Real Madrid vs RCD Mallorca Review

By: Jordan | August 29th, 2010

Mallorca_-_Real_Madrid

Well to say the final result of this game was disappointing would be a little bit of an understatement. A nil-nil draw to the islanders at the Ono Estadi will raise a few eyebrows, but before we start to critically look at the game, let’s look at the match facts first.

Match Stats (all courtesy of Soccernet.com)

Mallorca//Real Madrid
Shots (on Goal) 7(2)//16(5)
Fouls 16//15
Corner Kicks 1//4
Offsides 5//9
Time of Possession 36%//64%
Yellow Cards 2//2
Red Cards 0 //0
Saves 5//2

Mallorca
13 Dudu Aouate (G)
5 Ruben Gonzalez (CD-L)
16 Nunes (CD-R)
19 Jose Luis Marti (DM)
17 Ayoze (LB)
22 Pablo Cendros Lopez (RB)
20 Jonathan De Guzman (AM)
11 Gonzalo Castro (LM)
8 Emilio Nsue (RM)
26 Sergi Enrich (CF-L)
18 Víctor Casadesús (CF-R)
Mallorca Substitutes
23 Enrique Corrales
9 Pierre Webo
10 Fernando Cavenaghi
21 Martí Crespí
1 German Lux
28 Tomás Pina
7 Pereira
Mallorca Substitutions
Fernando Cavenaghi for Sergi Enrich (45)
Pereira for Víctor Casadesús (61)
Tomás Pina for Gonzalo Castro (72)
Mallorca Yellow Cards
Sergi Enrich (34)
Pablo Cendros Lopez (87)

Real Madrid
1 Iker Casillas (G)
4 Sergio Ramos (CD-L)
2 Ricardo Carvalho (CD-R)
12 Marcelo (LB)
16 Álvaro Arbeloa (RB)
14 Xabi Alonso (LM)
10 Lass Diarra (RM)
20 Gonzalo Higauín (F)
16 Sergio Canales Madrazo (RCF)
7 Cristiano Ronaldo (AM-L)
22 Ángel Di María (AM-R)
Real Madrid Substitutes
25 Jerzy Dudek
9 Karim Benzema
19 Mesut Özil
24 Sami Khedira
21 Pedro León
11 Esteban Granero
27 Mateos
Real Madrid Substitutions
Mesut Özil for Ángel Di María (59)
Karim Benzema for Sergio Canales Madrazo (59)
Sami Khedira for Álvaro Arbeloa (70)
Real Madrid Yellow Cards
Xábi Alonso (17)
Cristiano Ronaldo (88)

(Note: I won’t be giving players arbitrary grades for the match as such a grading system usually sparks unnecessary arguments)

Mallorca_-_Real_Madrid1

RCD Mallorca went with a 4-4-2 diamond with two at the top. As Corey alluded to in his preview post (found here), Mallorca, at least on paper, looked like a team Los Blancos ought to have steamrolled. However, after a thrilling season last year and immediately falling on very hard financial times prior to this season (times that included an expulsion from UEFA’s Europa League), Mallorca appeared to be a team with a chip on their collective shoulder with something to prove to the Spanish Primera, and boy did they in Week One. Their diamond shape was very fluid, expanding and collapsing as needed, and seemed to really take a lot of pressure of their back four. Now I’m not sure whether or not it was Mourinho’s instruction or the diamond’s effectiveness, but Arbeloa and Marcelo (both attack-minded backs) never seemed to get totally involved until the late game when Madrid attempted an all in strategy.

Mallorca’s play also seemed a bit brutish at times, but again was very effective. At the end of the match, there were 31 total fouls (16 committed by Mallorca), which really stifled play for a good chunk of the match and really, in my opinion, kept Madrid from getting a creative flow really going. Even when Pipita was able to link up with the mids and got things moving forward, Mallorca was quick to close him down and harass him, not allowing Gonzo to get off any clean strikes at Aouate (although I believe the ref missed a few calls here, but more on that later). The Israeli ‘keeper Dudu Aouate put in another outstanding performance against The Whites. I’m not sure if Mallorca has been fending off interests from other teams or what, but Aouate really seems to be a top class ‘keeper. He’s got great size and mobility as well as zero fear when it comes to charging out to cut off a scoring opportunity (he received quite the blow from Gonzo in the first half to keep him off the scoresheet).

