Finally Real Madrid got what they deserved. A win. Though we could have scored atleast 2 more goals. Robben was undoubtly our man of the match. He showcased his speed and energy with the ball and mesmerised defenders with his pure magic feet.
Real Madrid scored in the 3rd minute thanks to Higuain but credit should be given to Robben for all the work that Robben put in before he passed the ball to Higuain, who still had a lot to do as the ball landed on his wrong foot.
After last weeks good performance against Barcelona, Real Madrid showed that the coach Juande Ramos has instilled in them faith and confidence about the way Real Madrid play their football.
First Half
The early surprise was that Raul was left on the bench, probably because he had flu and might not have recovered completely. He was replaced by Van Der Vaart who played with some good consistency in this match because for the first time in his Real Madrid career, Rafael Van der Vaart was playing at his natural position that is just behind the striker, what we call THE HOLE.
Valencia were 2nd on table before this defeat and had performed very well away from home, but they just could not predict Real Madrid attacking strategies, something many teams were able to do this season with ease when Schuster was incharge. Even when Valencia somehow got into Real Madrid’s defense, they had to deal with Casillas, who showed that he is truly back to his best.
Valencia outnumbered us in the mid field as we only had Guti and Gago playing in the midfield and Valencia had like 5 men in the midifield. Marchena was a constant source of pain for Robben and co, as he fouled Robben on several occassions and finally got the red card midway through the second half and I think we will all agree that he was lucky to have been on for so long.
Real Madrid struck early and I thought we would go on and score some more and should have scored more. Robben got the ball from Guti on the wing and Robben then dribbled past two defenders in a very similar fashion to Messi’s. Just when Valencia defenders thought that Robben was going to take a shot, Robben passed it to Higuain.
The ball fell onto Higuain’s left foot and there was not enough time for him to shift the ball to his favoured right foot, so he swinged with his lefty and my word what a finish. The ball curled like hell and beat the keeper all ends up. 1-0 Real Madrid.
Valencia’s right back Del Horno had just recovered from injury before this match and was not match fit at all. Juande Ramos pointed this to his men and Real Madrid constantly played the ball to Robben who took on Del Horno on several occassions. Real Madrid players always played the ball through Del Horno’s side in the first half and Del Horno was struggling bad.
Robben was on a role tonight and beat defenders at will but Van Der Vaart was the one who impressed me the most, and showed some glimpses of what he is capable of if played at right positions. Guti played a through ball to Higuain, who miscontrolled the ball in the penalty area, it seemed like he would loose posession but Higuain’s perseverance paid off, he somehow managed to find Van Der Vaart just outside of the box and Van Der Vaart, placed the ball perfectly into the top corner of the goal. The ball hit the inside of the post and went out. So unlucky
As the interval approached Valencia did press, and Villa saw Casillas palm a shot over the bar before the striker himself was off-target from a chance that looked more difficult to miss from.
Second Half
Valencia started the second half with high intensity and looked extremely aggressive with Villa leading their attack.
Casillas produced another superb stop to deny Rubén Baraja, but their chances of winning the game then took a knock.
That sucker Marchena, who had been tackling illegaly our players since the start of the match, received a red card when Robben tried to pass him and Marchena checked him. The official had no choice but to show him the second yellow and sent him off.
Valencia brought on David Silva who also impressed with his pace and seemed to inspire Valencia even with a man down but Real Madrid should had finished off the game by then , as Guti had a clear one on one with the keeper after he broke through the defence, but was tackled while he tried to turn back.
Higuain also had some chances but even he could not score tonight. The ball just didn’t go in after the first goal. Robben had several golden opportunities to put Real Madrid atleast 3-0 up, but he is not a natural finisher as we all know.
This victory is definitely going to help Real Madrid regain some confidence after some harsh defeats in the last 3 league games.
Juande Ramos has shown in very short time that he is a superior tactician than Schuster.
Now we are 9 points behind Barcelona, who are due to play Villareal this Sunday. I hope Barcelona loose. Bad news was that Atletico Madrid also won, so the best Real Madrid can finish this weekend in fifth place which is not the most prestigious one.
I liked how Ramos used Robben and Drenthe. Drenthe seriously lacks that final ball though his work ethic is superb. Robben, if he stay fit, can become the best player in the world. I think he just needs to improve his shooting and finishing.
Gago and Guti played well. Though I think Real Madrid must learn to take their opportunities. We missed a lot today and so did Valencia.
Marcelo was poor. I am not a big lover of him. He is defensively very weak and is great going forward. Salgado played well and so did Metzelder and Cannavaro. Casillas was as his usual best. I am so glad that he has returned to his old self because he usually saves Real Madrid atleast 20 points every season.
Higuain didn’t do much but when opportunities came, he did look very aggressive. Van Der Vaart also had a good match though has injured himself.
My God what is happening here at Real Madrid.
Two more injuries. Metzelder (who cares about him) and Van Der Vaart both are injured now. Metzelder might undergo a surgery while Van Der Vaart’s injury is yet to be analysed.
Here are some comments from Juande Ramos, who clearly didn’t like few things about Real Madrid in context to this match.
“There’s been few goals for the large number of chances both teams had. What’s important is that we took the three points. That’s what we wanted. We would’ve liked to score more goals.”
“It’s been a very tough match and our strength ran out. We wanted to reach Valencia´s goal as quickly as possible in counterattacks in order to surprise them, but our indecision made us make mistakes and we failed to net a second goal. I nevertheless think that the players’ will to score was obvious.”
“Referees have to do a very difficul job, especially in games like these. They make the decisions they feel they must make. I respect them regardless of what I think. I don’t like to comment.”
“The team looked nervous in the latter stages of the match because the squad felt much responsibility given that we already had the three points. We believed a 2-0 result would have secured our victory, so we couldn’t afford to give Valencia any room to play in. The loss of the thre points would have been a very hard blow. We had to defend ourselves as best we could during their attacks. My men didn’t know if to try to score another goal or focus on keeping the 1-0 result. We were in Valencia´s hands because a goal from them would have rendered all our efforts redundant.”
“I liked how we covered every position in the first half. We had to make some changes because Valencia were capitalising on their superiority in midfield; we only had Guti and Gago there. That’s why we sacrificed one of the wings and I think it was a good decision. We would have fiinshed the game off with another goal, but it didn’t happen.”
“Robben’s characteristics allow him to enjoy himself with the ball more than the rest. He is an individualist skilled in one-on-ones. We must give him liberty in order to enjoy his style. It’s logical that teams try to stop players like him, Messi and Silva with fouls.”
“I replaced Marcelo to avoid him being sent off with a double booking. I didn’t want to find myself in a situation in which I wouldn’t be able to count on him or in which I was left with only ten men on the pitch.”
Gago and Higuain also had their say, both looked extremely solid today I must add.
Gago
“I think the final score was short. We deserved much more. This victory is good for us because it allows us to get used to winning again, something which is innate to Real Madrid.”
“The most difficult situations come when an opponent has chances on goal and capitalises on them. We failed to score from ours, but we won. Every game is tough, but the important thing is that we won and that we finished the year with a victory.”
“We have to rest now and spend these special holidays with our families in order to return to work with excitement. We will do much better next year and play as well as a Real Madrid side should.”
Higuaín
“This victory allows us to leave a good impression before Christmas. I am very happy with the team’s attitude because we all fought hard throughout the match.”
“It was very important to win tonight and that’s why the team was so motivated from the start. We failed to score more goals but we took the three points. That was our primary goal. It was a shame not to have made better use of our chances”
“We have to rest and spend time with our families in order to return with our batteries charged and be ready to face the rest of the season.”
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