Real Madrid 4 – 2 Valladolid, aka Raul, Raul, always Raul…

By: Cesar | October 18th, 2009

Liga_BBVA_Jornada. realmadrid.valladolid

Hello everybody, Corey asked me to do the Match review, so it’s nice to write again and share my thoughts about the match with all of my fellow madridistas.

First, let’s get the match facts out of the way:

REAL MADRID:
Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Albiol, Marcelo; Granero, ”Lass”, Xabi Alonso, Van der Vaart (Kaká, m.72); Raúl (Drenthe, m.82) y Benzema (Higuaín, m.72).

VALLADOLID: Jacobo; Pedro López, Luis Prieto, Nivaldo, Arzo; Nauzet (Manucho, m.58), Borja (Pelé, m.79), Rubio, Marquitos, Héctor Font (Bueno, m,.78); y Diego Costa.

GOALS:1-0, m.13: Raúl. 2-0, m.18: Raúl. 2-1, m.29: Nauzet. 3-1, m.45: Marcelo. 3-2, m.53: Marquitos. 4-2, m.79: Higuaín.

MATCH STATS
Real Madrid Valladolid
Shots on Goal 6 8
Fouls 11 16
Corner Kicks 6 12
Time of Possession 54% 46%
Yellow Cards 2 2
Red Cards 0 0

This match had been under scrutiny, from the press and the fans for the last couple of weeks; the defeat in Sevilla,the poor performances of certain players (and coach), the international break, and Raul, were all part of an explosive mix, a mix that resulted in all the expectation regarding this match.

The game started well for Madrid, with Raul scoring twice in the span of 5 min: the first one after a great play from Granero on the right wing, which Raul put past the keeper with a clever touch from his heel; the second one, came on a play from the left, where the much-maligned-for two weeks Marcelo provided Raul with a beautiful ball that the Captain put in the back of the net with right foot, you heard that right, HIS RIGHT FOOT!!!!. Don’t worry, this is not the first time in this review where you’ll see the words RIGHT FOOT in capital letters, just bear with me….

After the two goals, Madrid’s level of play was really low, giving Valladolid the chance to score in the 29th minute, courtesy of a BEAUTIFUL free kick goal from Neuzet. The FK was a result of Lass’s STUPID AND CLUMSY foul right in the edge of our penalty box. More on Lass later.

It was after this goal, when the figure of Valladolid’s Diego Costa started to emerge; for me, he was MOTM, he had our team in shambles, and was easily the best player on the field yesterday. His pace, skill and reading of the game were a thing of beauty. The game continued with Valladolid putting more and more pressure on our team, specially on Lass and Xabi, who were having a really tough time building the plays. And so it was that in stoppage time, Marcelo started a run down the left, then drifted inside, went past two Valladolid players, and scored a goal with a cannon from the edge of the area, with once again, HIS RIGHT FOOT!!!!. Valladolid were right to protest the goal, because it happened after stoppage time had already ended, tough luck for them.

The second half started, and after 7 min, Valladolid reduced the difference to one goal: Marquitos scored a superb goal, after a great pass from Diego Costa, who caught Pepe and Albiol off guard. The play that made this goal possible was a Xabi Alonso lost ball, who up to this point was having a terrible game. Madrid’s play was stagnant, and as result of that Pellegrini brought in Kaka and Higuain (with the fans chanting their names while they were warming up) for Benzema and Van der Vaart, both of whom had average games in my opinion.

And so it was, that fresh from his debut with Argentina, with a great goal I might add, that in the 79th minute, Pipita scored a cracker of a goal: Xabi gave him an in between the lines pass, Gonzalo let the ball ran, and once he saw the keeper coming up, he scored with a delicate touch over him, resulting in the beautiful “Vaselina”. Beautiful goal indeed.

But Valladolid weren’t done; they still created more chances, and came really close to making it 4-3 near the end, after a great individual play from who else, Diego Costa, who took the ball in the right flank, got rid of Sergio Ramos, and shot softly past Iker, with Albiol saving the goal right on the line.

I wanted to come back to Lass’s performance: HE WAS JUST PLAIN TERRIBLE!!!!. I really don’t know what’s wrong with him, but many of us who were doing live comments during the match were screaming at him to “KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!!!”; he lost countless balls, made poor decisions, gave away stupid fouls, like the one that resulted on Valladolid’s first goal. He’s really not the same player from last year, and i don’t know if it’s a result of him wearing the number 10 shirt, and ASSUMING that he’s now an attacking midfielder. Lass, my boy, GET YOUR SHIT STRAIGHT!!!

As for the Raul part of the title, well, we see it once again: the captain comes through whenever his doubters start asking for his head, and to me, it’s a pretty difficult situation for the club and the coach, because I think that deep inside they both know the team would be better with him contributing from the bench, but you just can’t overlook his contributions, professionalism and commitment to the cause. So, for now, until he has a bad game once again, we won’t be hearing much about him. Benzema, on the other hand, get ready to read your name on the press a lot during the coming days…, and not in a good way….

