal ) took Madrid's defence apart at will and if Lady Luck was on Villareal's side tonight, they would have won by atleast 3 goals.

Ancelotti where was Madrid's defence? The left flank was totally exposed and vulnerable to Villareal's frequent attacks. Madrid's defence couldn't keep up with the speed nor anticipate nor guard the marauding Villareal forwards. Nacho was terrible and in my mind ( and I have said this earlier ) Sergio Ramos will soon be sent off for some very serious tackles.

Thank God for Diego Lopez. Had it not been for Diego, Madrid would have suffered a humiliating defeat.

Further when you do an analysis of the match, I would like to question the Madrid forward line. The only two times Madrid attacked, they scored their two goals. Why could not Madrid create more opportunities of goal? There is no point in passing the ball around in the mid field without taking the ball up the field and creating scoring opportunities.

Carlo Ancelotti you are now TWO points behind Athletico Madrid and Barcelona. If you want to be able to compete, you have to start thinking about your two weaknesses and put your house in order.

Defence and Strikers.

Defence and Strikers.

These are not new problem areas. I have been mentioning them in every Blog over and over again.

You have to improve.

If Madrid cannot beat a newly promoted side, who can they beat in the Primera?

Well done Villareal.

Atleast football the " beautiful game " is in good hands in Spain.

The match saw the debut of Gareth Bale and he scored his first goal for the Club. Unfortunately he couldn't come away with all three points.