Indifferent Play Still Yields Three Points

By: Corey | February 9th, 2009

Real Madrid 1-0 Racing Santander
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Spain
Attendance: 75,000
14:00 ET February 7th 2009
Official:Carlos Clos Gómez (Referee)

Real Madrid churned out another efficient yet unspectacular performance in defeating Racing Santander 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. A nice individual move from Gonzalo Higuain was all that Real needed to add another win to their streak, now at 7 games without defeat and only one goal conceded. A full match review can be found here , which gives a good idea of what the game was like. Or you can watch the highlights below, its up to you:

Match Stats
Real Madrid Racing Santander
Shots (on Goal) 14(5) 12(3)
Fouls 17 11
Corner Kicks 10 5
Offsides 6 7
Time of Possession 56% 44%
Yellow Cards 4 3
Red Cards 0 0
Saves 3 4

Real Madrid
Casillas
Sergio Ramos
Pepe
Cannavaro
Heinze
Lass
Sneijder
sub Javi García 75′
Robben
sub Faubert 64′
Van der Vaart
sub Marcelo 81′
Higuaín Goal 52′
Raúl

Racing de Santander
Toño
Valera
César Navas
Oriol
Marcano
Colsa
Serrano
Lacen
sub Luccin 65′ (He looks exactly like Faubert!)
Jonathan Pereira
Zigic
Tchité
sub Toni Moral 61′

I was unimpressed yet again by the slow and uninspired play Real exhibited yet again, even with the double pivot not present in this game. Defensively, we handled Santander’s attack pretty well, which people underestimate. Zigic really never got much of a sniff, with Pepe not giving him much space. Canna had some trouble with Johnathan, who had to much pace for his old legs. Tchite was handled pretty well though, and he looked out of it for most of the match, which meant he was withdrawn shortly after half time.

Heinze was terrible, but what else is new. Sergio Ramos was not all that bad actually, he held up Tchite when he was on his side, but he had a little trouble with Johnathan, who looked really good in this game. Ramos has curtailed his attacking to a great degree, but that means that he is not out of position as often, which does not stretch the defensive line thin.

Lass looked good, as expected, and I think he may be able to handle defensive duties on his own, at least for home games. The problem is that Sneijder, despite being played more centrally, and with the aid of Van der Vaart, still looked shitty for my money. He really does not look like he has the required quality to play for Real with this current form. His playing style really does not suit the way the team is setup to play, so some sort of compromise must be found. Van der Vaart did look good for once, with a few scoring chances and decent buildup play.

Robben was a little off, which was to be expected, but he was still incisive in generating panic in the Santander defense at times. The over reliance on Robben is worrying, but when he was not at his best, we did manage to score and win. BUT, it still does not cover up the fact that we need some better ball movement from a central position, and we need creativity beyond just Robben running down the flank. Guti will be returning to the team soon, while Parejo will eventually get a shot. We need something better then what Sneijder is giving us. Sneijder is to vertical, we need a combo of horizontal and vertical play, and we need a player that can actually maintain possession of the ball in the midfield!

Faubert looked like garbage, but it was hist first game, the judge is still out until he plays a little more. Raul was yet again absent, which we have come to expect. It is hard to justify his place when he barely is involved in the game, but then again, when he is invisible is when he pops up and scores. Higuain looked pretty good, I was proud of his finish for the goal and I liked that he drifted out wide every now and then, which helps draw a center back slightly out of position. He still somehow misses easy chances, but if he can put away hard chances then so be it.

I want to see more from this team, and I know i am not the only one. Your comments are appreciated.

Santander coach Muniz:

“In the first half we were confused and kept losing the ball. We did not make too many mistakes, but we were playing against a good team.”

“They played near our area and recovered the ball fast when he had it,” continued Muniz. “They did not let us build attacks and it was a difficult game.”

Now they play as a team, take their chances, and know how to close out games.They are a professional team and in the last few matches, have taken advantage of their goals.”

“We expected what we saw,” he continued. “To win, we had to score, and even though it was an even game in most respects, they knew how to finish.”

“I need him (Tchite) to be calm.”

“When there is talk about a young boy staying or leaving, he becomes uncomfortable. “I expect him to be relax, because he is an important player for the team. I need the help of every player.”

Juande:

“He (Faubert) was a bit off the pace, like the whole team, but slowly, as he gains confidence, I am sure he will help the team. But you can not make a judgment yet, because he has hardly played.”

“When you are tired, you run the risk of getting injured, and we are not going to take those risks. We had the first goal and I considered it to be the best time to take him off, even though he did not want it.”

“Tonight’s game was similar to our previous clashes. We earned a new victory that will do the team a lot of good, but we find it hard to score a second goal. I think we had enough chances to net another strike. It would’ve allowed us to relax and play better. Not scoring again makes the team nervous because of the uncertainty winning by just one goal implies. The good thing is we took another three points and we didn’t concede any strikes.”

“Faubert had a weak debut, but the team was weaker when he came on anyway. I hope he can help us much as he gains more confidence. He’s played too little to make a strong judgment of his performance.”

“Fatigue brings about a risk of injury and we can’t afford that. I took Robben off against his wishes because we dominated and had already scored our strike.”

While Juande has a point that Robben was fatigued after being sick for most of the week, it also shows that Juande is willing to sit on a one goal lead no matter what. I am really beginning to dislike the lack of style the team is exhibiting in its play. Its very drab, and very calculated.

Higuain:

“I do not believe the team was very boring.”

“We must remember that we continue to win without conceding. It was a tough match in which we won three points, that will help us at the end of the season.”

“We came from a complicated time, so now what is important is to win points,” continued Higuain. “We know that we will improve with more work.”

I am very happy and confident, and I hope to continue this form for a long time.”

“I am always going to try to reach the Argentine national team.”

“I will give my all to obtain my dream.”

“There’s nothing greater than scoring a goal and it is even better to do so at your home stadium before your own crowd. The team played well and our defence did a good job. I am very happy, but what’s important is that we are winning our games.”

“I’ve worked very hard today. There are times when I have to help my team-mates out. I am proud of all of us who played tonight. We will achieve our goals through hard work. I scored a good strike that gave us three points.”

“We have to continue playing this well. It isn’t easy to win seven consecutive games. We have to defeat Gijon and then win against Betis at the Bernabeu. The match with Liverpool is very important for us and I think we will be very confident if we win the two matches that precede it. We now have to rest and think about our following game. You can achieve everything through hard work, humility and constancy.”

“Many things have hapened in recent weeks, but we didn’t concede any goals tonight. I don’t think we bore the crowd. The important thing is we won again and took three more points.”

Pepe:
“It was hard to mark Zigic; it was a collective effort. The three points are all that matter and we have to wait and see if Barcelona lose tomorrow to cut distances shorter.”

“I feel great; I even dared to attack at one point tonight. Cannavaro and I are having a great moment. We want the crowd to enjoy itself.”

“We all work in defence because we know the team will always have a chance to score a goal.”