Game Blog: Real Madrid at Zenit St Petersburg

By: Dancy | September 30th, 2008

We have not won an away game in the Champions League since 2006? Hard to believe . . well, I for one will be fine with a draw. But seriously, boys, a win will be much better. A win will show your intent for this campaign. A win will show what Manchester United could not – that we are ready for our 10th.

Pre-game presser: Schuster
The Dutch haven’t had much luck against Russian teams. Will you line up the same team that played against Betis?
The Dutch may not do well against the Russians, but the Spaniards do.

Raul is on the bench today. Our 4-1-3-2 lineup:
Ramos – Pepe – Canna – Heinze
Diarra
Robben – De La Red – VDV
Higuain – RVN

Game Blog:

2:30 Already a chance! Higuain ignores all defenders swarming around him as he shepherds the ball towards goal, finds RVN up the right for some width – then RVN swings the ball back to him and he heads a swerving monster towards the far upper corner! OOOHH!!!!!!!!!!! Just punched out by the keeper skying for it, great save! Corner! Yet another corner – cleared! An –

GGOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy cow, that was almost too easy! RVN! 1-0!

Hmm, he’s not even celebrating that happily? The players crowd around each other and slap backs, then hurriedly go back to the pitch, as if it’s way too cold to even stop playing for a few short seconds. Also, whenever you score 3 minutes in at an away game – ah, it was an OWN GOAL!

Replay: VDV swings in the corner kick, which gets pinged around and cleared by Zenit – but it falls to us, is it De La Red who laps it up? He finds VDV on the far right, who takes 2 running steps and lashes it in for RVN, who is sandwiched by 2 defenders but only has eyes for the ball, and it arrives almost at his doorstep – all he has to do is tap it in! OH! But he’s beaten to it by #14 Hubocan, who tries to clear it but instead sends it head-first into goal! Haha – that’s why! How NOT To Defend 101. But still, that was fantastic movement by Real: chaos to perfection.

6:15 Arshavin pressures Sergio deep into the corner flag but he’s got it under control, turns around deftly and hoofs it clear just at the endline.

10:00 Robben blazes down the left wing for a pop at goal! Deflected out for a corner. Now VDV finds Sergio, but his shot is also deflected . .

14:00 Dang, I can barely breathe! Both teams want to play fast and furious – and its mesmerizing to watch. First Real wrecks absolute havoc with their runs and passes in the Zenit half, probing each wing and bringing every forward, midfielder, and fullback up to attack. Then we lose the ball on the left wing (Robben) and immediately the Zenit white shirts pour forward, egged on by their singing ‘n dancing home fans to seek out a weak area, to make Real pay for that embarrassing own goal. But our back four – the first choice back four of Ramos – Pepe – Canna – Heinze – are solid, and every Real player is on deck to track back and help defend, even Higuain! Then a Zenit midfielder hoofs a ludicrously awry ball over the heads of everyone to the far, far corner, possibly out to Moscow, and the danger is over.

16:16 Haha! Pepe wipes his brow after hoofing clear a dangerous cross that came in from the right wing by #11. Russia or not, it’s getting hot in here!

18:20 Uh oh, Pepe with 2 giveaways in a row, and the second one becomes a dangerous cross flashing across the mouth of the goal that 2 Zenit players desperately try to get their heads on, Arshavin connecting but sending it the wrong way! He rolls over and gets up looking petulant, as he always does, but these players bloody know how to play, alright!

19:00 Uuuugggggghhhhh – Iker!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t kill him!!!! A great opportunity up front with VDV, Higuain, and Sergio forming a triangle of terror – except Higuain who beautifully holds up the ball until his mates arrive plays it back to VDV, who sharply cuts it out to Sergio – but he slips and slides on the turf trying to corral it and it inevitably ends on the feet of a Zenit player – who wastes no time making away with it.

The counter-attack is so swift that though it is only 3 players it looks like 3 waves of players, so stubborn are they to make the most of every chance, and when 2 defenders go to the ground anticipating a shot the Zenit player pulls it back and rasps it to goal, where Iker comes out for it – but another mad hungry Zenit forward wants it too! And now he’s plowing Iker right on the ground, crushing his ribs with his knee! WTF????!!!!!!$*#&$%*@$#!!

