Real 2-0 Levante

By: Corey | January 14th, 2008

As I sit in my training paints and and baby seal fur slippers (thats right, no shirt ladies) drinking my OJ and watchng Fox Sports World I cant help but notice how they were able to make a Real Madrid crap performance look half way decent. I did not watch the game, I was visiting my grandmother in a rehab center after she had a stroke. The sadness of that aside, I didnt feel like pilling more misery on myself even though I made it back for the 2nd half. But I read Steve’s liveblog and I believe every word of his anaylsis of the match. If you want a review, read it, ill paste it here for everyone:

PREGAME: Schuster’s gone with Casillas, Torres, Cannavaro, Pepe, Marcelo, Baptista, Gago, Sneijder, Robinho, Ruud and Raul.
2min: Oh! Levante get the first chance on a free kick that Alvaro does well to get a head on, but it fires straight at Casillas who makes a terrific reflex save.
4min: It’s surprising that Schuster has named what is possibly his strongest squad, given suspensions and injuries… maybe he wants to send a message to the players.
7min: Madrid are pressing well in the early going, but the passes aren’t nearlt as crisp as they need to be…
11min: Levante are pursuing well on defense though, not allowing Madrid time on the ball, particularly in the offensive half… only Robinho seems to be doing well to keep possession without needing to dump off a pass to the nearest white shirt…
12min: Oh, poor pass from Gago who could’ve sprung Ruud alone in front, but the ball doesn’t curve enough and flies straight to the keeper.
16min: Levante have played a really strong 3 or 4 minutes, giving Madrid absolute fits in defense. Two straight corners stray dangerously near Casillas’ goal. Really poor set-piece defending by Los Merengues, Gago and Pepe the main culprits, but the defense just needs to talk.
21min: OH!!! Real mount their first credible attack, and force a corner… Sneijder takes it, and it makes its way to Baptista who blasts it away from the keeper, but Levante’s last defender is able to knock it away from the post. The rebound falls to Raul who taps it but it drops to the keeper. Argh!
24min: Ah! Yet another Levante corner causing problems, as the ball knocks around the goalmouth area in front of Casillas like a pinball before Cannavaro clears for another corner. What is it about corner kicks that Real can’t do crap about?
27min: I’ll admit that Tommasi is a good defender for Levante, but Real’s making him look like Superman… No touch on their passing, poor control when receiving passes or dribbling… Sneijder needs to sit, Gago needs to sit.
32min: I think Sneijder’s given up possession at least 5 times in the match so far. What’s he still doing on the pitch?!?
36min: Marcelo is doing terribly. Levante’s right winger is getting consistently by the Brazilian, and forcing Cannavaro to stray out wide to defend against the crosses.
43min: Sneijder really has to stop doing those stupid spin kick passes off his back foot. They never get to the target, if he even has one, since he’s normally facing away from the direction of attack when he starts the move. It’s brutal.
45min: I’d like to say that Real is lacking consistency, except they’re not… they’re consistently bad. The amount of turnovers in this match is almost comical, if it wasn’t Los Merengues we’re talking about.
HALFTIME: Ugh, the referee’s whistle brings a merciful end to that awful half. You’d never think that it’s the best team in the league against the worst.
HALFTIME: 36 points separate Real from Levante. THIRTY-SIX!!! Levante sit bottom of the table with 8 points… EIGHT! What the hell is going on? Why do we look worse than they do?!?
HALFTIME: It’s unbelievable how bad Real is looking now. If they think that any team fears them simply because they’re top of the table, they’re sadly mistaken…
