Copa del Rey Liveblog: Real Mallorca v Real Madrid

By: Steve | January 10th, 2008

Hala Madrid! Real Madrid’s next Copa del Rey match against Mallorca is on Sky Sports 1 in the UK, should be starting about now… Corey’s got a preview of the match, looks like Schuster is resting the big boys for the Liga matches.

3min: So far, I’ve seen Robinho, Gago, Raul and Torres…
5min: Salgado is at rightback, so that means Marcelo is the odd man out to start. Guti is also playing.
7min: Higuain pairing Raul in attack, Sneijder also on the wing, Dudek in goal. Pepe is starting too.
9min: Both teams are doing pretty decently… action is going back and forth, though no real chances yet.
11min: Argh… Madrid can’t get a good handle on the ball, dinking it back and forth without much control and allowing Mallorca to regain possession through sloppy passes. To be fair though, it does look wet out there… slippery, at the least.
13min: Madrid’s makeshift defense is holding up well in the early going… Mallorca is getting upfield but the back four are doing well to deny any good looks at the goal once anywhere near the penalty area.
14min: Ack, Gago blows a tackle and gives Mallorca to get a chance for a long shot… off target but still, can’t gamble on tackles when you’re supposed to be the one helping out the defense!
15min: Mallorca look like they’re starting to open up the Madrid D… 2 consecutive corners now…
16min: Oh! Say what you will about Dudek, but he just saved Torres’ bacon. An absolute howler of a back pass led to a Mallorca attacker almost getting a free shot on goal… but Dudek came out to close down the shot and luckily made the save.
18min: Ugh, Los Merengues look like they’re playing with indoor shoes on, slipping here and sliding there… get some studs on those feet!
19min: Mallorca are taking it to Madrid now… 5 attempts on goal for the islanders compared to 0 for Madrid. Sad.
22min: There’s no touch on Madrid’s passing… only one who looks decent thus far is Gago, who’s picked out a few long range attempts…
24min: GOAL! Mallorca draws first blood on a Mallorca corner. Trejo collects a seeing-eye corner that bounces through about 5 or 6 defenders and 3 red shirts before landing at his feet, and he coolly slots it home. Dudek didn’t really have a chance. Real Mallorca 1-0 Real Madrid.
25min: GOAL! Madrid storm right back with an equalizer! Madrid attack up the right, and a lucky bounce off a Mallorca centreback bounces high in the air and only Higuain is in the right place and his volley is a spectacular kick into the top of the net. Sweet goal. Real Mallorca 1-1 Real Madrid.
28min: Ugh, you’d think Cannavaro isn’t THAT important to this D, but Ramos and Pepe are making a total hash out of central defending… Dudek has to race out to the edge of the penalty area to sweep the ball out from under an attacker. And it’s obvious that Gago is no Diarra. Not even close.
33min: Basinas gets a yellow for hauling down Higuain as Real started a counterattack. Deserved it too.
35min: Ugh… Real is again starting to defend better, intercepting those attempts to penetrate into the box, but their offensive touch is just putrid. Robinho is having an off-day.
36min: Madrid concede a free kick from about 25 yards… the shot gets through, but Dudek smothers the ball.
37min: Torres is looking a bit ragged on the left… Borja is beating him down the wing…
38min: Arango comes on for Trejo… looks like an injury sub, as Trejo was the one who Dudek undercut on his challenge on the edge of the box.
40min: Oy, Madrid are enjoying their first bit of sustained pressure in the Mallorca half for some time… but Robinho’s touch is again lacking, whiffing on a hard crossing attempt, and then later on sending a shot wide of the goal.
43min: Brutal clearing attempt by Salgado lands straight on Borja’s feet who shoots just barely wide… and then the rightback concedes a corner, which Real allow to ping pong around before clearing. They need to work on their set-piece defending…
45+2min: Well, the first half is drawing to a close… Madrid’s probably pretty lucky to be drawn going into the break, Mallorca are definitely pressing for a lead and are playing nicer football at the moment… but isn’t this how Real always works? To be a Madridista these days…
HALFTIME: The Sky Sports commentators are basically agreeing with what I’m seeing… Lots of sloppy passing, not just in the offensive half, but defensively… ugly back passes from Torres and Pepe led directly to chances.
HALFTIME: They also concur with me about Mallorca’s penalty claim on Dudek’s challenge on Trejo… it does look like Dudek got enough of the ball, and was there at the same time.
HALFTIME: On Salgado’s challenge, it only led to a corner, so he’s lucky it wasn’t a free kick, but it definitely wasn’t a penalty, since the foul came outside the box.
HALFTIME: Madrid definitely need to firm up the defending, and keep their passes on the ground… there’s too much of the ball bouncing around.
HALFTIME: Positives? Well, the only one I can really draw from this match so far is that Higuain has finally scored, and what a beaut too. A real sweet piece of technique and power.
46min: No changes for either side after halftime.
48min: Higuain concedes a free kick from about 30 yards out, while Drenthe is warming up on the sidelines… and the shot goes over the crossbar.
50min: Mallorca are really running hard, so every time Madrid regain possession, they promptly lose it or get harassed by a Mallorca defender because they’re either walking the ball up or taking too long to decide where to pass it. Come on lads, if Mallorca can find open guys and hit them with a decent pass, what the hell are you guys getting paid for?
