La Liga Week 13: Getafe Shock Real Madrid 3-1, Barcelona Dominate Sevilla 3-0
December 1st 2008 05:02
Real Madrid Getafe: 1-3
Things are getting worse and worse at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid put up yet another disappointing performance against a lower-tiered team. After holding Barcelona to a draw, Getafe exploited every flaw in the Madrid defense to defeat the defending champions 3-1. They first hit the net two minutes into the game, forcing the defending champions to give their all to find a way through Getafe's defense. Unfortunately for Bernd Schuster's men, they suffered a major setback in the first half when Sneijder was taken off the field in a stretcher with his second injury of the season. Rafael Van der Vaart took his place, but it was clear that Madrid simply weren't the same after the incident.
Getafe prolonged their lead with another goal in the first minute of the second half. At this point, Madrid simply had no choice, they had to attack. Despite their best attempt, they couldn't find a way through their opponents' midfield, so they had to risk balls over the top to their forwards who missed the ball more often than not. A light of hope shone through at the 54th minute when Saviola fired a precise shot at the top corner of the net, but the Meringues couldn't find the equalizer. Even worse, they conceded another goal at the 81st minute, putting the game beyond reach.
The problem right now with Madrid is that everything that could go wrong in a season is going wrong at the same time. Their defense isn't intimidating at all especially with Man of Glass Pepe. They have Cannavaro but he doesn't seem as explosive as he was in the 2006 World Cup. Perhaps his ankle injury from this past spring has slowed him down a bit. In midfield, the players are falling with injuries one after the other, making Schuster run out of options. We're less than 15 games into the season and I think that every experienced midfielder has suffered some sort of injury. The injury to Robben is the one that hurts them the most since Robinho isn't there anymore. Drenthe is too inexperienced to pick up the slack. Watching him play, I've got the feeling that he's in way over his head right now. He's trying his best but it's simply not good enough. In attack, Raul is the only constant they've got but without proper support, he's almost harmless. So, I don't see Madrid pushing themselves out of the hole any time soon. They'll win games but forget about winning streaks, they simply don't have the manpower.
Barcelona Sevilla: 3-0
For the first time this season, Barcelona faced a team which, on paper, looked like they might get something out of the current juggernaut of Spanish football. And for 45 minutes, the two clubs repeatedly tested their opponent's defense forcing both keepers to come up with nice saves. But as expected, it was Barcelona who opened the scoring at the 19th minute via Samuel Eto'o.
The second half had the same up-tempo football as the first until Lionel Messi scored Barcelona's second at the 77th minute. The goal had the effect of a cold shower on the Sevilla players who started to play a little less convincingly and grew more and more frustrated at their inability to beat Valdes. Their situation grew even more desperate when Luis Fabiano was sent off at the 85th minute. Five minutes later, Messi concluded the contest with his second of the game, beating Sevilla's goalkeeper in a race for the ball.
Things are getting worse and worse at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid put up yet another disappointing performance against a lower-tiered team. After holding Barcelona to a draw, Getafe exploited every flaw in the Madrid defense to defeat the defending champions 3-1. They first hit the net two minutes into the game, forcing the defending champions to give their all to find a way through Getafe's defense. Unfortunately for Bernd Schuster's men, they suffered a major setback in the first half when Sneijder was taken off the field in a stretcher with his second injury of the season. Rafael Van der Vaart took his place, but it was clear that Madrid simply weren't the same after the incident.
Getafe prolonged their lead with another goal in the first minute of the second half. At this point, Madrid simply had no choice, they had to attack. Despite their best attempt, they couldn't find a way through their opponents' midfield, so they had to risk balls over the top to their forwards who missed the ball more often than not. A light of hope shone through at the 54th minute when Saviola fired a precise shot at the top corner of the net, but the Meringues couldn't find the equalizer. Even worse, they conceded another goal at the 81st minute, putting the game beyond reach.
The problem right now with Madrid is that everything that could go wrong in a season is going wrong at the same time. Their defense isn't intimidating at all especially with Man of Glass Pepe. They have Cannavaro but he doesn't seem as explosive as he was in the 2006 World Cup. Perhaps his ankle injury from this past spring has slowed him down a bit. In midfield, the players are falling with injuries one after the other, making Schuster run out of options. We're less than 15 games into the season and I think that every experienced midfielder has suffered some sort of injury. The injury to Robben is the one that hurts them the most since Robinho isn't there anymore. Drenthe is too inexperienced to pick up the slack. Watching him play, I've got the feeling that he's in way over his head right now. He's trying his best but it's simply not good enough. In attack, Raul is the only constant they've got but without proper support, he's almost harmless. So, I don't see Madrid pushing themselves out of the hole any time soon. They'll win games but forget about winning streaks, they simply don't have the manpower.
Barcelona Sevilla: 3-0
For the first time this season, Barcelona faced a team which, on paper, looked like they might get something out of the current juggernaut of Spanish football. And for 45 minutes, the two clubs repeatedly tested their opponent's defense forcing both keepers to come up with nice saves. But as expected, it was Barcelona who opened the scoring at the 19th minute via Samuel Eto'o.
The second half had the same up-tempo football as the first until Lionel Messi scored Barcelona's second at the 77th minute. The goal had the effect of a cold shower on the Sevilla players who started to play a little less convincingly and grew more and more frustrated at their inability to beat Valdes. Their situation grew even more desperate when Luis Fabiano was sent off at the 85th minute. Five minutes later, Messi concluded the contest with his second of the game, beating Sevilla's goalkeeper in a race for the ball.
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