Iker hangs onto that ball for dear life, but now he’s doubled over in unspeakable pain. Brave, brave Iker . . Ah, thank god he’s alright!

20:30 Arshavin is just murdering our midfield, carving out spaces at will – and now Sergio takes a deflection right in front of goal! DLR hoofs clear but 2 seconds later they are back – and now Iker makes a SAVE! Though Arshavin didn’t put much air on that ball, still –

21:45 And Real comes right back. Faster than you can blink, Sergio has charged up the right side and gotten so far up that he can make a parallel cross to Higuain who’s barely 5 yards from goal – but who must try to control that spinning monster first and a handball is called. Awww . .

25:00 GOOOOOLLLLLL for Zenit, Danny makes it 1-1! Just when I thought Sergio was a little lazy getting to the ball thrown in – he slows down and lets Pepe take that one as Arshavin has already zoomed far past him to the upper right corner – but how can Pepe? He’s a CB who is too far from Arshavin to pressure him, and so that Barca fanboy has all the time and luxury in the world to pick out his target and make the pass – straight to Danny, who is guarded by Heinze – except that “guarded” here means that a veteran defender such as Heinze somehow thinks he can head that ball clear rather than stay upright and use his feet – so that he conveniently takes himself out of the equation and allows Danny to get to the ball first! LORD! Gabi, you knucklehead! You’ve got a danger on your back and you drop down like a 4th grader in a fire drill? Iker totally wasn’t ready and madly kicks that ball out of his net as it thumps and spins around in the back netting. Well. I can’t say they didn’t deserve that one.

25:20 We come roaring right back, and VDV takes a cracker at goal that the keeper must dive to save!

26:00 Arshavin booked on a stupid blocking charge on RVN. You’re too late, boy.

28:00 Zenit continues to swarm the Real box like killer bees, and now Sergio loses out again to a more determined Zenit player who manages to win a corner – and then another. They look far hungrier than us, chests puffed out like lions on their home pitch, and seemingly winning every 50/50 ball. Their speed is amazing . . is it because our La Liga opponents so far have not been anywhere this good? Or are they actually, quite good?

30:00 GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RUUD VAN NISTELROOY! Properly this time! 2-1! We are not bad, are we?

It seems that we can only manage to keep possession for 30 seconds or less, it’s come to that, but for this one, we make every second count. Here comes Robben, waltzing up the right . . he slinks it across for Higuain, but its headed away . . VDV alertly picks it up and fires a quick daisycutter towards goal!! But its deflected – oh, perfectly, to RVN who chases it down and actually mishits it, so desperate is he to get it past his marker – but the mishit perfectly eludes the keeper and spins, skips, spirals into goal – I can’t believe it! From nothing we got an opportunity, and then a sliver of a chance – wow. RVN will convert every single half-decent chance. Fantastic goal, and now let’s see who’s –

31:00 Dammit, did they even see the goal? Or is that what’s driving them so madly forward? But lord, here they come again! Zenit on the attack! Seriously, if I had gone for a drink just then, I would’ve come back 10 seconds later and seen nothing amiss, the white-shirted Zenit boys attacking, the black-shirted Real boys defending, and everything right as rain, just as before . .

32:20 #44 Tymoshuck chops down DLR just as a fantastic break was happening for us – RVN fighting hard on one knee to still save that ball, somehow, for our young Guti-in-training. The free kick is too far out to be of any danger – so it is sent long ahead to Sergio on the right, who – haha!!! Awesome, baby! With 2-1 in the bag and 1v1 with those Russian chants in his ear he does 3 or 4 stepovers right in front of his marker, just to show them! But his ensuing cross, while looking good, finds nobody at all.

36:00 OH my god, I heart VDV! What a stunningly beautiful little backheel flick for the spinning ball onward to Higuain, who should’ve rifled home goal #3 rather than send it flying over the crossbar! ARRGGHH!!!!!!!! The keeper had come running out too! That would’ve been an empty net! And that would’ve been the highlight of Match Day 2, that goal played over and over precisely for the brilliantly flicked assist. But alas, Pipita was under pressure . .

