With a crucial game in midweek, Mourinho reserved some important players, which included Cristiano Ronaldo starting from the bench.
Diego Lopez
Arbeloa Pepe Carvalho Marcelo
Essien Modric
Callejon Kaka Di Maria
Higuain
Varane was dropped just before the game, and Xabi Alonso and Benzema did not make the trip to Riazor.
The first have can be quickly summarized: Real Madrid had one shot on target, Deportivo had three, and Riki put the Gallician side up 1-0 after a terrible mistake by Diego Lopez.
In the 2nd half, everything began to change when Mou made a triple substitution by putting in ‘La Maquina’, Khedira, and Ozil for Marcelo, Essien, and Modric.
Real Madrid bit by bit began to click, but still could not break Depor’s strong defensive wall. Then in the 73rd minute, Madrid would finally get that equalizer with a golazo from Kaka. From then on, Real Madrid was in full control as they searched for the game winner. At this point, Deportivo was defending strongly and hoping to at least get a point out of the game. However, Real Madrid would break Depor hearts two minutes from time after great vision by Kaka and Ronaldo presented Higuain with a simple tap in to make it 1-2.
With less than two minutes, plus four minutes of extra time, remaining, you would think Real Madrid would at least finish the game with 11 men.
WRONG!!!!
For the third straight game, Madrid would have another player sent off. This time it was Di Maria, who incredibly broke Ramos’ record. If Ramos got two yellow cards in less than forty seconds, Di Maria did it in less than 30. A red card that is a mix of both stupidity and Villarato.
Thankfully, Di Maria did not blow it for Real Madrid, who escaped Riazor with all three points, and their second victory in that stadium in the last 21 years.
Now time to focus on the important Copa del Rey semifinal 2nd leg match against Barcelona in the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
Well I’m disappointed. After the first fifteen minutes, which saw Real Madrid go up 2-0, it looked like Mou’s men were going to run the side from Vallecas out of the building. However, Ramos’ sending off in the 17th minute changed the entire complexity of the game.
As I just said, Real Madrid’s opening minutes were fantastic. They were blowing through Rayo and it just seemed as if Madrid was going to have a big goal scoring night. In the starting 11, Mou surprised many by coming out with Morata instead of Benzema. Morata would take full advantage of the opportunity by scoring his first goal in the Santiago Bernabeu after only three minutes.
In the 9th minute, Real Madrid would make it 2-0 after a wonderful free kick from Ozil was headed by Ramos. Everything was looking great until Ramos was sent off five minutes later after receiving two yellow cards IN LESS THAN A MINUTE: First one coming for a foul in midfield, the second for hitting the ball with his arm.
What I find ironic is later in the 2nd half, Lass (Rayo Vallecano), who was already caring a yellow, was called for a hand ball and not sent off. Something that got Mou and the entire Madrid team up in harms.
Either way, the game changed after that moment. Real Madrid was forced to play more conservative, which gave Rayo more room to play their style.
So with that, I’m just going to quickly summarize the rest of the game:
With Ramos out, Morata would unfortunately be sacrificed for Albiol to give the defense more stability and keep the control in midfield. Both teams had chances, but neither side could capitalize.
2-0 Final
Real Madrid’s next match will be against Deportivo de la Coruna on Saturday in Riazor, a stadium where they’ve only won once in the last 20 years.
After playing the first 90 minutes of the two legged tie, the series will now shift to Old Trafford where the 1-1 draw obtained by both sides in the Santiago Bernabeu will be decided.
What is my overall impression of the game? I’M PISSED
Real Madrid should have finished United off in the first leg. They dominated the ‘Red Devils’ the entire game and had a total of 28 shots (8 of which were on target). Starting in the 2nd minute when great ball movement presented Khedira a great opportunity to open the scoring, but could not get a good shot off and sent it well wide. Two minutes later, it would be Di Maria to have his chance after blowing through Evra and Carrick, and trying his luck from outside, but his attempt missed the goal. In the 6th minute, Real Madrid almost got on the board when Coentrao’s shot looked like it was going straight into the bottom corner of the net, but a slight touch by De Gea caused it to hit the post and stay out.
Then in the 20th minute, on Man U’s first shot on target, Danny Welbeck would put the English side ahead after poor defending by Sergio Ramos, indecisiveness from Diego Lopez, and Di Maria not staying on the post.
Despite the 0-1 deficit, Real Madrid did not panic and kept playing their usual way. Finally, Madrid would be rewarded for their play ten minutes later after Di Maria’s cross was headed by Ronaldo (who’s hang-time was extraterrestrial) to the side of De Gea to equalize the game at 1-1.
