Realmadrid News

Beckham and Van Nistelrooy seal Real Madrid's comeback

Much was at stake on the pitch of Anoeta. It was evident from the start, as all 22 players on the turf delivered courage and guts. The battle was mostly fought out in the middle of the field, precisely where Capello had introduced two new players: Beckham and Emerson. The Englishman played on the right flank and although most of his hopes were set on improving the delivery up front, he also tendered a helping hand in ball transition. Precisely in the orchestration position was Argentine Fernando Gago -he missed the last game due to a minor muscular niggle- who premiered Emerson as his midfield sidekick.

The Brazilian holding midfielder was the first one to try his luck with a long-range shot that flew well over the crossbar (minute 4). The first few minutes had no clear dominator, with both teams testing the waters... quite literally, because it was pouring. In the seventh minute, a speculative cross from the perimeter by Xabi Prieto caught Casillas unaware. Iker failed to hold on to the ball. His spill gave Sociedad's attacking midfielder Aranburu the chance to head the first one of the night into the back of Madrid's net. One would have expected the keeper to grab the ball, but his mistake was the final touch to a most unfortunate play which began with a ball loss in midfield.

The goal certainly buoyed the Donostiarras who had two new chances staged by Kovacevic and Savio. But this time, Casillas was quick to save the day, getting into the spirit of his true self. Real Madrid were unable to find their way to the opponent's goal and Capello looked for solutions from the bench, asking Beckham to take hold of and drive the ball forward. But Real Madrid's danger could be summarised in one word: inexistent. The Whites were content to pump it long to the front men, but in the last third of the pitch and under these conditions, Raul and Van Nistelrooy were bound to be on the losing end always.

Beckham trademark goal

And in came the Englishman. Sociedad's stopper Bravo had not had to touch the ball until that moment, with Madrid unable to achieve any shots on target. But it was time for Beckham to try his luck with a free kick a few metres outside the box and tilted to the right. The first attempt on target was a goal. The turf was wet and the bounce tricked the Basque keeper, who was unable to make the save. It wasn't written in the stars that this would be the goalkeepers' night. It was the second goal of the number '23' of Real Madrid against Real Sociedad this season: he scored the second at the Bernabéu in September.

Turnaround

Drawn game. It was time to start again. The blue-and-whites tried with an amiss header by Xabi Prieto. This last chance of the first act gave way to the break. The Madridista performance was far from the best spectacle, but they had managed to tie the match and still had ample room for improvement, with the entire second half ahead of them. Said and done. Just three minutes after halftime, a phenomenal tic-tac-toe play by the Merengues was rewarded with their second goal of the evening. Guti-Torres-Van Nistelrooy, in other words, the playmaker delivers it to the fullback on the sideline, who in turn executes a perfect cross for the Dutchman, who heads the ball in.

The hardest chore had been completed and it was time to sit back and strike on the counterattack. But the Realistas had not said their last word. The Anoeta crowd put their shoulder to the wheel and pressed their team to go for the equaliser... which it almost did. Lotina attempted to up the tempo by introducing fresh legs. The Basque clearest chances were by way of the left flank: first with a cross-over which Xabi Prieto did not seal, and second following a corner kick, but Casillas responded with a stunning point-blank save.

Capello also looked for solutions inside his bench. He brought in Diarra to underpin the Madridista defence and Higuaín to endow the attack with added mobility. Real Sociedad kept at it with another scoring opportunity by Herrera, but their strength was waning and their spirit flailing. Reyes came in for Guti with 11 minutes left on the clock, but the die were cast and that was all she wrote. Real Madrid have regained the path of victory with this win. They will have another chance next Saturday, when they play hosts to Betis.







Match report by Luis Navarro
Photos by Ángel Martínez
Special correspondents to Saint Sebastian
Translation by Luis Orueta

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 11:27 PM