Real Madrid Salvage 1-1 Draw Against Eintracht Frankfurt Thanks to Robinho
August 14th 2008 05:22
When the Meringues traveled to Frankfurt for their final pre-season game, I expected them to easily dominate the German club and walk away with – at least – a 2-0 win. What I saw instead was a team lacking creativity in midfield during the first half, and a bit shaky in defense. Fortunately, they pulled their act together in the second half and grabbed the equalizer twenty minutes before the final whistle.
With Sneijder injured, it was new signing Rafael Van der Vaart who was assigned playmaking duties in the center of midfield. Unfortunately, the Dutch never had time to settle into the groove of things as Real Madrid found themselves behind at the fifth minute of play. A stupid foul by Miguel Torres (he held the opposing winger's leg in order to prevent him from running down the flank) resulted in a average free-kick badly played by Madrid's defense. After that, the Germans patiently waited for their opportunities, attacking on the break and often on the left wing (Real Madrid's right).
In midfield, Madrid's quick passing play and vivacity was nowhere to be found. Robben couldn't break through, Raul and Van Nistelrooy were inexistent, and Guti was simply going through the motions. The only thing the Whites did right in the first half was beating Frankfurt's offside trap. In that aspect, their timing was impeccable. Unfortunately, the opposing goalkeeper always seized the ball before the strikers had any chance of scoring.
Robinho's entrance at half-time quickly brought some life to La Liga's defending champions. With the Brazilian on the left, and Arjen Robben on the right, Madrid had two wingers who excelled in one-on-ones and could easily cut to the inside inside and/or deliver penetrating crosses. At the hour-mark, Frankfurt's goalkeeper would make a lucky point-blank save on Raul's tap-in to keep the score in his team's favor. Ten minutes later, he would finally get beaten by Robinho after a nice pass by Saviola. The last minutes were spent in a frenzy as the ball traveled up and down the field at considerable speed. Saviola's shot at the 88th minute would shave the outside of the post while Casillas had to make a fantastic save one minute later to give his team the draw.
In the end, the man of the match was incontestably Robinho (though Casillas' last-minute save was as important as the Brazilian's goal). The pre-season is now over for the Spanish champions whose next fixture will be Sunday's Spanish Supercup. Stay tune for a pre-season summary later this week.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos (Michele Salgado, 64th), Gabriel Heinze (Christoph Metzelder, h-t), Pepe (Javi Garcia, 79th), Miguel Torres; Mahamadou Diarra (Ruben de La Red, h-t), Guti (Julio Baptista, h-t), Rafael Van der Vaart (Gonzalo Higuain, 65th), Arjen Robben; Raul (Javier Saviola, 65th), Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Robinho, h-t).
With Sneijder injured, it was new signing Rafael Van der Vaart who was assigned playmaking duties in the center of midfield. Unfortunately, the Dutch never had time to settle into the groove of things as Real Madrid found themselves behind at the fifth minute of play. A stupid foul by Miguel Torres (he held the opposing winger's leg in order to prevent him from running down the flank) resulted in a average free-kick badly played by Madrid's defense. After that, the Germans patiently waited for their opportunities, attacking on the break and often on the left wing (Real Madrid's right).
In midfield, Madrid's quick passing play and vivacity was nowhere to be found. Robben couldn't break through, Raul and Van Nistelrooy were inexistent, and Guti was simply going through the motions. The only thing the Whites did right in the first half was beating Frankfurt's offside trap. In that aspect, their timing was impeccable. Unfortunately, the opposing goalkeeper always seized the ball before the strikers had any chance of scoring.
Robinho's entrance at half-time quickly brought some life to La Liga's defending champions. With the Brazilian on the left, and Arjen Robben on the right, Madrid had two wingers who excelled in one-on-ones and could easily cut to the inside inside and/or deliver penetrating crosses. At the hour-mark, Frankfurt's goalkeeper would make a lucky point-blank save on Raul's tap-in to keep the score in his team's favor. Ten minutes later, he would finally get beaten by Robinho after a nice pass by Saviola. The last minutes were spent in a frenzy as the ball traveled up and down the field at considerable speed. Saviola's shot at the 88th minute would shave the outside of the post while Casillas had to make a fantastic save one minute later to give his team the draw.
In the end, the man of the match was incontestably Robinho (though Casillas' last-minute save was as important as the Brazilian's goal). The pre-season is now over for the Spanish champions whose next fixture will be Sunday's Spanish Supercup. Stay tune for a pre-season summary later this week.
Real Madrid - Eintracht Frankfurt: 1-1 (Goals & Highlights)
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos (Michele Salgado, 64th), Gabriel Heinze (Christoph Metzelder, h-t), Pepe (Javi Garcia, 79th), Miguel Torres; Mahamadou Diarra (Ruben de La Red, h-t), Guti (Julio Baptista, h-t), Rafael Van der Vaart (Gonzalo Higuain, 65th), Arjen Robben; Raul (Javier Saviola, 65th), Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Robinho, h-t).
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