Liveblog: Real Madrid v Real Betis

By: Steve | September 27th, 2007

Hala Madrid! Ok, Madrid fans, get ready to settle in for a great night of football. I don’t know why, but I’m feeling pretty good about tonight. Betis will give us a good challenge, but seeing as how we need a win to get back on top of the table, I’m sure Schuster’s boys will be pretty stoked about the match. I’m not anticipating a Villarreal-level of domination, but keeping possession and converting a couple chances will do just fine.

Just a reminder that the match starts at 9pm GMT (4pm EDT) and it will be on Sky Sports 1. Tune in later and put in your comments, let’s make this liveblog a good one!

PREGAME: Ok, so it’s Casillas, Torres, Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Diarra, Guti, Raul, Higuain, Sneijder and Saviola. Looks like Schuster isn’t taking Real Betis too lightly.

1min: Ruud van Nistelrooy has been ruled out due to a calf injury… that probably means the first striker off the bench will be Soldado. Yay!

4min: Good ball possession early on for Madrid. Heinze is a much more solid choice at leftback and you know the left flank will be less of a worry.

8min: Oh! Raul’s quick turn-and-shoot curl’s just wide, but it’s incorrectly whistled offside. If that went in, I’d be hopping mad.

10min: Another shot by Raul, again just outside the penalty area, just goes over the top of the goal.

12min: Real is playing a great game so far… the midfield is actually doing well to track back and win the ball, and Higuain is looking like a star, consistently beating his man with little moves and neat passes. Torres is playing pretty solid.

13min: Argh, Heinze just did so well to win the ball and streak down the left flank to collect it, but his cross was more like a shot and went straight to the keeper. He had SO much time, no need to rush it…

14min: Ooh, a rare blooper by Casillas, but he gets bailed out by Heinze… well, more like miscommunication, with the ball sort of in no-man’s land… Odonkor sped to the baseline and Casillas out of position, but Heinze blocked the cross.

15min: ah, Raul misfires on a volley… Torres’ cross came shading off to his right and Raul just didn’t get any juice on it.

16min: hmmm, Raul has another shot, but it again goes wide. Not going his way tonight.

21min: Betis is starting to play with more effect now, particularly with Edu and Sobis. A bit more menacing but no real challenge yet for Casillas.

23min: Wow, I think Torres is really underrated in his passing. He just picked out Higuain on the sideline from 20-25 yards out. Nice.

24min: a free kick just outside the area that Sneijder takes… and puts it WAY over the goal.

25min: Great tackle by Sergio Ramos on Edu! Wow, that was classic.

27min: Even though Saviola is supposed to be playing as the lone striker up front, he’s been dropping back to get the ball, particularly on the right, which makes me wonder just who would be in the box to try to put in a cross?

28min: Not sure why Real is playing the long ball, Saviola just doesn’t have the same skills as Ruud, and he’s not the type to hold up the ball like Ruud does.

29min: Ramos just shrugged off a challenge from Mark Gonzalez, after Betis turned the ball over deep in Real territory. I love that kid.

32min: OH! Sneijder just hit another long free kick that Ricardo parries over the crossbar. That was insane, it must’ve been at least 30 yards out. Deadly.

34min: OMG!!! Real is SO lucky to still be level. Cannavaro trips up trying to get to a cross, the resulting chaos leaves Casillas making a crazy save point-blank on Edu and then Mark Gonzalez skies a sitter. Unbelievable. Madrid is lucky it’s still 0-0.

35min: Argh, Raul gets whistled for pulling the shirt of his marker, though i think it’s iffy. No matter though, continuing the game’s theme, his shot goes wide.

36min: Another Casillas save, as Betis are starting to open up this defense. Uh-oh…

38min: I just don’t feel good about this defense. This is Betis. They’re in the drop zone for crying out loud!

38min: Man, Odonkor is fast. This is where we’ll miss Roberto Carlos most… He could always close down on the winger.

39min: Oh! Betis again comes THISCLOSE to scoring… the defense is completely absent as a Betis corner gets headed right off the post… unreal. We’re getting our asses kicked.

39min: Man, Higuain totally misfires on a cross. Brutal.

42min: Real look like they’re suffering a bit of Arsenal-itis from last year… great build-up play, no shot or anything remotely dangerous… and another long ball into Saviola who’s just way too short and small to get into position to get them.

43min: Argh, Higuain is in the wrong position to get a foot onto the cross, and the commentators are going insane over it… they say he doesn’t look like a striker and i’d agree with that.

