Realmadrid News

Real Madrid deserved better in a match they dominated from the start

Real Madrid wanted to put up a fight and to please their fans from the very start in a Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to capacity. During the opening twenty minutes they managed to make Betis disappear from the game. The Andalusian side had enough work trying to stop the Whites' attacks, which seemed to come from all fronts. Torres and Robinho held control over the left wing creating a lane for their team to get to their opponent's box. Sergio Ramos and Beckham did the same down the right, while Gago and Guti acted as playmakers in the midfield. They were able to do this despite Betis coach Luis Fernández's defensive design against the Argentine through Capi, who never gave him a moments rest.

Two different goals

Looking at this, it isn't surprising that Real Madrid's first chance on goal came as soon as the match began -in fact, it happened on their first run against Doblas' goal, who performed very well during the first half. Ramos shot near to the post, but he lacked enough power to cause an impression. Three minutes later, it was Van Nistelrooy's turn to put the goalkeeper's reflexes to the test.

It looked like the home goal would come very soon, but the Madridistas also had to fight against strong pressure accross the pitch and Betis' tough defending, particularly through Juande, who got off lightly from elbowing Robinho on the face. As time passed by, the Whites' game became slightly worse. They were finding it harder to reach the goal, although Ramos managed to have a chance of scoring on the 21-minute mark after running across the entire pitch with the ball on his own.

Betis focused on trying to stop the home side's advances and hardly ever tried to attack themselves. Casillas didn't touch a single ball until 30 minutes had gone by. The game then went to a standstill and it would take Real Madrid 15 minutes to attack again. The goal nearly came off a triangulation between Robinho, Gago and Van Nistelrooy, but the latter's shot crossed the goal and found no one to finish it off. Betis counterattacked with a shot by Solbis in minute 40 that Casillas managed to save, while Beckham (42') and van Nistelrooy (44') had more chances that made no difference to the scoreboard. Both teams went into half-time with a fair 0-0 score. It was obvious they both had different takes on the match: Real Madrid wanted to win and Betis wanted to avoid losing.

Change in the programme

Both teams' lineups slightly changed after half-time. Raúl came on for Gago and was placed in the attack, while the midfield was left in charge of Guti and Emerson. The game became much more open. Both teams looked to score with the same intensity in the opening fifteen minutes. Robinho was replaced on the 60-minute mark by Reyes, who intensified the Whites' attack. The match was very levelled and hardly saw any chances on goal during this time, except for two that were probably the best both teams had in the whole encounter. First, Van Nistelrooy sent a ball to the crossbar (61') that Doblas would have been unable to stop if on target. Then came Betis' chance from a corner kick. After it was hit by several players, the ball hit the inside of the post slightly aided by the wind and luckily bounced out while Casillas just stared and watched in astonishment (67').


By the time twenty minutes were left for the end the score was still 0-0. Marcelo returned to the team by replacing an injured Ramos in minute 73, just after Helguera shot a ball over the crossbar after receiving a long cross into the box by Guti. Two minutes later, Pancrate gave the Madridistas a scare in a one-on-one against Casillas, but, fortunately, the ball went past the far post.




No quarter

Neither team let go and both put up a fierce fight to score the winning goal in the final fifteen minutes. Anyone could score: Real Madrid were trying harder than ever to get a netting, and Betis now had more room in which to counterattack. Beckham, who made a great effort in his return to the Bernabéu -tonight was his 150th official game with the Whites- came close to scoring from a free-kick, but the ball was off target merely by inches.

The last ten minutes saw Real Madrid seiging Doblas' goal with no quarter, trying to earn the victory they deserved, as they were better than Betis tonight. Nevertheless, they were incapable of scoring. Betis used these final minutes to waste time whenever they got a chance, which drove the home team crazy and eventually ended up with Beckham being sent off with a straight red in extra time.


Report by Juan José López Soto
Photography by Ángel Martínez and David R. Anchuelo
Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 12:44 AM