Mourinho opted to go with a 4-2-3-1 with Lass and Xabi holding back with Ronaldo, Canales, and Di María going left to right behind Higuaín (with Ronaldo and Di María switching around a little). Not really any surprises here as we know Mourinho likes to have two mids to play in front of the back four, much like he did at Inter. What is a little interesting is that he decided to go with Lass instead of Khedira from the start. Mourinho has made it clear that a player’s stature will play no parts in who gets named in the starting XI (ruh-roh Kaka’), which I believe will be beneficial to the squad as everyone will need to continually put in their best efforts during mid-week training sessions in order to prove their worth and get onto the pitch come the weekend. Now on the other side of this coin is that players can start to generate feelings of jealously/hate toward one another when they begin to feel their efforts are not adequately rewarded. I myself have been playing on sports teams since I could basically walk and I for one can tell you that when a player doesn’t get the playing time he/she thinks they deserve, they can become very problematic. However, winning games does seem to alleviate most of these problems.

Getting onto the game itself, Higuaín almost netted in the ninth minute when Ronaldo slotted a pass inside the box, but was forced to try to round a charging Aouate. The angle proved to be too tight to get a decent shot on net and Pipita was forced to attempt a cross that was thwarted by the Mallorca defense. Ronaldo soon after had a nice step-over moved coming in from the left moving towards the middle and unleashed a cracking shot, but was unable to get his foot around the outside of the ball to create a curling ball to swing around Aouate. Instead, his foot struck the ball centrally and gave the ball a nice dipping trajectory, but proved to be too wide. Canales had a, dare I say it, Guti-esque pass to Higauín at the twenty-four minute mark that had Higauín through on goal, however, Gonzo appeared to get his legs tangled with Rubén that put him off balance enough to keep him from cleanly getting onto the ball to turn it on net. Aouate came charging out again and got his body on the ball, however, the stumbling Gonzalo accidentally planted his kneed right smack on the Israeli’s forehead. A bandage was needed to stop the bleeding and Aouate stayed in the match. Mallorca, for the most part, stayed back and was unable to really get into an offensive groove as a frustrated Madrid side seemed to chop down and forward progress made by Mallorca. Big, aggressive play really doesn’t seem to be Madrid’s forte, especially in recent years, and I think the in your face pressure and fouling from Mallorca really got into the head’s of the Whites. There were times when Ramos seemed to be pushing and shoulder barging midway through the first half that could have easily been penalized and deemed cynical by the ref. I really think Mou is going to have to work really hard to keep these superstars from getting too flustered by teams that play a rough and tumble game like Mallorca did today.

Mourinho chose to stick with his starting lineup in the second half, but it appeared that the players got a little pep-talk at the break. Maybe its fatigue or just plain frustration, but it seemed to me that by the end of the first half the players didn’t seem to have much bounce in their step. The start of the second half saw Ronaldo trying to do more as he flashed down the left flank and attempted a low cross into the box but it was cut out again. Ronaldo did get a chance at a free kick from about 30 yards out at the 55 minute mark, but the bouncing attempted was chested away by Aouate, who at this point looked unbeatable.

The 58th minute saw Benzema and Özil come on for Canales and Di María. Di María didn’t seem to contribute hardly anything to this one, which I think will really put some pressure on the kid with a true winger like Pedro León waiting anxiously in the wings. The 62nd minute saw Higauín get in on goal again from a nicely slotted pass from I believe Ramos (correct me if I’m wrong), but was hung up by a Mallorcan arm and another charging effort from Aouate.

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I wanted to break shortly here and bring up a point that was mentioned by GolTV announcer Phil Schoen. Normally I want to stab Phil in the trachea for the majority of asinine things that come out of his mouth and his general lack of enthusiasm and charisma on the mic (although Ray Hudson may have enough for both of them), but today I have to agree with him. Phil pointed out that there was contact on all of Pipita’s runs in on goal (and a massive amount of holding in the box on corners), however, because Gonzo opted to stand tall and attempt to put the ball in the net there were no fouls given and no cards flashed. Now I ask you, how many times have we seen strikers go down at the slightest bit of contact only to be rewarded a free kick in a good position as well as a carded opponent? Many claim, and I’m sure many readers here would agree, that they want diving to be out of the game, but if referees refuse to reward players for getting into good positions against defenders and trying to play on with the game instead of going for the flop, diving will remain a prevalent smudge on the beautiful game. I think today’s referee (David Fernández Borbalán) played Gonzalo an advantage on his second half run, but really there was no advantage to be had as Aouate had already taken it away. It’s a fine line, I know, but I really think steps need to be taken to fix this problem in football today.