CONCLUSIONS:

In the end, we got the three points, but we did it only because of our “pegada”, and not because of our team play.

There were many subplots leading up to this match: should Marcelo start???; what about Benzema???; should Raul start from the bench???, etc, etc, etc. To me, they all add up to one: Pellegrini.

For me, he must get his act together, or he won’t last long in this team. It’s the coach’s duty to make adjustments and make the tough decisions, whatever they might be. If they mean no wing play, well, make sure there’s support from the midfielders when the full backs attack; if Benzema starts, make sure he understands his role, and pair him up with somebody who complements him; if Raul has to sit, well, DO IT. But have the cojones man!!!!

It’s really worrying to me to watch this team and see the lack of fundamental plays that you expect from a world class football team: two against one in the wings; runs to the hole without the ball; runs at the back of the defense; defensive support, etc, and sorry if I sound like a broken record, but it’s Pellegrini’s fault.

Thanks for your time everybody, I’ll be in San Francisco from Tuesday to Sunday, so if you know of a good place where I can watch the Madrid-Milan game, please let me know.

HALA MADRID!!!, and Corey, count with me anytime.

Some Related Real Madrid Posts:

Category: Game Recap

« Game Blog :: Real Madrid 4-2 Valladolid | Home | Milan Game Comments »

andy

the eloquence of this blog entry is simply FANTASTIC! i would write some crap that madrid sucks and they are aweful, but i will let the team speak for themselves... how did they lose at home against a horrifically weak Milan team... is the golden boy really that good??? were they playing hard for their (lost for now but not forgotten) dead homey Gooch??? someone wake the dead body of Kaka and tell him to show up in the big games...

In Arse We Trust :)
Bassam

^^ i agree with Junaid. That says enough.
Andres

gago will be fit for the milan game lol is that good or bad ?
Anti-Milan

does anyone know where i can get daily unbiased news on la liga in english??
Zizou

Kevo i'm one of the few who thinks he should start but i can see why other people don't want him and i think the main feeling here is because he slows the play down maybe and we should be looking to the future with the younger player like Benzema, Higuain and Negredo, and we should be giving them time to gel, DEFINTLY not lack of leadership or anythink like that lolz

AND Guti trained so never mind what i said maybe he will play!!:)

AND junaid that was fucking quality thx for posting, you really think that Ronaldo would pass the ball that much soon as it came to him of the 1-2 i'm fairly sure he's shooting lolz.
kevo

Hi there RM fans, im actually a Barca fan but i sometimes like to sneak in other team's news and know their whereabouts.
But i have a question that maybe you guys can clarify, it seems that a lot of people want Raul benched, is it because of lack of performance? aged legs? lack of leadership? lack of professionalism? is he crippling the team as a starter?
Does the team perform better in his absence?

Just wondering, because he's been captain for years and ahead of Iker and i'm just wondering that it's because he is doing something right, i suppose.

There's a similar case in Barca Team with Titi Henry. Many fans are saying that he should step down and give the place to youngsters but the truth is that those youngsters are lacking lots of experience for big games. Is it the same case for RM and Raul?

Anyways, VISCA BARCA! jk :)
Cheers guys

PS. good luck against Milan!
Zizou

yer i really think Seedorf is a brilliant player, but i don't know what he's like every week though.I wish Guti was fit for this game because his through balls would be great for this game, Benzema, Kaka, Higuain pace should prove very good in this game. Speed will win it for us.
labomba

Well said Andrés, I´ve said many times before, Alonso needs space, cripes Lass looked like Alonso´s second marker on Saturday, I too think Diarrá would take a deeper Mascherano role.
I also agree with another poster about using Marcelo as a left winger, to give width with Albolea as back up if he is finally fit.
Andres

Ts drew i actually think that M.diarra will allow xabi to play better because he won't be all in his space like lass does
Diarra is way more similar to mascherano than lass is in the sense that they both don't move forward much and keep things simple and we all saw how well xabi played alongside mascherano

Zizou I've noticed that too , pepe hasn't been playing that well

Anyways the game against valladolid was raul's 711th god damn! Talk about being consistent
You should do a post about that corey
TSDrew

Personally I believe "Marmaduke" Diarra is a better pure defensive midfielder than Lass. Diarra has an advantage in height, strength to disposses his opponents, short passing, and positioning to fill the channels. Lass however has speed, determination, goes forward better, and is by no means a poor DM. The problem lies in the fact the Xabi will start and Lass plays better with him. Diarra tends, out of habit from playing the lone DM, to sag toward bottom of the center circle. This causes Xabi to have less room to operate and clogs up the midfield. So in my opinion Mohamadou has more talent but Lass has more chemestry. I don't know who I would start against Milan.
Zizou

you guys think we have looked worse at the back since Pepe came back? i think he should play definttly just saying..

i really want to give Benzema like 10 games were he will 100% start because he will be awesome. Rotate Raul and Higuain, or just play 5 midfielders.