HALFTIME: This is the fourth straight match, since the Barcelona clasico, that they’ve looked like the worse team against clearly inferior opposition. Is everyone resting on their laurels after taking that win in the Camp Nou? I can’t imagine it would take this long to get their heads out of their asses.
46min: No changes for either team after halftime… that doesn’t bode well for Real.
48min: Argh, why are we still looking like a beer league squad on defense?!? Riga and Pedro Leon are giving Madrid defenders fits… Marcelo tries to clear the ball straight across the goalmouth area, and his Riga in the back, leading to a shot just off target.
51min: Marcelo is having an awful night… His wing is as porous as anything… and just as I type that, he gives up a cross from his wing that Riga gets a poor head on, thanks to Cannavaro…
52min: Ugh, Gago and Baptista just aren’t communicating, leaving the ball for each other…
55min: AHHH! I have a bad feeling about this match… even when Real get a chance, they have no luck today. Gago crosses in for Baptista, whose header bounces off a defender back to him. He’s only got space for a light tap, but it bounces off the keeper, and rolls untouched to the far post… and then bounces out somehow. Levante’s doing a great job of closing right down on the ballcarrier, and it’s up to Madrid to pick out the open guy.
56min: Strange. Guti comes on for Baptista, who may have picked up a knock, but the Brazilian has easily come closest to scoring for the whites. Should’ve brought on someone for Sneijder too.
58min: Marcelo is having such a horrible time trying to contain Juanma on the wing that Robinho is forced to come back, almost to the corner flag, to win back possession. Brutal.
60min: Schuster has obviously seen that Marcelo can’t handle the left side on his own… That’s two straight possessions that he’s gotten a second defender down there to help out, this time it’s Gago.
61min: Real’s resorted to taking shots from outside the penalty area… two straight attempts by Guti and Raul. Smacks of desperation.
63min: Oh! A REALLY late offside flag on Ruud, but actually 2 other Madrid players were also past the second last defender…
65min: Madrid do seem to be passing better in the last 4 minutes or so… Levante is starting to wear down, tired from all that running, and now they’re not closing down as fast… i suppose that’s why Madrid always wins in the second half…
65min: Brutal tackle by Marcelo… he slides across to get to the ball first, but his tackle only gets the ball straight onto the Levante attacker’s feet…
66min: Juanma injures himself somehow trying for a long pass down Levante’s right wing… a reprieve for Marcelo perhaps…
68min: Pedro Leon gets subbed… for Ibiazi?
68min: Guti’s really hasn’t gotten his head in the game… mis-controls a couple passes and lets them roll under his foot…
70min: Oh!!! How did that not go in? Robinho gets a pass from an industrious Ruud into the penalty area, and beats the keeper with his shot but not the post. Ugh.
71min: Saul on for Juanma… Higuain on for Sneijder.
73min: Ah… A nice cross by Marcelo somehow is missed by Raul on a header attempt…
75min: Handball by a Levante defender in the box! Penalty given!
76min: GOAL! Ruud coolly slots home the penalty as the keeper guesses wrong. It’s ugly, but it works. Levante 0-1 Real Madrid.
79min: For all my ranting about Real’s crappy play, and it has indeed been crappy, the main difference in the scoreline is the quality of the finishing… Real has had far more real goalscoring opportunities, having been denied by good defending and the woodwork. Levante, while they’ve dominated possession, has not been nearly as clinical in front of the goal. In other words, Casillas has had less work than the Levante keeper.
80min: Pepe brutally turns the ball over after turning to make a back pass… Riga steals it and Pepe recovers enough to nick the shot skyward.
83min: Well, it looks like Real is slowing the match down, trying to waste as much time as possible… well, for all that it took to get a simple 1-0 lead on the bottom team, I think I would too.