Beyond this Madrid’s only real solid attempts at netting the go head came in the 84 minute when Gonzo was again slotted in by Ronaldo just inside the box with just Aouate to beat, but pinged the ball off the ‘keepers left shin and a slightly later a Khedira header that sailed over the bar due to Aouate’s flying suppress attack. Özil and Khedira worked very hard late in the game, but no real solid attempts on goal. Benzema seemed to be really lackluster for the most part, which is quite disappointing as it does not seem we will be getting another frontman (although that can easily change) during this window and will be stuck with him backing up Pipita. I think it’s a real shame that Benzema was put higher on the totem pole than Raul, as he just seems to really lack any confidence and panache out there. The few times he manages to get on the ball, he tries to do too much and ends up dribbling into a defender from a strangely wide position. I think a real nail in the proverbial coffin was his late duffed effort with his left that Aouate caught with the greatest of ease. Both Ray and Phil seemed to think Benzema’s appearance today was some sort of test for the boy, and let me tell you, he failed it pretty miserably. They even hinted at the possibility of him possibly moving away, but that is something I really doubt.

If I had to pick a man of the match, I would have to give it to Dudu Aouate. The guy is a stud and is tough as nails. Big, agile, fearless. All qualities you want in a ‘keeper. He managed to thwart five shots and was just a menace to Higauín the entire match. Now if I had to pick on things that need to be improved from the Real point of view, I would have to say we really need to get a stable creative player in the center of the pitch to create more chances and get Pipita a steadier supply of chances. I would also like to see some more dedicated wing play from the likes of Ronaldo and León. We know Ronaldo is going to want to drift to the middle, but if we have him and Di María out there at the same time, it really seems to clog up the middle too much and really cut down any wing play as they both want to get into the middle and create chances for themselves. That’s fine if they score goals every game, but obviously that didn’t work out today. Then again, it is about as early in the season you can get, and Mou is still trying to get the team running on all cylinders. It’s going to take time guys, unfortunately. It’s a long season and while this might be a setback and may have even warranted a few tears, I really don’t think Mourinho and his squad are going to go down without a fight.

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In closing, this was a lackluster performance and really put a damper on the start of the season. Especially looking back to how tight last year’s race was, I really hate think about dropping points so early in the campaign. A point drop now just means Los Clasicos will be that much more important. Let’s hope Marca and AS cut the guys a little bit of slack.

~Jordan
Hala Madrid

Some Related Real Madrid Posts:

Category: Game Recap, Team News

« Real Madrid vs. RCD Mallorca Match Comments Thread | Home | Why Ronaldo Being Injured Is A Blessing In Disguise. »

Ramses

Guys, correct me if i'm wrong, but i think we got gradually worse over preseason. I felt like we were playing better and scoring more in our first couple games than in the last couple. Would you guys agree?
Paddy

Benzema too injured? wow, the need to be a third striker!
SlickR

Give the team a chance, its only the first game with so many new players and a new coach.
Also where is Van der Vaart? I think he should play instead of Canales, since he has got a ton more experience and has great vision, at least until the likes of Oezil and Canales adopt to R. Madrid.
Also there needs to be a more creative defensive midfield playing at the place of diara.
WorstPosterOnRMFB

so its official the footy gods hate us , how many freaking injuries have we sustained this season ? Crazy ! and the last time we lost CR for " 3 weeks " he didnt get fit until a month and a half later
meanwhile our rival hardly ever get any serious injuries , think we are gonna need to spy on their physios and steal their work method
hazrd c

Maybe it's not their physios that are doing the good work, rather that RM's opponents seem to favour Cristiano whenever he's got the ball. Went back and rewatched the first half and it was basically a body slam here, a scissor-kick tackle there. CR was grimacing starting from the 6/7 minute mark onwards. I'd love to see how Barcelona fare at Mallorca later on in the season - maybe they'll take out Messi?
DyDy

i think higuain is playin with a chip on his shoulder always tryin to prove he can do great thins thats why he was so selfish like when Aouate played the ball and he should have passed it back to benzema but elected to take an unbalanced shot or when he tried to dribble pass a third defender instead of slotting the ball on the wings to ronaldo,, i know strikers are greedy in nature but c'mon pipa u should know better,,that starter thing is getting into his head,,Mou needs to bench him so that he can wake up, let benzema play a full game, we always criticizing his cameo appearances maybe he needs to more than just 30 mns to show his lyon self
DyDy