38:00 Now Zenit takes a breather and hoof it around their back four, while the Russian fans not so much sing as chant like they’re at a loud Bible study. Not the greatest soundtrack to listen to . . oh, I miss the Spanish crowd.

40:40 Iker with a SAVE! It rolls out for a corner – and they play it short – AAAAAAHHH! BIG, BIG SCARE that nearly could’ve been a goal for them! What happened? Was Sergio beaten to the header? DLR turns his back and the ball pops into Iker’s hands – how? It is a miracle . . but I’m just glad no one barged into him like a gored bull this time!

Then before anyone has time to think, it is Robben who is taking on Zenit 1v1 all by himself. He makes an endless run all the way to goal and so nearly has it, just needed to get the angle right!!! But alas, though he manages to elude everyone, marker and keeper included – the final ball whistles past the open goalmouth and rolls out just wide. Dammit!

45:00 Hilarious – Zenit wins a corner but the ref just shrugs and blows his whistle anyway – ah well, the half is over! Congrats on the corner, boys. Now I’m off to check on my plummeting stocks!

45:16 LOL – Sergio tussling with Arshavin down the right flank for the ball – and they tug and shove each other until the whistle blows – and Sergio looks plaintively at the ref, as in “what did I do? Aww, c’mon! So he stumbled! How is that my fault?!”

Jesus, absolute chaos ensues when the free kick from that spot comes in – and now Zenit #14 gets a yellow card.

Iker is wearing a turtleneck? And RVN is in a good mood! He tramples over Arshavin along the sidelines, then jokes with him and laughs at the ref giving him the yellow card. What a goal can do to your mood!

47:40 AAARRGGGHHH huh huh!!!! I’m gonna CRY! That was SUCH a chance! We had entirely broken apart their defense like a hammer to pudding, with RVN flying down the middle and then finding Robben with a gorgeous forward ball – Robben is 1v1 on the keeper! NO ONE is even near him! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! BUT! The keeper comes racing out like mad and just snatches up that ball before Robben can get to it, just mere centimeters away, and Robben scrunches up his face in terrible disappointment to his Dutch compatriot . .

59:00 My God, the last 10 minutes has been just been back and forth, back and forth, some of the most riveting football around. Both sides have had chances, including Robben winning a free kick and sending a screamer just over the bar, then Zenit attacking, us snapping right back, just 2 sides grappling in deadlock, white and black, no one giving an inch and no one wanting the game to end 2-1 just yet.

62:00 Javi Garcia on for VDV, who only completed 50% of his passes tonight (13).

66:00 And that is why they call him San Iker. What a SAVE! Our back four have their hands completely full handling every Zenit attack from every direction, now it’s the left wing, now it’s the right, and now back to the left where the curling ball drops menacingly towards goal and Iker is there to palm it away! But there isn’t even a second to breath before another shot is screaming his way and he must stick out a foot to save it!!! Then! The rebound goes just over the bar!

Even MORE from Zenit! They win corner after corner! Madness ensues inside the box! But thankfully, thankfully their 591st chance is finally bundled over by the #8 striker who has been called more for offsides and handballs tonight than clear chances. Mazel tov.

67:00 Swift and deadly counterattack by Real, Higuain leading the charge and smartly tees it up for DLR, whose shot just arrows wide and then is screaming for a corner because the defender deflected it off his calf. But the ref didn’t see it.

68:00 I LOVE our counterattacks! Zenit seems entirely flustered by it! And now Robben tries a long-range stinger that is saved for a corner. Our winger’s been very lively tonight, cutting swaths of space wherever he pleases, but no finishing luck yet . .

74:00 HIGUAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So close!!!! What a deft little touch to spin that ball away from his defender on the run, then guns it down and tries to time it perfectly so as to elude the keeper coming out! But it’s just barely saved and flung high into the air for a corner.

75:00 CHAOS! A near goal for Zenit! IKER doing his Superman saves again with this amazing read of their intentions and saving the shot just in front of the inside post!!!!