84min: Drenthe on for Robinho.
86min: Riga gets around Cannavaro wide on the right, but has no support in the box as his cross gets cleared by Pepe…
87min: Courtois off for Ettien.
88min: GOAL!!! Ruud collects a pass from Guti just outside the box, and with Higuain playing the decoy to his right, Ruud blasts it past the keeper into the bottom left corner of the net. 11th goal in La Liga and 15th of the season in all competitions for van Nistelrooy. Levante 0-2 Real Madrid.
90min: Well, Real leads by 2 goals, it’s safe to say they’ve won the game, but damn, how ugly was that.
90+1min: Wow, Levante lead Real on corners given 7-1.
90+3min: Real have recovered time of possession 54% to 46% for Levante… Surely it was going the other way in the first 60 minutes of the match.
90+3min: Ugh, an 8th corner for Levante… the header goes over the crossbar, and then the whistle goes.
POSTGAME: I normally don’t think there’s a difference in fitness levels between top and bottom teams, more a skill or talent thing… but Real just does this to all teams. They weather the storm at the start, letting teams run themselves ragged, then apply some clinical finishing in the final 30 minutes when defenders starting slowing down.
POSTGAME: So is this Real’s version of the rope-a-dope? Look like crap and then come back for the killer blow? I dunno… I want to say no, that Real actually does play this badly, but results are results…
POSTGAME: Real go up to 47 points from 19 matches, bumping the lead back up to 7 points over Barcelona. It’s tied their own record for largest lead at the halfway point of the season.
POSTGAME: Ok, let’s go to the individuals… Casillas was solid when called upon, and made a great point-blank save in the opening minutes to keep it level. Clean sheet for the Spanish international, in spite of the horrid defense.
POSTGAME: Can I just add, that with the late game also on Sky Sports 1, Sergio Aguero on Atletico is a beast. He’s the real deal.
POSTGAME: Hmmm, crappy defense again, though definitely not as bad as they were against Mallorca. Torres and Cannavaro acquitted themselves of any mistakes they may have made, they were just left alone trying to cover for other people. Cannavaro’s defensive awareness is something we really need to transfer, Matrix-style, into Pepe and Marcelo. The latter two were quite brutal, particularly the young Brazilian leftback who was constantly beaten down his wing by Juanma and needed a second defender to help him out.
POSTGAME: Gago was generally subpar. He found a bit more passing touch in the second half, but really, he’s out of place as a defensive midfielder. It’s not him. Sneijder was just shit. All. Day. Long. Baptista was far more dangerous, coming close a few times whilst on the Levante keeper’s doorstep. You could even say he was unlucky to score.
POSTGAME: Robinho was alright, but he really didn’t do that well to break down the defense. He’s not quite the kind of player that Aguero or Messi are. Still, he did have a glorious chance that was unlucky to hit the post. Raul was his usual industrious self, but still rather quiet. And Ruud… well, what can you say? Always dangerous and given any glint of daylight, he’s more than likely to hit the target. Good match for him.
POSTGAME: Higuain was decent, attempting the cross which drew the handball penalty for Real’s first goal. Guti was again off his A-game… maybe he’s really only motivated by matches against the bigger clubs? Still, he was miles ahead of Sneijder’s quality. And Drenthe didn’t have much time to do anything, but still showed a few glimpses of his pace and dribbling. He may be called upon more often in the second half of the season.
POSTGAME: Anyways, the result is still a positive one for Real, gaining all 3 points. I don’t see how Mijatovic and Calderon don’t see the crisis in defense and not make a move for someone in the winter window, but eh, what do I know?
POSTGAME: Alright, I’m out. Comment away.