51min: GOAL! Brutal goal on Dudek. Arango takes a chance from outside the box, in the run of play, and it beats Dudek to his right. It wasn’t even that hard. Real Mallorca 2-1 Real Madrid.
54min: Ugh… Madrid do enough to press forward, and Robinho goes offside.
55min: Another problem with the passing? It’s always going behind the target. Come on guys, don’t you know you’re supposed to lead the target into the pass? We learn this in American football too!
57min: Madrid gain a free kick a long way out… Guti to take it… ooh, it curls into the keeper, but Real had 2 attackers in the area, Pepe and Ramos… they didn’t press hard enough though and couldn’t make the keeper make a mistake.
58min: Oh man, ugly. Sneijder is just brutal out there. I honestly don’t see what Schuster sees, and why he keeps playing him. Robinho does well to get Sneijder the ball in space and the Dutchman just shanks it. Gets right under it and sends it way out of play.
61min: Mallorca just looks so much better. I don’t understand why we can’t play with the same fluidity as some of these lesser teams. Surely Capello’s effect can’t last this long…?
63min: Madrid hasn’t had a decent chance yet this half. Balboa should definitely get a run out.
63min: Sneijder takes a 25 yard free kick, this time it finds the goal, but the keeper Moya is right there to catch it.
65min: Ugh, Guti gives one away for a Mallorca attack… Torres recovers the ball for him.
65min: Looks like Saviola and Balboa will be coming on…
67min: Brutal… Mallorca centreback Ramis (sp?) gets 3 cracks at taking a shot, whiffing the first one, getting the second one blocked, and then shooting straight to Dudek.
67min: Balboa and Saviola on for Raul and Sneijder.
68min: OMG! How did Saviola not score there? Balboa creates from the right wing, Saviola is all alone, and he just wails it into the keeper, instead of picking a corner. Retard, get him out of here.
69min: Tuni off for Jonas.
70min: Oh! Arango loses Pepe and Dudek makes an amazing reflex save on the volley. Great technique by the Mallorca attacker.
73min: Great save by Moya on a Guti free kick, which curled almost into the far top corner until the keeper got a glove on it.
77min: Victor goes off… replaced by a guy whose name i couldn’t see in time… and Drenthe comes on for Balboa who got injured on a tackle…
82min: Ugh, Drenthe whiffs on a volley attempt but wins a corner… but it goes for naught, as Madrid can’t get the ball past Moya.
83min: Drenthe does have bags of pace, but his technique needs refinement, for sure.
84min: Guti gets a yellow for a crap tackle on Arango…
85min: Madrid are playing as if they have a lead, trying tricky backheel passes when all you need to do is hit the open man. Damn it.
87min: Ugh, porous defending by Madrid. Yet another Mallorca centreback leading a rush, and weaving through the back line, as Salgado forces a corner.
90min: Madrid are just looking pitiful. I will be SHOCKED if they get any kind of result out of this. Drenthe wins a corner… and then another one…
90min: Hector gets a yellow before the corners, not sure for what, but probably for dissent.
91min: 2 minutes of extra time… I just don’t understand how Madrid can still be within striking distance of a point when they look this bad.
92min: Gago is like a revolving door in attempting a standing tackle… brutal. Lucky for him, the shot attempt is weak.
92min: And that’s it. Mallorca wins it.
POSTGAME: I don’t even know what to say anymore. Los Merengues were utterly shite.
POSTGAME: The 2-1 scoreline totally flatters Madrid. They have a good chance still, with the second leg at the Bernabeu. But what a stinker. They better have all that junk out of their system. It’s like they weren’t even trying.
POSTGAME: Ok, let’s get this over with… Dudek was decent, but he was hung out to dry by the defense. Even Arango’s goal wasn’t that bad… upon further review, Pepe does really poorly to close down on him, and then partially blocks Dudek’s view of the shot, hence the late reaction. You know Casillas would have made that save, with his wicked reflexes, but not everyone can be like Casillas.
POSTGAME: The back four were brutal. No one stood out, no one played well, and even our man Torres was pretty horrific. It’s like every one decided to have a bad day today.
POSTGAME: Gago wasn’t trying either… he had like 3 or 4 pretty passes, and the rest was beer league. Guti couldn’t get anything going, and I’m starting to question if he’s really the creative engine we need… he wasn’t sparking the team tonight. Sneijder was useless. I didn’t see anything worth writing home about. Robinho was alright, but his touch was poor. Still, just being him, he was able to draw multiple defenders, but his bad passing wasn’t able to take advantage.
POSTGAME: Raul was rather anonymous the entire match before being subbed. Higuain had his moment of brilliance with that volley for a goal, but was also nondescript otherwise.
POSTGAME: Balboa was an inspired substitution, coming on and making an immediate impact. He really should’ve started, as Corey wanted. But his impact was limited after getting injured on a tackle by a Mallorca defender, who more or less rolled over his left foot. Saviola wasn’t anonymous, but that’s not a good thing. He blew the best Madrid chance of the match, crushing a Balboa cross inside the 6-yard box right into the keeper. There wasn’t anyone around! Couldn’t sidefoot it to one side or the other? Damn. Drenthe still looks quite raw, though his pace late in the match did open up some space in the final minutes.
POSTGAME: I guess the only option for man of the match is Higuain. Can you really name Balboa as man of the match for his 10 minutes of play?
POSTGAME: Ugh, I want to shower, this match sucked that bad. I’m out.