I wanna see barca do without messi and xavi for 3 weeks
Paddy

our problem is with our medical team. Any little thing is considered an injury for which players have to spend weeks in recuperating for. Xavi suffered an achilles problem on sunday but is still on for the national team. The rate at which our players are sidelined for any mere knocks is too much. that is why we can build a team. Barca have a team because their coach always have the entire squad available for training. It is time Mou introduce what he used to do at inter to Madrid. Players cannot be sidelined for any mere injury ( remember the case of Snijder in the second leg game against barca?). The future we are protecting is now!
9-2 last 3 clasicos

prolly beat the whites 4-1 instead of 6-2 lol
Zizou

Some of the comments have raised some good points, with Ronaldo out, i'd like to see us play with possession players like Granero, Canales, and play at a slower game to see how that works, i think we'll dominate games more.
Zizou

Jordan you wrote this up fast. Nice effort.
Caracoleo

Higuain has always been slow to find his form at the start of the season. Its typical of him to get take a few weeks to get warmed up. But the criticisms of his selfish play are still valid though.

De Maria is left footed and no one is going to teach him how to use his right foot now. He's going to have to learn to compensate with the outside of his left boot. Pedro Leon is right footed, and thats the advantage he has, but Pedro Leon is alarmingly slow for a winger. Thats the concern I have about him.
Guest

Oh great, just found out Cristiano's out for at least three weeks.
Stoni

@ Jordan I liked the piece. hate to out a damper on our new Madrid but I was bored: I saw an efficient uninspiring team play out to a draw with only Lass showing enthusiasm (and maybe Ozil): I guess we fall back on our usual repertoire of excuses: it's a new team, we have a new coach, the league is long, we will fight to the end, Mourinho needs time, Barcelona have been together longer blah blah blah but last season we lost the league by losing points where we should have picked them. Awful start: i guess we always have next year: eat your heart out Specialjames
Corey

Ronaldo is out for three weeks. Misses the Osasuna home game and the Ajax game. Oh well.

Looks like with all of the injuries, and not giving Garay a squad number, we will only have to sell one player, probably Drenthe, although I have a feeling Diarra will be pushed out also. VDV can stay though, which is excellent.
Zizou

I heard Lass is injured too?, So that would be, Lass, Ronaldo, Garay, Albiol and Pepe Already! good job we have a bigger squad than Barca because we'd be in serious trouble already.
hazrd c

I'm just worried about the remaining players psychological mentality, because seeing team mates come and go that frequently can't be that good a thing. Survivor's syndrome? All these injuries are a headache, it's like an average injured player each game. I hope VDV can stay too, but nothing is really certain/a given at RM (even if he survives the summer, there's always the winter transfer - I just don't understand why he's getting the finger point with any hint of a transfer rumour) :(
Paddy

Ronaldo will be out for 2-3 weeks
123halamadrid

From what I'm hearing ,VDV is being pushed towards Bayern Munich and yes by Mr. Valdano again..I mean that would effectively be an early suicidal move as far as the champions league is concerned cuz I've said it time again that none of these players that play in that position in our roster have enough champions league experience except him and Kaka of course..
KICK VALDANO OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Muhammad

So all the leagues have commenced - what would a power ranking for Europe look like right now:

1) Chelsea
2) Barca
3)Inter
4)Bayern
5)Man U
6)Milan/Arsenal/Valencia?

Where are we right now in the stepping order and can we really take the fact that we will progress from our CL group for granted? I have a feeling that come January that we will be firing on all cylinders but during this early phase where the players and coach are still trying to formulate and find the perfect structure and plan for us can we confidently claim that we would beat Milan, Auxerre or Ajax?

