La Liga Week 28: Huntelaar Scores Double In Madrid 3-0 Win Over Almeria, Barcelona Crush Malaga 6-0
March 24th 2009 05:13
Real Madrid – Almeria: 3-0
Juande Ramos seems to have found the perfect solution to strengthen his team's left side both offensively and defensively. Indeed, with the departure of Robinho, that side of the field seemed to cause problems for the Meringues as they had no reliable wingers other than Robben for the attacking side of things while Marcelo's inexperience made things dicey in defense. All of that is past now as Marcelo is slowly taking over the role of left-winger with a defensive side that betrays his left-back origin. Behind him, Heinze's experience helps to plug any hole the Brazilian might have left while Lassana Diarra's tireless running makes sure that the two men are properly covered in case of a major breakdown.
With that in mind, it was really wonderful to see Marcelo score the opener at the 23rd minute on Sunday. His shot was so powerful in a left-footed Brazilian kind of way that you would have thought that Roberto Carlos had somehow materialized on the field. The goal was only one highlight of a great game by the young player who could've had a hat trick if it wasn't for Almeria's keeper and his crossbar.
Another youngster had quite a day in the Madrid shirt – Huntelaar scored two opportunistic goals to put the game beyond doubt. His first was an unstoppable volley from inside the box after a poor clearance by the defense, and his second was an easy tap-in from a rebound given by Diego Alves. It's been awhile since I watched any Liga games but word on the street is that Huntelaar has been playing very well lately, finally proving his worth to the club. Some are even going as far as saying that there might not be a need for Van Nistelrooy next season. They found a successor.
With that win, Madrid hangs on Barcelona's heels like a stubborn piece of gum. Although their exit from the Champions League has been disgraceful, you have to admire their performance in La Liga after their hesitant start.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Pepe (Christoph Metzelder, 79th), Fabio Cannavaro, Gabriel Heinze (Miguel Torres, 83rd); Arjen Robben, Lassana Diarra (Fernando Gago, 66th), Wesley Sneijder, Marcelo; Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Raul.
Barcelona – Malaga: 6-0
It was another party at the Camp Nou as Barcelona cruised to an easy win over Malaga. Four goals in the first half alone made the conclusion inevitable. But then again, you're not gonna do much when you have less than 15% of possession which was the case for Malaga who did a lot of looking and running around without ever touching the ball. All three Blaugrana strikers (Eto'o, Messi, Henry) scored in that half while Xavi had the opener. Eto'o (with his second of the game) and Alves added two more in the first ten minutes of the second half, and then Guardiola decided to rest his two midfielders – Xavi and Iniesta – needed for international duty this coming weekend.
After the substitutions, the level of play, though still heavily dominated by Barcelona, was a lot more settled and less automatic-rifle-like. With the architect of three of their six goals gone (Xavi), the Spanish leaders couldn't quite find that perfect final pass anymore. Their perimeter passing was still excellent, but they were unable to breach Malaga's double-curtain save for some moments of Messi brilliance. Still, at 6-0 I think the crowd was satisfied enough and could leave the stadium happy.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Martin Caceres, Rafael Marquez, Sylvinho; Xavi Hernandez (Bojan Krkic, 66th), Yaya Toure (Seydou Keita, 25th), Andres Iniesta (Eidur Gudjohnsen, 59th); Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry.
Juande Ramos seems to have found the perfect solution to strengthen his team's left side both offensively and defensively. Indeed, with the departure of Robinho, that side of the field seemed to cause problems for the Meringues as they had no reliable wingers other than Robben for the attacking side of things while Marcelo's inexperience made things dicey in defense. All of that is past now as Marcelo is slowly taking over the role of left-winger with a defensive side that betrays his left-back origin. Behind him, Heinze's experience helps to plug any hole the Brazilian might have left while Lassana Diarra's tireless running makes sure that the two men are properly covered in case of a major breakdown.
With that in mind, it was really wonderful to see Marcelo score the opener at the 23rd minute on Sunday. His shot was so powerful in a left-footed Brazilian kind of way that you would have thought that Roberto Carlos had somehow materialized on the field. The goal was only one highlight of a great game by the young player who could've had a hat trick if it wasn't for Almeria's keeper and his crossbar.
Another youngster had quite a day in the Madrid shirt – Huntelaar scored two opportunistic goals to put the game beyond doubt. His first was an unstoppable volley from inside the box after a poor clearance by the defense, and his second was an easy tap-in from a rebound given by Diego Alves. It's been awhile since I watched any Liga games but word on the street is that Huntelaar has been playing very well lately, finally proving his worth to the club. Some are even going as far as saying that there might not be a need for Van Nistelrooy next season. They found a successor.
With that win, Madrid hangs on Barcelona's heels like a stubborn piece of gum. Although their exit from the Champions League has been disgraceful, you have to admire their performance in La Liga after their hesitant start.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Pepe (Christoph Metzelder, 79th), Fabio Cannavaro, Gabriel Heinze (Miguel Torres, 83rd); Arjen Robben, Lassana Diarra (Fernando Gago, 66th), Wesley Sneijder, Marcelo; Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Raul.
Barcelona – Malaga: 6-0
It was another party at the Camp Nou as Barcelona cruised to an easy win over Malaga. Four goals in the first half alone made the conclusion inevitable. But then again, you're not gonna do much when you have less than 15% of possession which was the case for Malaga who did a lot of looking and running around without ever touching the ball. All three Blaugrana strikers (Eto'o, Messi, Henry) scored in that half while Xavi had the opener. Eto'o (with his second of the game) and Alves added two more in the first ten minutes of the second half, and then Guardiola decided to rest his two midfielders – Xavi and Iniesta – needed for international duty this coming weekend.
After the substitutions, the level of play, though still heavily dominated by Barcelona, was a lot more settled and less automatic-rifle-like. With the architect of three of their six goals gone (Xavi), the Spanish leaders couldn't quite find that perfect final pass anymore. Their perimeter passing was still excellent, but they were unable to breach Malaga's double-curtain save for some moments of Messi brilliance. Still, at 6-0 I think the crowd was satisfied enough and could leave the stadium happy.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Martin Caceres, Rafael Marquez, Sylvinho; Xavi Hernandez (Bojan Krkic, 66th), Yaya Toure (Seydou Keita, 25th), Andres Iniesta (Eidur Gudjohnsen, 59th); Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry.
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