44min: Wow, Casillas plays the sweeper as he comes all the way out to the right sideline to tackle a loose ball… where the hell was Torres?

45min: Either Betis are doing really well getting into the passing lanes, or Real are just making stupid passes. So many in the last 4-5 minutes have been picked off as if they were the recipients.

HALFTIME: And that’s it. Brutal. Real started off pretty good, first 10 minutes or so, but the momentum is definitely with Betis now. They’ve had the better chances, and how it’s not 2-0 for the visitors is beyond me.

HALFTIME: Considering that only a win will get us back on top of the table, I’m shocked at how Betis is just killing us in our defensive half.

HALFTIME: Aside from Sneijder’s long-range attempt, the best chances have been Raul’s misfires. That’s not good. I don’t think he’s hit the target yet, except maybe that one he tried with his right foot.

HALFTIME: They’re replaying the first good Betis chance… The error on that play is on Casillas and Cannavaro. Cannavaro dove in, probably thinking he would head the ball away, but then pulls out and just sorta lays flat, and Casillas is nowhere near in order to collect it. The chaos results in the two shots.

HALFTIME: I don’t think Schuster will make any changes at halftime, but he should. His team selection was all wrong. Saviola’s not a guy you can play upfront on his own, he’s more like Raul, better playing in the hole and scampering onto a ball. Soldado is the only other guy who plays the same type of game as Ruud does, lurking off the last defender’s shoulder. I’ve seen Soldado play the high ball pretty well, he can’t be any worse than Saviola has been.

46min: Ok, no changes, and the interesting stat that 9 of Real’s 13 goals this season have come in the second half. Let’s hope.

47min: man, Diarra just does not have the right touch to play passes more than 10 yards away.

48min: it really looks like Saviola and Raul have swapped positions. Saviola’s dropping pretty far back to get the ball, and Raul is the one playing off the last defender.

48min: At least Real finally get a shot on target… easily into the keeper’s arms. First things first, i guess…

49min: Robben and Baptista are warming up…

50min: Betis create a great chance between Mark Gonzalez and Sobis, with Sobis finishing with a shot into the side netting. Can’t really say it was the defending that was poor, but Gonzalez had loads of space on the right flank…

52min: Cannavaro does a good job to get a foot onto Sobis’ last shot. Corner given… and taken. No damage.

53min: Odonkor’s fast. How fast? They say he can do a 10.7sec 100m. Wow.

55min: I have to say, I think Cannavaro is playing a pretty good match, aside from that awful miscommunication with Casillas. He’s lucky that didn’t cost them a goal though…

56min: Oh! Raul finally gets something on target, but not enough juice, and Ricardo gets his hands on the ball. Raul did great to chest down the long ball, and get the shot off, but he could’ve considered opening up and going short side.

58min: Crappy free kick from Guti. He’s been a bit anonymous.

59min: Robinho looks ready to come on… Robben too.

59min: It’s Saviola and Higuain who come off. Sneijder probably slides into the hole position and Raul moves up, as Robben takes the left flank.

60min: Real instantly look like they’re playing better possession. Robben is somehow on the right, and Robinho in the centre…

61min: Torres gets a yellow card on a really dodgy call… and the Betis player immediately gets up to take the free kick. I hate divers.

63min: Betis concede a corner, but defend the ball well, getting at least 7 guys behind the ball, crowding the penalty area to block Guti’s attempt at goal.

65min: Real just look like they expect to win the ball and counterattack, as they give up a corner and have only 6 guys in the box. Far less populated than Betis did…

65min: I think the sad thing is that Real haven’t really threatened yet. There’s been some decent play…

66min: Awesome! Robben dribbles through 3 guys, and gets Raul a great chance and he gets hauled down. Penalty kick…

67min: GOAL!!! Raul takes the penalty kick, in place of the absent van Nistelrooy, and calmly slots it to the keeper’s left, getting him to go the wrong way. Unbelievably, it’s Real Madrid 1-0 Real Betis.

69min: Robinho dances his way through the Betis defense, stepping over and nutmegging at least 3 defenders, but his shot goes straight to Ricardo.

71min: OHHH!!! Robben breaks away from a defender, plays a give-and-go with Sneijder and his shot barely goes wide, maybe an inch or two from the far post. Great play, the best Real has shown thus far.

73min: Doh, Cannavaro gets a yellow card for a trailing leg foul to trip up Mark Gonzalez… The Betis winger gets around Torres and Cannavaro has to bail him out.