‘La Máquina’ defying all laws of gravity
GAME ON AGAIN!
Minutes later, Danny Welback almost regained the lead for United after bad timing from Diego Lopez when coming out for the cross, but could not get the right touch on the ball to put it away. Real Madrid would have opportunities of their own to take the lead just before the break. Beginning with Xabi’s pass that was brought down by Ozil, who was in good position to score, but could not beat De Gea. A few minutes later, a great counterattack, which was taken up by Di Maria, provided a great ball for Ozil who then crossed to Ronaldo in the middle, but could not make contact to finish the play. In the 41st minute, Real Madrid would argue for a penalty when Di Maria was clearly pushed down by Jones, but the referee let play go on. Just before halftime, Ronaldo would fire a vicious shot from outside that would go just over the bar.
HALFTIME
After the restart, Man U would have two opportunities in less than a minute. A dangerous cross by Van Persie that was going straight to Welbeck, but was just headed away by Coentrao. Then another center by Rooney going to Kagawa that was cleared away by Diego Lopez.
If not for Coentrao and Diego Lopz, Welbeck would have had a free header in the middle of the box and Kagawa would have had an open goal to score in.
In the 49th minute, Ronaldo would create Real Madrid’s first chance of the 2nd half with another dangerous shot from just outside the box, but it was stopped by De Gea. Di Maria would be next to try his luck twice from long range; De Gea easily contained the first one and the second just went wide.
Five minutes later, if ‘The Whites’ called for a penalty in the 1st half, United had an argument of their own when Evra had broke through Madrid’s defense and was taken down by the Varane (the last defender) outside the box, but the official again did not call anything.
Then in the 60th minute, Real Madrid would create their best opportunity of the 2nd half when Khedira’s cross was met by Coentrao and went on target, but a strange kick save by De Gea kept it out.
Manchester would have another two opportunities to score in the 71st and 72nd minute:
A quick counterattack concluded with Van Persie’s shot being deflected by Diego Lopez and going off the bar. The Dutchman would be called again after beating the offside trap and only having the keeper to beat. Even though he didn’t get a good shot off, it still went over the goalie and was about to go in before Xabi Alonso kicked it off the line.
El Señor leaving it all for Real Madrid
In the 79th minute, Real Madrid wasted another chance as Khedira’s powerful strike was handled by the former Atletico Madrid keeper. In the final minute, Van Persie would have one last opportunity to steal the game with a dangerous low shot, but it was knocked out by Diego Lopez.
The game would end in one of the most strangest ways as the referee whistled for full time as United were ready to take a corner.
1-1 GOING BACK TO OLD TRAFFORD
The tie will now be decided in Old Trafford (The Theater of Dreams). Believe it or not, there are some people who believe the 1-1 draw is a horrific result for Real Madrid. While this score is not the best, it’s not as bad as they say. Excluding the 0-0 or 1-1, a win or any draw qualifies Madrid for the next quarter finals. Plus, they are forgetting Real Madrid is one of the two best teams in the world along with Barcelona. After watching the 1st leg, I’m pretty sure Madrid can score in Manchester. It will not be easy, but Madrid can pull it off, and they have done it in the past.
Remembering the 1999/2000 quarterfinal tie after both teams drew in the Santiago Bernabeu 0-0. Not many people thought Real Madrid could seal the deal in Old Trafford, but the side coach by ‘El Bigoton’ (Del Bosque) silenced the United fans by recording an historic 2-3 victory. That was also the game where Fernando Redondo pulled this lovely piece of skill.
This Real Madrid team coached by Jose Mourinho is more than capable of winning in ‘The Theater of Dreams’. Like ‘The Special One’ and Ferguson said after the game, the series is 50-50. With all the talent both teams have, anything can happen when they again on March 5th.
With the Champions League returning this week, Mourinho rested a few key players ahead of the clash against Manchester United.
Diego Lopez
Arbeloa Albiol Ramos Coentrao
Essien Modric
Benzema Kaka Ronaldo
Higuain
Unlike last week, Real Madrid took care of Sevilla with an easy 4-1 victory. Benzema would open the scoring in the 17th minute after one of the most bizarre plays of the season. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s the clip:
Then Ronaldo would take over by scoring his second hat-trick of 2013. First in the 26th minute with a brilliant shot from outside that beat Beto to make it 2-0. His second would come exactly 33 seconds into the 2nd half after taking advantage of some slopping defending. Then in the 59th minute after finishing a fantastic counter attack he started.