And why do we find ourselves in this unenviable position of always starting afresh each season? New coach..new players...?
Kaushik

I would put in Atletico in the mix as well, considering they should win tonight fairly comfortably and that they have completely outplayed Inter. And I surely think we belong in the no 6 category that you've mentioned. And there is just enough to see off CL group stages in without really getting into 5th gear. What I dont know though, is whether we will finish top, if we don't, we can be sure that the round of 16 curse may not leave us
evo

Thought Lass looked good - did his job better than anyone else outfield. Don't understand why he was moved to right back though, strange substitution, I would normally expect less disruption and keep your right back on
Corey

I think he did well in the defensive midfield role also. He still fouls far to frequently, but other than that not bad. If Mou can get him to concentrate on winning the ball and nothing more, he should improve. Pelle gave him to much confidence out there.
evo

OK I know this might piss a few people off, but I thought Canales slowed the play down and made us a lot less direct. Sure he's good to watch and has a fantastic touch. But I think he messes around on the ball too much for my liking. He cuts back to consider the killer pass and lets defenders get back into position, when actually the simple ball or a burst of forward speed is what was needed. With someone like Ronaldo on the pitch who is all about speed and strength it has to be faster.
Also he likes to get stuck in, which is good; but he will need to watch wayward tackles - looks like he could concede free kicks to me.

Based on that I preferred Ozils style of play.

Not a final judgement, just an impression
Corey

Isnt this the problem people have with Granero also? I have to say, while you might be correct in your assessment of Canales, you must remember that slowing the play down is essentially a Spanish trait. So get used to it I suppose.
evo

Never noticed it with Granero myself.
You might be right about getting used to it, but i don't think that's the style of play Mourinho wants - do you?
I mean it strikes me that if you have someone like Ronaldo or Di Maria then you'll want to make use of him to the max, this means Casillas throwing the ball out very fast and catching an opponent on the break.
big_gregorio

All you guys have good points. pedro leon should start instead of di maria, so that we would have more width and not rely on cr7 so much. di maria should be our 1st substutue when things go wrong, but not a starter. also lass instead of khedira was not sth I expected. he is really useless offensively and we did need offensive options yesterday. as bassam said, the third change was cowardly.
hope the points we lost will not be the points we miss to get the title. gran derbi will be crucial anyways, I just hope we don't get too far behind until then.
Paddy

I learnt christiano is injured. I hope he stays home for a long time. He is selfish and distracts the play of others. It is because of him that we lost. So Sel........fish!
big_gregorio

but we didnt lose...
hazrd c

heh. it probably doesn't matter to Padmore whether we actually lost or not - his/her essential point being that cristiano just plain sucks.
Paddy

Thanks, ronaldo really sucks. He likes to overdo things which distracts our play. Drawing a game in madrid is a lost to me.
Hugo L

im impressed we came out with the 4-3-3,, im sure mourinho was just giving the guys that been in the club the oppurtunity to show then let the fresher faces earn there spots,, easily or hardly... but yah in the second half we started to utilize more the 4-4-2, where we would have the box midfield...i thought we would have implemented that from the begginning since we have a surplus of attacking midfielders...the box midfield will be our best option in the future, especially with a versetialle players like cr7 who could be a deadly left striker with higuian as a right striker and two attackin midfielders with atleast ozil being one and VDV/Canales/kaka battling for the other and then the bottom to of the box xabi alonso and khedira.

Also ramos is too much of a liability in the middle i just dont see the discipline and maturity, he should stay as a permanent RB, he is just so wild and he is a good at RB to be switching him to cb at times, we should give a youth academy centreback some time...

as for higuain missing,, yah he tends to do that a lot, especially the easy ones(champions league last year against lyons ;( grr....) that piss me off thats why i always tend to hold back before i say, i think higuain is a good striker but when he is making them.. he sure is making them...what higuain needs is some competition... cause higuian can compete and he is the type of player that if u put him next to a average striker,, he would just be himself,, but if u put him to compete with a world class striker,,, he would surely hell compete and maybe even beat the world class striker...hence how he just stomped on benzema last season haha

di maria...i say this everytime about him...he needs to learn how to use his freaking right foot shit..u can be in a world class team with one foot...one foot = half a player...he is going to sit the bench and be a waste this whole season, unless he magically develops his right foot and im just being frank no pun intended...plus i also see him as a little young to be expected to perform for how much money we bought him for...he needs to mature as a player..

