Real 2-0 Racing Santander

By: Corey | September 22nd, 2008

Real continued its league campaing this weekend with a solid 2-0 victory at the Sardinero against Racing Santander on Sunday. We saw some flexibility in the tactics of Schuster today, as well as a better passing performance from the team and a stronger will to win. All in all, I would say it was a great game, and I was pleased with how Real played, given Santander were such a dedicated rival.

Lineups

Racing de Santander
Toño
Pinillos
César Navas
Marcano
Christian
Lacen
sub Luccin 58′
Valera
sub Tchité 69′
Colsa
Serrano
sub Jorge Gonçalves 79′
Jonathan Pereira
Juanjo

Real Madrid
Casillas
Sergio Ramos
Pepe
Cannavaro
Heinze
Diarra
De la Red Goal 55′
Guti
sub Van der Vaart 46′
Van Nistelrooy Goal 75′
Higuaín
sub Saviola 86′
Raúl
sub Robben 70′

First Half:

We started with a 3 man midfield of Diarra, Guti and De la Red and a three pronged attack with Raul and Higuain playing a little shallow with Ruud up top. Santander were very motivated for the match and pressed us hard throughout the first half, with the result being some tidy passing from Real but not much by way of clear chances. Santander showed their intent when Colsa fired in a shot in the 4th minute that was off a corner, but to no avail. The first ten minutes were pretty cagey, with some sloppy play resulting from the tight defensive net Santander employed.

Higuain would break loose with some neat footwork at the endline and race into the box, but his low cross was grabbed by Tono with the onrushing Raul foiled. In the 18th minute, a Guti free kick squirted out to De la Red at the the top of the box and he hit a curling shot that Tono did very well to keep out of the bottom right corner. Casillas did well to save shots by Jonathan and Oscar Serrano before De la Red had a shot go slightly off Colsa’s head and over the bar for a corner.

Then disaster, as Guti looked to defend a Santander player, seemed to come down awkwardly on his right leg. He has a right calf injury, although after watching replays I still dont see what happen, as their was no contact, but he was in some pain when he was stretchered off. Further tests are being run today, but I expect him to be out for some considerable time, which is a real blow. Sneijder will be back soon, but we still need Guti. Van de Vaart came on for Guti right before half time, and he now had the burden of linking play with the three forwards.

UPDATE: Guti will be out for two weeks with a muscle straing on his right leg, most likely his calf. 15 days is the prognosis for recovery, so he will miss the next 4 matches.

Second Half

After what to many media outlets have dubbed a “workman like” performance in the first half that was “indifferent’ and “lacking inspiration”, Real came out in the second with an eye on the three points. Considering that El Sardinero is one of the toughest places in Europe to take points from, and Santander have improved considerably over the past two seasons as a football team seems to have no bearing on the pundits jibes of Real not playing well.

Eight minutes into the second half, Santander were awarded a corner that Real dealed with rather sloppily, but somehow Gonzalo broke out wide right with the ball. He had two Santander players closing him down but he pushed the ball past one man and broke away with a great turn of pace. He was off to the races now, as he advanced on Tono. He was again almost closed down before he slide a ball across the box to the on rushing De la Red who had one clumsey touch that put the ball in a bad spot, but Ruben was able to slot it home with a flick of his boot. A stunning goal, I went nuts as my boy scored yet again for us!

After the goal, we pulled Santander out of their shell a bit, as Tchite and Luccin were brought on to provide more thrust to the attack. There was more movement in the midfield, and attacks began to prove more decisive. In the 69th minutes Tchite was just off target with a headed attempt. Soon after though Ruud was released down the left by Van de Vaart. Ruud brought the ball into the box, before he dangled a bit then fired striker that beat Tono at his near post. The game was firmly in Madrid’s hands now, and despite a 15 minutes on rush from Santander, they never had the quality to truely put one past Casillas.

A Tchite header was cleared off the line by Van de Vaart, who smartly stuck to his post duties, while a scramble in the box saw a Santander player block a goal bound effort. De la Red had a shot over the bar, while Colsa could not convert a free kick oppurtunity. The game was over, and three points were in the bag.

Racing de Santander – Real Madrid (0-2)
Uploaded by ComedLov

Here is some post match reactions:

Ruud:

“Racing played well, but we did too. Today we saw the Madrid we all want to see. It was a difficult match and the victory should boost out confidence. We must stay on track.”

“The team was very solid in defense and took advantage of the opportunities it was given. Our strength in the first third and the team’s mentality proved crucial. Our chances improve when we play like we did.”

“It is true that we played two poor matches, but we are improving. We did our job tonight, but it’s time to think about Wednesday.”

“The fact that we played well is what I’ll take from this match. This is Real Madrid. We saw it with nine men against Valencia, and then two poor matches. Today we saw the Madrid we want.”

“We know that the score isn’t all that counts. We aren’t leaving completely satisfied. We know we must improve and where. It is still September.”

De la Red:
“I am pleased with the goal and the effort. Today we saw that anyone on this team can play. The goal came off a great play by Gonzalo Higuaín, who provided the perfect assist.”

“Racing put on the pressure, but we came out strong on all lines. It’s expected that we continue improving, so I am sure we will continue playing better as we have more matches under our belts. Every match is important when you wear the Real Madrid shirt and you have to win them all, which is why we don’t care who our opponent is.”

“Coming in in the second half is always harder than just playing 15 minutes when there is already a certain rhythm that you must adjust to.”

“We have to play serious football in order to win each match.”

Higuaín:
“I am happy we won and important and difficult match. The three points are all that count and we managed to take them. The first goal was finished off nicely by De la Red and gave us the lead. Van Nistelrooy’s calmed the match down and we managed to win an important game.”

“We have important matches on the horizon, so we must continue doing what we are doing and winning.”

“I am very happy because I have started all three matches this season, which means I must be doing a good job.”

Bernadine:

“We did much better today. We improved without being in possession of the ball, which is even more significant on this pitch. We knew the key was to scored first, and we did.”

“It was just like last year. Real Madrid worked hard in every match. We weren’t going to lose or draw because of a lack of effort. We can still improve and continue searching for that final pass, but this is the side of Real Madrid I like to see.”

“The injury to Guti is unfortunate. We already have to injured players in that position, Gago and Sneijder, so I hope it is not severe and that he can return soon.”

“This was a big win with the matches we have coming up.”

“We are going back to Madrid with an important victory in hand and we play Sporting on Wednesday. This team will improve, which is why we work day after day. What I really look for is attitude, effort, and work ethic on the pitch. I can’t ask for more from my players.”

“Raúl did his job. Of course I would like to play him closer to goal, but on the road, when I have Van Nistelrooy and Higuaín, he still needs to help us. It would be different at home, but because we are on the road against this opponent, he needs to play further back.”

Short review because I need to move on to the preview of the midweek match against Sporting. The matches are coming thick and fast now!