Unfortunately, that would be the last thing he would do as he was taken off four minutes later for the youngster Alvaro Morata.
!!!!Cristiano Cristiano Cristiano!!!!
The game also saw the return of Pepe, who played his first game of 2013 after being out for almost a month with an injury.
The only bad part was Higuain’s meaningless red card, which will see him miss next weekends match against Rayo Vallecano, and Manu del Moral’s consolation goal.
There is not much to say about Real Madrid performance.
– Very little creativity
– Very little chances
– Very little enthusiasm
A game that was seen as a golden opportunity to cut the league gap with Barcelona, who play Valencia in Mestalla on Sunday, has pretty much closed Real Madrid chances of a possible comeback in La Liga. If Barcelona win, then the gap will go back up to 18; and if they lose, then it was an opportunity wasted. Real Madrid could not get anything through Granada, who played their hearts out and left everything on the pitch.
To add more insult to injury, Granada’s only goal came from an own goal. To make things worse, it was Ronaldo who accidentally put the ball past Diego López.
However, Real Madrid’s night would be summed up in the 84th minute when Callejon’s attempt was blocked by Toño, and rolled to the feet of Benzema. With an open goal, all he had to do was give it a good touch and the game would be tied, but somehow send it wide.
What’s next?
Now it is officially time for Real Madrid to completely focus their attention on winning the Champions League and Copa del Rey, and trying to finish second in La Liga.
After witnessing one of the greatest Clasicos in recent history, the tie will now shift to the Camp Nou where the 1-1 draw in the 1st leg will be decided. The game was a tale of two halves: Real Madrid dominated the 1st half and Barcelona the 2nd.
Real Madrid came out flying in the early minutes and were presented a great opportunity when Ronaldo was taken down just on the edge of the box and were rewarded a free kick.
Ronaldo took a wonderful shot and it looked like it had beaten Pinto, but somehow the Barcelona keeper manager to get a hand on it to stop it from going in. Real Madrid still continued to attack, and created numerous opportunities. Minutes later, Essien deflected cross, which looked to have no harm, forced to get a reaction from Pinto who sent it for a corner. In the 19th minute, Benzema crossed to Ronaldo, who was in good position to score, but ‘La Maquina’ could not get a his head on hit. Later on, Callejon broke Barcelona’s offside trap, and crossed to a well positioned Ronaldo, but Pique cut it off before it could reach him. Madrid would have another chance, this time Benzema, but the Frenchman could not control the ball and hit the side netting. Barcelona also created chances of their own in the 1st half, such as a dangerous free kick by Xavi that it the cross bar. A wonderful lob pass by Iniesta to Jordi Alba that was not well hit by the former Valencia left back. Finally, just before halftime, Carvalho almost gift Barcelona the 0-1 lead with a terrible back pass to Diego Lopez that was stolen by Cesc and presented Xavi with a open goal, but incredibly Varane rushed back to keep it out.
The misses continued for Real Madrid in the early minutes of the 2nd half, when Benzema was given another opportunity to score, but sent his shot over the bar. Unfortunately, Madrid would pay for those misses in the 50th minute after a terrible ball by Callejon was touched by Messi and put Cesc alone in from of goal to beat Diego Lopez for the 0-1 lead. Despite conceding a goal, Real Madrid did not panic and continued to push forward. Soon after, Mou tried to give the team more creative in midfield by taking off Callejon for Modric. In the 60th minute, Real Madrid would then miss their best opportunity (other than the goal) when Ozil’s cross rolled through Barcelona’s defense and found Ronaldo with a wide open goal, but somehow missed.
I don’t know if it’s because Ronaldo didn’t expect the ball to come and it surprised him, but either way the score was still 0-1.
Minutes later, Barcelona almost put the tie out of reach when Pedro found himself one on one with Diego Lopez, but his chip just went wide. Then when it looked like Barcelona was going to leave with a dream result, a wonderful cross by Ozil was beautifully headed by Varane, who beat Cesc and Pique in the air, and got the ball past Pinto to equalize the match at 1-1 with about nine minutes to remaining.
In the final minutes, both sides had opportunities to win the game. Just before stoppage time, Jordi Alba would have a great chance to score when he broke through Madrid’s defense, but his shot was kept out by Diego Lopez. Then in the last minute, Ozil’s corner was about to find an open Carvalho in the middle, but it would be headed away by Dani Alves before it could reach the Portuguese defender.
Now we will have to wait until February 27th for the Copa del Rey finalist to be decided.
REAL MADRID SOCIAL CLUB 