Real Madrid have secured a perfect home record in the first half of the season by winning 2 – 0 against Malaga but in the bargain lost Cristiano for next weekend’s fixture at the Riazor. iSport’s Karan Shah provides a match review.
Los Blanco’s hit man Ruud van Nistelrooy was felicitated for his contribution to the team prior to the match as he finally moves to Hamburg on a free transfer. Madrid got off to a shaky start with the visitors hitting the crossbar through a deflected shot. Malaga had come quite prepared to the Bernabeu and were successful in breaking down plays and were looking quite dangerous on the attack. Madrid eventually started gaining control of the possession and had some quick fire shots on goal with Guti providing some breathtaking defense splitting passes. The Galacticos finally combined together when Guti’s pass found Benzema who put a through ball to Kaka. The Brazilian controlled it perfectly and slammed the ball across the face of goal to Ronaldo who slotted it in with absolute ease to make the score 1- 0 to Madrid. Ronaldo seemed to get into the mood after his first goal and scored another minutes later with a half volley to make the score line 2-0 at halftime.
The second half started with Marcelo replacing Garay as he strained a leg muscle earlier. The substitution moved Ramos to the center of defense and Arbeloa switched to right back. Madrid had most of the possession but failed to capitalize on it with Alonso and Lass both failing to find the back of the net. Granero substituted Guti who was applauded by the fans for his brilliant performance and almost immediately Madrid were down to ten men. The referee gave advantage to Madrid as Mtiliga was clearly pulling Cristiano’s jersey to hold him back and the Portuguese in the process, hit Mtiliga’s nose with his arm. The referee immediately stopped play and handed Ronaldo a red card which means he misses the game against Deportivo at Riazor- a place where Madrid haven’t one since more than a decade now.
The few chances that were left in the match all came to Madrid with Granero forcing an amazing save from the Malaga goalkeeper. Madrid won the match 2- 0 but in the process lost an important player for next weekend. Can the jinx be broken without their star player? Only time will tell…
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