74min: Brutal… the free kick goes in and Diarra has a free shot at clearing it, except he only sidefoots it and the ball hits the crossbar… unbelievable. Lady Luck must be a Madridista…

76min: Crap, another free kick conceded just outside the box, this time from the left side…

76min: well, the free kick gets cleared, but Gonzalez gets played in again and beats Torres, but hits the post…

77min: Robben picks up a rebound and coolly slots it home but gets called for an iffy offside. Sucky…

78min: A great tackle by Ramos starts a quick counter, and Sneijder’s dangerous cross would’ve found Raul if not for the Betis defender… nice.

79min: Baptista’s coming on…

80min: …for Sneijder.

81min: Baptista goes straight into the hole position where Sneijder was… he’ll be a bit rusty there.

82min: Guti is playing far deeper this match than he normally does… he’s like in a dual pivot role with Diarra.

83min: Sobis skirts around Cannavaro for a shot that goes way wide… no other defender stepped up to challenge it though, that’s pretty poor.

84min: Betis makes a change… Gonzalez off for Caffa.

84min: GOAL!!! Guti takes a free kick that gets headed around a bit then straight over Baptista who does a wicked overhead bicycle kick in. No chance for Ricardo. Real Madrid 2-0 Real Betis.

86min: Betis just didn’t clear the ball when they had the chance…

87min: …and Betis just can’t buy a goal. Sobis creates something out of nothing and Caffa is all alone with loads of time to shoot but it goes wide. Where the hell is the defense? Seriously, where was Torres and Diarra?

88min: Ack, Baptista is barely offside but his header goes off the crossbar anyways.

90min: A couple late yellow cards on Betis for some bad challenges. Baptista is making an instant impact, as you just can’t get him off the ball with a simple tackle. You need to manhandle him.

93min: Well, it’s a scrappy finish to a relatively poor match for Real Madrid… a few bad challenges here and there…

93min: And we’re done. Well, Los Merengues go back to the top of the table, though the win was far from convincing, at least in the first 60 minutes. The substitutions were inspired though, and Robben and Baptista had huge impact on the game.

POSTGAME: Well, Betis manager Hector Cuper will be on the hot seat, but if life was fair, Betis would’ve at least drawn this match, after hitting the woodwork 3 times.

POSTGAME: Real played a good first 10 minutes and last 30 minutes. The 50 minutes in between though were just horrid. Seriously, how Madrid escaped with a clean sheet is just ridiculous. Totally undeserved.

POSTGAME: The Real subs were absolutely vital. Robinho and Robben provide a dimension that Higuain and others just don’t have… that technical ability to run at defenders and maintain possession, that draws extra guys and creates openings for others. I have no idea why they didn’t start, but at least Schuster saw to it that they get on the pitch.

POSTGAME: And who knew Baptista would play that well? Didn’t look rusty at all… If he could tackle better, I’d say he’d be great in Diarra’s role… better touch and all…

POSTGAME: Alright, so overall grades… Casillas got a clean sheet, but looked iffy at times, no more than on that crazy play when he and Cannavaro botched the cross. Cannavaro was pretty solid other than that play, and Ramos was again a beast. Torres looked vulnerable against someone with as much pace as Gonzalez, but otherwise played well on and off the ball offensively. Heinze wasn’t beaten very often by Odonkor which is saying something.

POSTGAME: Diarra had a pitiful match, showing a heavy touch on the ball, frequently giving away possession on anything except short passes, and he had that awful almost-own-goal. Guti was fairly anonymous, though it was his (somewhat poor) free kick which led to Baptista’s goal. Sneijder played alright, particularly later in the match when the speedy subs came on. Higuain was below par, definitely not what you’d expect from the right wing. Poor first touch all night.

POSTGAME: Raul got better as the night went on, and it was his positioning which got him the penalty kick. As Haran noted in the comments, it was good to see him keep going though and try for goal. Saviola was poor, that wasn’t the right selection for this team. Robben played amazing, showing great touch and pace, and he causes problems for any defense. Robinho played pretty good too, though his first touch on long balls is a bit heavy and he relied on his pace to try to get to balls, in some cases not winning. Baptista played really well, considering how little playing time he’s gotten this season. It’s too bad Soldado didn’t get a run out, you have to wonder what it’ll take for him to get on the pitch.

POSTGAME: Anyways, so Madrid are back on top with 13 points, goal differential is now +10. Still undefeated, but they’ll have to play better when away at Getafe on Sunday. That’s it for tonight, folks, continue in the comments if you want. Ciao!

UPDATE: Just want to apologize also for missing at least one Betis substitution… I know Odonkor came off midway through the second half, missed that one. Not sure if they made a third one…

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