La Liga Week 5: Last Minute Strikes Provide Win To Real Madrid and Barcelona
September 29th 2008 22:39
In two overly physical games, the two Spanish giants came through to get a win, pushing them both in the top five.
Real Betis – Real Madrid: 1-2
The Meringues didn't waste time to get the first goal of the match with Heinze's header slipping through the goalkeeper's hands at the 18th minute. Madrid throughly dominated the first half and a great save from Casillas at the 45th minute ensured their one goal-lead at half-time. The Whites' job would get more complicated in the second half as defender Marcelo was sent off for a tackle inside the box, resulting in a penalty for the home team. Casillas blocked the initial shot, but was completely helpless on the rebound.
Tied at 1-1, the visitors desperately needed some attack to score another. Strangely, the Dutch brigade (Van der Vaart, Robben, Van Nistelrooy) completely disappeared for most of the second half, leaving Madrid with no outlet to attack. However, things would change at the 81st minute when Betis' goalscorer was sent off with second yellow. With both teams down to ten men, the available space would prove very beneficial to Madrid's attack. They finally broke the deadlock at the 90th minute. Casillas stopped a shot from Betis, then quickly sent the ball to Robben on the halfway line. The speedy Dutch winger then found Van Nistelrooy into space, and the striker had no trouble sending the ball past goalkeeper Casto. It was a perfect counterattack by the defending champions, an brought a great conclusion to an heavily contested match.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Gabriel Heinze, Marcelo; Mahamadou Diarra, Arjen Robben, Ruben de La Red (Javi Garcia, 68th), Rafael Van der Vaart (Royston Drenthe, 81st); Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Raul (Miguel Torres, 59th).
RCD Espanyol – Barcelona: 1-2
In Catalonia, things were a bit more violent. Indeed, the highlight of the game happened around the 70th minute when the referee stopped the game because of violence in the stands. Spectators from the higher parts of the stadium were throwing flares on the spectators in the lower seats. Some fans also broke one of the barriers leading to field, requiring the intervention of several security agents along with the police. But let's go back to the match.
After his game-winning goal on Wednesday, Gudjohnsen was rewarded with a start for this game. Surprisingly, Herny also got to start the game in his favorite position of central striker. With Eto'o in great form, I had some trouble understanding this move until I remembered their upcoming Champions League game next week. I guess Guardiola wanted to rest the Cameroonian striker. Although Henry had some scoring chances (he scored the equalizer), I didn't find him as mobile as Eto'o was in the previous game (maybe that's just me). His goal was a fluke, the nightmare of any goalkeeper who comes out to challenge a striker – he blocked the ball but it bounced off his defender right into Henry's feet who only had to push it into the empty net. Messi then scored the game-winner on a penalty kick.
Although the game was exciting to watch, I felt that the referee's performance left a lot to be desired. On Espanyol's goal (the first of the match), Valdes was clearly impeded by an opposite player, yet the goal still stood. Perhaps the referee felt bad after that because his work during the rest of the game seemed heavily in favor of Barcelona. The same fouls on both sides would get different reactions from the ref – letting it go in the case of Barcelona, carding a player in the case of Espanyol. The penalty was a borderline call – the defender got the ball first, but it was still a tackle from behind. Anyways, Barcelona are now on a three-game winning streak, and will look to continue their climb in the standings.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Eric Abidal; Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquets (Bojan Krkic, 65th), Andres Iniesta, Eidur Gudjohnsen (Seydou Keita, 61st); Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry.
Real Betis – Real Madrid: 1-2
The Meringues didn't waste time to get the first goal of the match with Heinze's header slipping through the goalkeeper's hands at the 18th minute. Madrid throughly dominated the first half and a great save from Casillas at the 45th minute ensured their one goal-lead at half-time. The Whites' job would get more complicated in the second half as defender Marcelo was sent off for a tackle inside the box, resulting in a penalty for the home team. Casillas blocked the initial shot, but was completely helpless on the rebound.
Tied at 1-1, the visitors desperately needed some attack to score another. Strangely, the Dutch brigade (Van der Vaart, Robben, Van Nistelrooy) completely disappeared for most of the second half, leaving Madrid with no outlet to attack. However, things would change at the 81st minute when Betis' goalscorer was sent off with second yellow. With both teams down to ten men, the available space would prove very beneficial to Madrid's attack. They finally broke the deadlock at the 90th minute. Casillas stopped a shot from Betis, then quickly sent the ball to Robben on the halfway line. The speedy Dutch winger then found Van Nistelrooy into space, and the striker had no trouble sending the ball past goalkeeper Casto. It was a perfect counterattack by the defending champions, an brought a great conclusion to an heavily contested match.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Gabriel Heinze, Marcelo; Mahamadou Diarra, Arjen Robben, Ruben de La Red (Javi Garcia, 68th), Rafael Van der Vaart (Royston Drenthe, 81st); Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Raul (Miguel Torres, 59th).
RCD Espanyol – Barcelona: 1-2
In Catalonia, things were a bit more violent. Indeed, the highlight of the game happened around the 70th minute when the referee stopped the game because of violence in the stands. Spectators from the higher parts of the stadium were throwing flares on the spectators in the lower seats. Some fans also broke one of the barriers leading to field, requiring the intervention of several security agents along with the police. But let's go back to the match.
After his game-winning goal on Wednesday, Gudjohnsen was rewarded with a start for this game. Surprisingly, Herny also got to start the game in his favorite position of central striker. With Eto'o in great form, I had some trouble understanding this move until I remembered their upcoming Champions League game next week. I guess Guardiola wanted to rest the Cameroonian striker. Although Henry had some scoring chances (he scored the equalizer), I didn't find him as mobile as Eto'o was in the previous game (maybe that's just me). His goal was a fluke, the nightmare of any goalkeeper who comes out to challenge a striker – he blocked the ball but it bounced off his defender right into Henry's feet who only had to push it into the empty net. Messi then scored the game-winner on a penalty kick.
Although the game was exciting to watch, I felt that the referee's performance left a lot to be desired. On Espanyol's goal (the first of the match), Valdes was clearly impeded by an opposite player, yet the goal still stood. Perhaps the referee felt bad after that because his work during the rest of the game seemed heavily in favor of Barcelona. The same fouls on both sides would get different reactions from the ref – letting it go in the case of Barcelona, carding a player in the case of Espanyol. The penalty was a borderline call – the defender got the ball first, but it was still a tackle from behind. Anyways, Barcelona are now on a three-game winning streak, and will look to continue their climb in the standings.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Eric Abidal; Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquets (Bojan Krkic, 65th), Andres Iniesta, Eidur Gudjohnsen (Seydou Keita, 61st); Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry.
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