canales..sorry to say and i know all the canales nuthuggers are going to hate me but,,, he isnt starting XI worthy right now especially in an unstable team we have right now... he should just wait it out a month or two until the team is settled and then come in and work his magic and then make it to the top cause he has it in him thats for sure..he is a great player and i remember watching him last season before anyone knew him and say wow this kids got potential.. but we need to have a stable team so he can grow to his potential

feel free to comment on whatever i said hate it or love it id like feedback ;) haha thanks
Real_7

HUgo, i agree with all your comment but i have to disagree on De Maria, it is clearly that he is a left sided player, so why we play him on the right?? it is good to have guys who can play on both wings but doesn't Mourinho know that he will kill De maria by forcing him to play on a position that clearly he doesn't seem to digest.
on Canales i agree that we need to integrate him slowly to the team, he got a lot of potential so lets develop that slowly,and we have to play either VDV(if we don't sell him) or Ozel, he has more experience than Canales.
Hugo L

thanks and yah di maria he is a left sided player i agree on you with that, i think mourinho played him on the right so he can be like a robben where he goes down the wing and then cuts in the pitch instead of crossing but it didnt work out and i dont think it would. but what i was saying is in general di maria doesnt use his right foot, not to pass, recieve the ball, control, shoot,, and he isnt going to be effective until he develops his right foot is what i was saying, left flank or right flank, anywhere on the pitch,, simple things like being able to use both feet that make quality players from mediocre players and i think that is the factor that is going to keep di maria on the bench and hurt his career in general
adwivedi

I think that some of our players ... benzema,di maria, higuain, lass, arbeloa, marcelo are not strong on the ball they lose possession far to easily....

The other main reason was ramos playing at CB we had no pressure from the flanks.. arbeloa and marcelo just could'nt contribute in attack.

And lass is just plain stupid.. kicking legs....
Real Madridista

on ramos playing CB that is because there is no option on that. Pepe, Albio and Garay are both injured Mateos is still very young to start the first game of the season. Lass was the player that really irritate me. he runs a lot escorting opposing team. his tackles not well planned.
Muhammad

It was not a good performance last night but this is part of the growing pains when you have new players and a brand new coach. That is why Barca has been consistent - stability amongst the players and the coach. So to compare us to them is unfair and it's our own fault that we find ourselves in this position. It will take time to gel and become a team so until that happens we will have to be patient and unfortunately we will have some "dodgy" results now and then.

The players tried hard last night but we are obviously not on par with the Barca's, Chelsea's or Man U's of this world. Mallorca is a sad team and in reality would be dispatched with ease by teams like Barca etc. I think last night was a good result in that both Mourinho and the player now understand and realise that we have a lot of work to do and hopefully it will force the player and coaching staff to work harder in practice so that we improve on the field.

Some observations:

1) Ronaldo is very selfish at times and there were times during the game where he should have passed rather then take a shot himself. At times it felt as if he wanted to win the game on his own rather then set up his teammates?
2) Higuain was piss poor but I guess he must still get into his rhythm.
3) Carvallho was superb defensivelty and he will add value and some steel to our team.
4) we had no midfield in the 1st half - there was no "xavi/Iniesta/Lampard" to set up play or to take control of the midfield. Canales is good and is one for the future but he right now is not good enough.
5) La Liga is such a 2 team league that is sad that some fans are already panicking after one game - Real dropping 2 points is Like dropping 8 points in England or Italy. Inter, Juve, Man u can lose 5-6 games and still win the league because their leagues are competitive and the top teams can be beaten on any given day - by us in Spain it looks like Barca could go unbeaten!> WTF? LOL
DyDy

Its a two team race in spain, and in england as well,,its always either MAn. U or chelsea we all know arsenal is the best of the rest like valencia or atletico..valencia won it a couple years back just like arsenal did when they had their big guns but we all know they havent won anything siince 2005 the EPL "competitiveness" is overrated as for italy its Inter against itself so they Can lose 5,6 games and still win it cuz theres no other contenter...Germany is probably the league where the teams look more equal
WorstPosterOnRMFB