Then Sergio stands off a Zenit challenge to the rebound – gets an acre of space to run in – and takes off!!! He makes a breathtaking run that goes almost end to end, before he makes the bizarre decision to send it sharply back to DLR rather than play it forward. DLR finds Robben on the left who tries a diagonal cross but no one is there to grab onto it. Why not??? Why didn’t Sergio run on for it??? Why did he step back? Is Robben that type of player, where you can’t expect back a pass? Fantastic chance wasted!

76:00 No one can accuse Real of putting 10 men behind the ball. Now Pepe takes a whack on goal, only to send it high into the rooftop.

78:15 IT HIT THE POST! JESUS CHRIST, that was close!!! What the hell is Sergio doing?? Not much defending, I’ll tell you that. Just a second ago he was on the wrong side of the striker who sent the cross from Arshavin crashing a few feet away from the far post. Now he lets the Russian players exchange a neat 1-2 right in front of his eyes before they take off for a cross deep inside the top right corner that allows Arshavin to take a whack on goal that so nearly goes in???? That Iker has no time to dive for? When I said I was fine with a draw I didn’t mean it!!!!!! Please put another one away and get to 3-1 before you call it a night!

81:30 Drenthe comes on for Robben. We still have another sub, Bernd – please help us here with some fresh legs!

86:00 Jesus – c’mon, Real, fight! Fight! As the clock winds down, Zenit is getting bolder and bolder, ever more desperate, while Real seems fine with waiting out the clock and dealing with whatever chances they create. Gabi does the splits to keep one shot from endangering Iker and the goal – splendid! But the onslaught continues. Corner after corner . . and finally Iker has had enough and comes out to scoop up that corner kick right out of the air, sending everyone, finally, galloping off and leaving him with his private space again.

87:51 LOL – they pan to the crowd, and you see the Real Madrid supporters rooted to their seats, wrapped in plush parkas with hooded furs, big thick scarves covering their mouths, even – while the Zenit supporters are shirt-less, in jeans, still chanting and hopping up and down. Oh, and Saviola’s on for Higuain. Pipita scoops up a touch of grass and crosses himself 2x before giving Saviola a fiver coming off. Our #9 immediately asks for the ball on the right side of the box, then sends it crashing headfirst against the advertisement boards, so that the keeper did not even bother to dive for it. Excellent! I am sure Raul is cursing on the bench right now.

90:00+0:15 They NEARLY got it! S***!! Arshavin turns on a dime, sending 2 of our defenders crashing onto the turf, then sends a crystal-clear ball to Danny , and THANK GOD Pepe is there to deflect that up and over the bar or it would’ve been in the back of the net by now.

90:00+4:00 And that’s it! It’s final!!! Despite the Zenit coach pointing to his watch urgently and then towards the Real goal with only 1 minute left, now there are no minutes left. The 2-1 from the first half stands. RVN is the match-winner and we can now say goodbye to Russia with a smile. Thank you for the own goal, by the way!

Man of the Match: I am torn: Iker or Pepe? So hard to separate the two! Both were monumental in limiting the Russians to only 1 goal for the evening. RVN and Robben were also very lively.

Post-game:
Just realized that I am still out of breath from those last 45 minutes! Insane game . . every time our back four scrambled about putting out fires, I felt like I was defending alongside them too, so much did every Zenit move look dangerous. On the one hand, it’s great to see our team come through while up against a zealous attacking team on a foreign pitch that seemed like an ice rink at times. We traded chance for chance for a while, and even though they wound up with more possession (55% to our 45%), we got out on quick counter-attacks that just needed better finishing to go through.

On the other hand . . our defense really sucked at certain parts tonight. I mean, truly sucked. This back four has never lost a match before? Well, this certainly was not their best day. Thank God for Iker, or else it would’ve been 4-2 at the very least. We also wasted some fantastic chances to put this game away on our end. And throughout the match, there were times when you could tell the wide disparity between the team that was hungrier, more intent on proving themselves – and the team that seemed to be resting on their laurels from the early 3 minute own goal gifted to them. I’m not saying Real didn’t play hard tonight. My hat’s off to every one of them. I’m just saying that Zenit played harder. But thankfully, we also had some luck on our side to ensure the victory.

On to Juv!!