Surprise surprise, another shitty performance, another win somehow. Sneijder was terrible yet again, how he starts every game is beyond me. Gago also was poor, but lets be honest, the team was poor. Cannavaro and Torres did the best they could to mop up the shit Marcelo and Pepe were flinging, while Baptista did his best to keep possession when Gago and Sneijder gave it away. And Ruud and Raul were industrious with what little ball they saw, Robinho again under performing.

That being said, somehow we won, we hit the post twice and had the ball cleared off the line numerous times. So Levante were getting lucky, but they will be relegated and probably should, they were as poor as we were, if not worse. I dont know what Schuster is doing/isnt doing, because after a morale boosting win against Barca, we have been flat and retarded since the winter break.

Levante – Real Madrid 0-2
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So will we win against Mallorca and keep the treble alive? I cant see any evidence of that happening, because even when we play our starting 11 we still sucked. We have not lost at home yet this season, so that bodes well for us, but we need to pick up the level of play, and here is how we do it.

1. Goodbye Sneijder, out of the lineup and not on the bench, I dont want to see him near the Bernabeu for a few weeks, maybe Wesley will pull his head out of his ass and start playing like a man, not a scarred little girl.

2. Stop buying pussys who get injured every other game. Robben and Heinze come to mind. Heinze is not the reason our defense looked bad the past two matches, its a combination of Pepe playing poorly and Sergio Ramos looking out of play in the center against Mallorca, while Michel Salgado was crappy on the right and Marcelo crappy on the left against Levante. Lets buy smart, namely Ezeqiual Garay to replace Canna, and possibly another player to be named later, because with Pepe and Heinze so frail, we need 4 centre backs.

3. Schuster could use the odd youth team player when injuries/suspensions/drops in form occur. Youth team players will give their all and have nothing to loose, they could show they deserve in the first team or that they need to be sold. Either way, it will give the more established player something to think about when his place is lost t a 19 year old.

4. Lets get more width. Guti has not hit the heights recently, and I already said Sneijder licks the taint, so why not spread the right more. Torres is not an extremely offensive right back, so sticking a wide man in front of him isnt a gamble. But wait, Robben is hurt, Balboa would have been great but now he is hurt and Drenthe is to left sided. Again, oversight in the transfer market, but Nieto of Castilla is worth a mention there. Sergio Ramos will be back for Mallorca, presumably on the right, so Schuster will use him to do all the attacking, which I dont agree with, so that will go on deaf ears as well.

5. Wheres the motivational speeches, the fiery talk to the press, the possible dropping of out of form players? Schuster is to gentle for his own good, grow a pair and make some moves Bernadine!

None of that will happen, what Schuster’s tactical approach is still seems a mystery to me, but somehow he wins, we traded a Capello for a German Capello so far. And who cares about all this family bullshit. I dont care about family atmospheres, I want a strong unified team that plays well, not a family. As for Mallorca, Im sick of putting the same team on here for you, its no fun for me. Im sick of wrapping up shit games and trying to make them sound interesting to. Lets see a real match against Mallorca! Have to stay positive folks, we are still alive in all competitions.

Here is what Schuster had to say about the match:

“I’d like to congratulate Levante. They are in the last spot in the table and are going through a tough time, but they fought their hardest. They gave us a lot of trouble, but we managed to win three points which will help us a lot down the road. Luck also plays a part, and fortunately it was on our side tonight.”
“I am pleased with the victory and the way it was achieved. We have to know how to suffer, even if we’re a big-name team. I would like to play better, but it’s just complicated in some matches. There are a lot of games and players get tired. We lost several players and have very few men available to play. That said, I still think we can stay on track.”

“I usually speak to the players during halftime. We discussed the fact that we couldn’t complete the final pass. We just couldn’t finish. Levante did a great job in defense and we had to improve a lot in the second half. We stuck it into a higher gear and the match tipped in our favour.”

“I liked Gago’s performance because he worked hard. He narrowed a lot of running lanes and I think he’s going to continue improving. It’s usually where Diarra plays, but [Gago] is going to get playing time in forthcoming matches and he can only get better. Pepe had a small problem during the warmup and I didn’t think he would be able to finish. He’s a true professional and he gave it his all. I just hope it’s nothing to be concernced about because we have a lot of players out and we can’t lose any more.”

“I think the line judge called the penalty. We had to score, and that goal gave us the edge and our team dynamic changed.”

“It’s only normal for a team to be a little relaxed after the Christmas break. It’s hard to go from 0 to 100 in an instant. We’re going to take things slowly, but were obtaining results. I won’t have to tell my players anything next week, just like I didn’t before Barcelona, but these are the most complicated matches.”

“A miracle is always possible for Levante. The League is very competitive and the differences aren’t that great. It’s important to win a match if you’re to gain momentum. I don’t think Levante are as bad as some other teams.”

How could you like Gago’s performance? Its true the team needs time to get back into things, but the break was not that long, and the performances have been awful. Maybe I am being to harsh, we will have to wait and see until Wednesday. Pepe and Canna both have slight knocks so lets hope they can recover for Mallorca, otherwise I will have a proper preview up tomorrow. Adios.

You can also check me out at http://france.theoffside.com/ where I took up the job of covering Ligue 1.