Real Madrid Defeats Austrian Club LASK Linz 3-2 in Pre-season Friendly
July 28th 2008 04:56
La Liga's champions kicked off their pre-season yesterday with a 3-2 win over Austrian club LASK Linz. The match was, first and foremost, a fitness test for the Meringues as they came up against a team which sat atop the already-started Austrian league season. It was a largely experienced Madrid squad that took the field for the opening kickoff minus Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos (both still on break), and Fabio Cannavaro (recuperating from a pre-Euro 2008 ankle injury). As such, the starting line-up was composed of Jerzy Dudek in goal; Míchel Salgado, Javi Garcia, Gabriel Heinze, and Miguel Torres in defense; Mahamadou Diarra, Guti, Júlio Baptista, and Arjen Robben in midfield; Raúl González and Gonzalo Higuaín in attack.
From the opening minutes, it was clear to see which team was in its pre-season and which team wasn't. LASK players were far more vigorous than the Madridistas who were slow and tentative. Consequently, the Austrians didn't waste their time to find the back of net as Christian Mayrleb's header beat Dudek at the 13th minute. Seven minutes later, Madrid equalized the mark with Baptista's header from Robben's cross. The latter was everywhere during the first half, making runs on both wings, and delivering dangerous crosses one after the other. Robben seemed to be in top form and helped his team get ahead one minute before half-time when his cross connected with Raul's head. Leading 2-1, Madrid could finally breathe a bit.
Bernd Schuster made four substitutions at half-time, taking out Raúl, Higuaín, and Baptista to replace them by Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Javier Saviola, and Wesley Sneijder. Those changes provoked a tactical shift as Madrid set out to play in a 4-3-3 formation with Sneijder as the architect in the middle. The Whites started to play a bit better, but their stubborn will to always pass the ball didn't give them too many scoring opportunities save for long-distance strikes by Sneijder and some nice plays between Robben and Van Nistelrooy. There were two more changes for Madrid before their third goal – reserve players Dani Parejo and Juanmi Callejón came on, replacing, respectively, Guti (63rd) and Robben (73rd). Ten minutes after his entrance, Callejón sent Saviola on a breakaway with a nice through-pass. The Argentine striker didn't miss his chance and the goal gave Madrid a comfortable cushion for the remaining minutes. At the 87th minute, Schuster was forced to make another substitution as Heinze limped off the field with what seemed to be a knee injury. Chema Antón promptly replaced him but I think it may be time for Heinze to hang in his boots. His knees are completely busted and the slightest inadvertent move and/or contact sends him down reeling in pain. Anyways, LASK managed to reduce Madrid's lead at the 89th minute when they were awarded a penalty, successfully struck by Mario Mijatović.
All in all, Schuster was probably satisfied of his team's performance. The Dutchmen seem to be in top form while the other players are slowly getting the kinks out of their system.
My man of the match: Arjen Robben. I'm not convinced that Real Madrid would have won the game if he wasn't there. He was the best player on the field, period.
From the opening minutes, it was clear to see which team was in its pre-season and which team wasn't. LASK players were far more vigorous than the Madridistas who were slow and tentative. Consequently, the Austrians didn't waste their time to find the back of net as Christian Mayrleb's header beat Dudek at the 13th minute. Seven minutes later, Madrid equalized the mark with Baptista's header from Robben's cross. The latter was everywhere during the first half, making runs on both wings, and delivering dangerous crosses one after the other. Robben seemed to be in top form and helped his team get ahead one minute before half-time when his cross connected with Raul's head. Leading 2-1, Madrid could finally breathe a bit.
Bernd Schuster made four substitutions at half-time, taking out Raúl, Higuaín, and Baptista to replace them by Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Javier Saviola, and Wesley Sneijder. Those changes provoked a tactical shift as Madrid set out to play in a 4-3-3 formation with Sneijder as the architect in the middle. The Whites started to play a bit better, but their stubborn will to always pass the ball didn't give them too many scoring opportunities save for long-distance strikes by Sneijder and some nice plays between Robben and Van Nistelrooy. There were two more changes for Madrid before their third goal – reserve players Dani Parejo and Juanmi Callejón came on, replacing, respectively, Guti (63rd) and Robben (73rd). Ten minutes after his entrance, Callejón sent Saviola on a breakaway with a nice through-pass. The Argentine striker didn't miss his chance and the goal gave Madrid a comfortable cushion for the remaining minutes. At the 87th minute, Schuster was forced to make another substitution as Heinze limped off the field with what seemed to be a knee injury. Chema Antón promptly replaced him but I think it may be time for Heinze to hang in his boots. His knees are completely busted and the slightest inadvertent move and/or contact sends him down reeling in pain. Anyways, LASK managed to reduce Madrid's lead at the 89th minute when they were awarded a penalty, successfully struck by Mario Mijatović.
All in all, Schuster was probably satisfied of his team's performance. The Dutchmen seem to be in top form while the other players are slowly getting the kinks out of their system.
My man of the match: Arjen Robben. I'm not convinced that Real Madrid would have won the game if he wasn't there. He was the best player on the field, period.
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