Great write up Jordan you summed the game up well
when i first watched the game i thought that we were horrible especially in the first half i saw very few positives to take from the game but then again i was very emotional when i was watching it
i decided to watch it again tonight we didnt play nearly as bad as i first thought , in the second half that is ,we were still bad in the first half dont think thats gonna change no matter how many times i watch it
anyways we were all over Mallorca in the second half and if not for Aouate plus CR and Pipita not having their shooting boots on we would have won ,
and contrary to what many said i believe that everyone played well cept Di Maria in the second half he just wasnt himself today and yes by everyone i mean Ronaldo and Higuain as well sure they didnt score but they did about everything else
Benz although not at his best made us dangerous he played CR in a one on one situation with Aouate had the latter done better there by better i mean square the damn ball to higuain we'd be praising the frenchman now he also played in a great low cross that higuain nearly scored on , IMO we should NOT give up on Benz just yet he is a very talented player
but the players who impressed me the most today are Ozil , Khedira , Carvalho and Canales a bit
the team has promise it is shame that theyll be gone 2 whole weeks on International breaks
Real Madridista

yeah i was also impressed by ozil. Alonso distribution was very good as well.
Jordan

tell me about it I feel like the international break is just gonna make Spanish media stew and brew over this for far too long
Paddy

I wonder whom they are going to crucify this time. Last year all our loses were attributed to the poor work of pellegrini. i hope they can do the same to Mou. The bad boy of course has to be Christiano.
WorstPosterOnRMFB

indeed
Bassam

I did watch the game, but no time for the long extensive review. Jordan here is going to cover that job for me until i finish with my mcats in a months time. So big thanks from me to Jordan for the help.

As for the game, i think the display was really bad. Especially the 1st half. Our first half plan was to give Ronaldo the ball so far away with 5 players around him and see if he can dribble past them. Our only creative source was Canales with some well crafted through balls. He does need to mature though and know when to attempt the hard pass, but that comes with experience not sitting on the bench.

Mourinho really amazed me this game. A lot of wrong decisions. In preseason, and although Andres will disagree, Leon was better than Di Maria. Leon is also a player used to the league. Why not start him or even play him?

With a team that seems to be lacking quality in the midfield, why not swamp the middle? why not play Ozil and Canales from the start! Another problem i had was the third substitution! Last minutes of the game, the other team not attacking, you are in full control, you don't take out a Dm and put another one instead! You put a winger instead or an attacking midfielder. Both VDV and Leon would have been better third substitutes.

A more positive note from Mourinho was the fact that he played Arbeloa at right back and not lass, and that he made his subs early.

Benz. blah. Double blah

Just to be clear, Higuain and Ronaldo both sucked. If you want to convince yourself that ronaldo played well, then you are just as ignorant as the person saying Higuain played well. They both wasted chances, Higuain needs to work on his first touch, Ronaldo needs to work on passing and not shooting.

A positive from the above two? Higuain is the player with the best off the ball movement, hence the chances that come his way. Ronaldo, when he decides to pass, can be our most lethal weapon.

Alonso had an off game. That is when you know things are going badly.

Ozil added a little passing touch to our game. Would like to see him with Canales on the field.

Higuain didn't dive. Good for him.

Carvalho was a rock at the back. Great last ditch tackle.

Di Maria. barely saw him.

Thats all from me. What Jordan wrote was more than enough, but i didn't want you guys to miss me soo much. And for those who want to trash my rating of players, that will be back soon, i promise.

For now, lets remind Mourinho, in La Liga, you can't afford to draw. Barca are that good.
Paddy

of course you can see Di maria when you have the greedy and selfish person like CR80 on the pitch
Kaushik

nice review jordan and bassam as well. i feel the same way about leon not getting to play. i think di maria was pretty invisible. and the worst player of the game was benzema. what is he thinking!! the team needs more gelling. ozil looked good, wanna see him start next time around with leon and ronaldo as the 3 behind higuain. oh and the international break sucks
WorstPosterOnRMFB

Bassam lol yea i dont agree but i woudlnt have minded seeing Leon start i rate him highly as well

and regarding Higuain and Ronaldo i dont agree that they didnt play well , sure they didnt score but they did about everything else but i understand why you said that though it took me watching the game twice to see how everyone was doing
Jordan

man I agree so much about Leon being better than Di Maria, I just like the fact the boy likes to send in the crosses and staying wide than trying to be a Ronaldo clone
Meri

Well written!
about when both CR7 and Di Maria are on the pitch: Di Maria must be played on the left and CR7 on the right and when we want to use Leon, CR7 on the left and Leon on the right.
Khedira played well and I think we'd better use him instead of Lass, and although Canales made some good passes I think it's too early to have him as a starter, maybe we can use him as a sub for VDV or Ozil which are more experienced.