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2-0: Killer Madrid: The goals of Raul and Van Nistelrooy in the Clasico, white gold

Act 1: The beginning
The game began with the atmosphere that makes this Clasico match so special and just twenty minutes after an almost full stadium -people came en masse from 6:30 pm CET to watch the Brazil F1 race on the electronic scoreboards- hailed Fernando Alonso's second consecutive F1 championship. It was time to translate the week's words, tactics and training sessions into action. And so, the game kicked off. Real Madrid seemed to know their lesson well from the initial whistle. The best proof of this is that only 2 minutes into the game, they were already ahead 1-0 following a perfectly executed play.

Raul's spell still going strong
The team' motivation was obvious from the very first play. Robinho received a pass on the left wing. He gave it to Guti, who changed sides and delivered the ball to Ramos. The Madridista right back lifted his head and set it up for Raul with an exquisite cross that the Captain headed into the angle of Valdés' goal. The Bernabéu exploded into a frenzy of chants, cheers, hails and ovations. It was well worth it. The match was on the right path. The Captain of the Whites scored his second in the League and confirms the good scoring patch he's going through... in his favourite game of all. Madrid moved the ball with good sense, from side to side, with Robinho and Ramos very active on the sidelines and Guti constructing his team's play as only he is capable of. It seemed like the second was just a question of minutes: Robinho dribbled and swerved past Zambrotta, served it, and Raúl kicked the ball against the crossbeam.


Act 2: Messi comes on stage
The game was looking like a coat of Whitewash, but Messi made his first appearance and gave his first warning to Roberto Carlos of what was coming up. Ronaldinho was choking on the left, receiving almost no balls and alternatively covered by Ramos and Raúl, so he decided to change sides.
Meanwhile, Robinho kept at it like a sledgehammer down his wing, this time with a shot from just outside the box that Valdés stoipped (minute 18.) And Messi did likewise just five minutes after. Halfway through the first half, the scene took an unexpected U-turn. Deco, Iniesta and Xavi took command of the midfield, overpowering their counterparts Emerson, Diarra and Guti and allowing Barcelona to create dangerous chances. Gudjohnsen was an island, hag-ridden and depressed, fighting for the free spaces that neither Helguera nor Cannavaro allowed him. And so, Barcelona's initiative befell on Messi's speed.

The Argentine winger was the only one to bring danger to the vicinity of Casillas' goal, driving past Roberto Carlos and Cannavaro to serve Gudjohnsen the goal, but the Icelander missed the clearest chance of the red-and-blues during the first half (minute 24). And once again, three minutes later, Messi saw himself all alone inside Madrid's box, but he failed to net the ball. It seemed like Real Madrid had lost cohesion as the minutes went by. The midfield-forward line gap was ever-growing and players were even missing easy passes. Only Van Nistelrooy managed to put Valdés to the test 15 minutes away from halftime. In any event, the Whites kept their cool in defence, not allowing the Catalan team to create and penetrate easily in the last third of the picth. Robinho remained very active on his sideline and crossing into the middle, but that was all he wrote. Halftime.


Denoument: Real Madrid finish off Barça
The beginnig of the second half was an exact replica of the first: Real Madrid came out with a killer instinct. This time, it was Van Nistelrooy who scored the night's second after a perfect counterattack initiated and directed by Guti. The Merengue playmaker sliced the ball past a few Barcelona defenders in the three-fourths field line and passed it to Robinho, who was approaching from the right. Robinho set it up for Van Nistelrooy, who scored with the tip of his left boot against an oncoming Valdés. Once again, a great goal! Barça sinking to the depths of depression precisely when they were trying to catch some breath and Madrid touching the edge of heaven. Barcelona didn't manage to maintain ball possession as easily as in the first half, and now it was the Whites who controlled the ball and pace with the likes of Guti, Emerson and Diarra. The chances started trickling down, and in a very similar gesture to the one that allowed him to score a beautiful goal in Bucharest, Real Madrid's striker Van Nistelrooy chipped the ball over Valdés but, once again, the woodwork denied his team. The following opportunities came by way of Robinho and Emerson.

The Bernabéu was having fun and victory was near. Van Nistelrooy had the last chance to score following a dangerous run by Messi. Once again, Guti set him up but Valdés deflected the ball. Barcelona were a broken toy and Real Madrid were jumping from joy with these hard- and rightfully-earned three points. Capello repeats the exact same result as ten years back. On that occasion, Real Madrid won the League.
MATCH REPORT:


Match report by Luis Navarro
Photos by Ángel Martínez & Daniel Sastre
Translation by Luis Orueta

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 12:52 PM