France may be in for a tuff game in the qualifiers btw.
Andres

Eladir sorry but i have to disagree
we do not dominate as we should because we're a new team that hasnt gelled yet
our strikers do not understand each other's movements yet because we have not gelled yet , pellegrini tried to play all of them together , higuain/benz , raul/benz, higuain/raul but as i said with time understanding will come
and how is kaka not being used properly ? he has been playing behind the strikers , and given a free role he even came out and said himself that pellegrini's tactic suit him very well

Mac agreed
Madridista Mac

Hi Guys, My thoughts on the game are on

http://madridistamac.blogspot....

Pellegrini will be alright. I believe that he will learn to find the balance in this team. He's had the balls to bench Raul before and I don't see why he can't do it again or do it more consistently. Raul just had his timing right: just as we were starting to wonder when he'll score again, he scores a brace, including one from a backheel.

What Pellegrini should have the balls to do is let Pipita and Pirata play. Those 2 put on performances that merit a bigger role in the team, esp. with CR96 injured.
Cesar1976

thanks kaushik
Eladir

"I think that you guys are being too hard on pellegrini....what did he get wrong in this game ?"

In this specific game, what I didn't like was the subs being done extremely late. In the start of the 2nd half we were bad and we risked getting equalised. Kaka and Higuain came on at min 74' and V.d.Vaart and Benzema till that minute didn't do anything.

Generally speaking about Pellegrini, there is a number of things I don't like. First of all, according to his comments, keeping possession is of vital importance. I am not seeing much progress in that aspect, we have something like 55% possession each game and we continue losing control of the game against small teams.

Second, he has been using 2 strikers without understanding of each other. In the first games it's to be expected but almost 2 months in and still no improvement in that aspect.

Third, Kaka hasn't been used utilized to his potential. One can argue that it's Kaka's fault but I believe it's more of how he's being used.

And final, we play with double pivot and despite having 4 quality DMs I still haven't seen much chemistry between them which is directly linked with the 1st problem of dominating possession.
Real Madrid Shirts

Milan are not at their best just now but I expect they will up their game for the Champions League
Kaushik

great write up Cesar. lets get a win at milan now
Mayowa 08032162146

Wow! Gud game but we lack concentration in d second half. Against milan, pelli shud pls try dis formation.
Casillas-ramos-pepe- albiol-arbeloa-alonso- m.diarra-marcelo-granero-kaka-raul. Marcelo&granero to provide d width, kaka playin a free role behind raul and d back line is safer with arbeloa as LB.
Let me know ur opinions. HALA MADRID
Cesar1976

Andres, and thanks for your comment
Cesar1976

Thanks Andres, I agree with you in that we disagree, lol, but I see traits in pellegrini that I don't like, but I'm willing to give him time, even though that's a luxury he doesn't have at Madrid...
Andres

Cesar actually i think schuster was a lot worse he had a season and a half with the team yet his coaching was suspect pellegrini on the other hand hasnt had much time but save for the sevilla and his questionable inclusion of gago i dont see what he got wrong so far and he does make adjustments IMHO we've seen a lot of different tactical changes from him so far but i guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the matter

BTW good write up was gonna say that in my first post but i left it out for some reason
Cesar1976

And Corey, I'll try to help you more in the coming weeks, just let me know what topics you want me to cover and I'll do it
Cesar1976

Bassam, Corey, thanks for your comments...

Andres, I wasn't referring to this game, I'm referring to Pellegrini's performance so far; he's like a Schuster from Chile, that's it, he makes no adjustments, and the team play is suffering from that.

Lass DESERVED to be a starter, he's no better than Mahamadou right now, so for the Milan games, I'd go with him and Xabi, give Lass some rest so he can get his shit in place
Andres

And before anyone kills me for making that lass comment , let me tell you why I think he should be benched , he is tactically very lame , he holds on to the ball way too much , he gives up stupid fouls in dangerous areas tell me what can he do as DM that Mahamadou can't do ? I even like the latter's passing better
Andres

I think that you guys are being too hard on pellegrini save for the lass selection who most of you think deserves to be a starter anyway what did he get wrong in this game ?
We played a very good first half then 10 min in the second the players started to get complacent ! Pellegrini is hardly the one to blame for that
And when they did he made changes that bear fruit
I'm happy with him so far and save for the sevilla game I think he did a good job , lass shouldn't be a starter tho lol Mahamadou all day
Bassam

Good job Cesar! i agree with you with a lot of stuff. Pelligrini should step up, but we should at the same time be patient with him.

I was in SF this weekend, lovely weather ;)
Corey

Nice job Cesar, you should contribute more often! Thanks for covering for me and have a good time in San Fran.