Sporting Gijon Delusions; Alcorcon Intrigue

By: Corey | October 25th, 2009

This Picture Sums It Up. No Where To Go.

It was a real slog with an in form team that showed up to frustrate their opponent and look for any small opening for a chance on goal. Real were not to adventurous either, with an awkwardly executed formation that demonstrated the squad’s lack of width and creativity from the coach. The first half was miserable, but the second half had some promise that a blunt Real Madrid never really delivered on. Looking back on the match, it is hard for me to remember anything memorable to discuss. It was a very average performance and one of those games that if you won, you took the points home and moved on. If you lost, you rued an efficient defensive performance and the role injuries have had on your attack. But a draw, which was fair on Sporting, conveys that neither team really did much for the win (or it was a hell of a game, with a lack of finishing).

And that is precisely what it was. Sporting meant well I suppose, but they never brought to much danger on the Real Madrid goal. They tormented Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo with some quick and skilled players, but as far as shots on goal or chances, it was pretty dormant. The stats dont lie:

Two shots on goal for Sporting, five for Real. 67-33 in possession for Real, but they did very little with it. I am not trying to sound negative, because many of the players showed a good spirit in a rain soaked game, but there was not much to get excited about in this game. It was a forgettable match from Pellegrini and co, and unfortunately the dropped two points were seized upon by Barcelona, who destroyed Zaragoza in the late game on Sunday.

Lineups

Sporting de Gijón
Juan Pablo
Botía
Canella
Lora
Gregory
Míchel
Rivera
Diego Castro
Luis Morán
sub Iván Hernández 81′
De las Cuevas
sub Carmelo 75′
David Barral
sub Bilic 63′

Real Madrid
Casillas
Sergio Ramos
Pepe
Marcelo
Garay
sub Albiol 65′
Diarra
Granero
Kaká
Xabi Alonso
sub Van der Vaart 77′
Drenthe
sub Guti H. 59′
Raúl

My disappointment with the result compounds a tough week for Real Madrid. A loss to Milan at the Bernabeu was never a great omen for this match, but without some margin for error, Real needed a result here and they could not get it done.

Im not sure what you would expect from this match when you only had one fit center forward. This is not to make excuses for poor performances or missed opportunities due to the personnel drain on the squad. But the huge outlay by Florentino this summer should have prevented such a problem from happening, but no one can ever predict when injuries will plague you the most. And it seems that we are having a rough time with them yet again this season. So far there has been no long term injuries (except for De la Red), but we have been shorn of Ruud Van Nistelrooy for most of the season, as well as Christoph Metzelder at the back.

Untimely injuries to Xabi Alonso, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Arbeloa, Fernando Gago and Guti only tells half the tale, as recent niggles to Higuain and Benzema, along with the slow recovery Sergio Ramos had from his off season injury has meant that we have yet to see an ideal starting eleven one could say.

To further compound these woes, both Pepe and Garay sustained injuries during the Sporting match, as did Xabi Alonso but he does not appear to be in any serious pain. Antonio Adan, Real Madrid third choice keeper also is currently injured, although his absence does not have a great impact on the first team as the rest that were mentioned.

Here are the match highlights:

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I do not want to sound negative, because thats not what we fans should be. It just was not there this weekend. A long list of injuries was never going to help things, but I think this match underlined the quality of La Liga. Every match is a tough one, and Real Madrid know there is a target on their back whenever they walk in to another teams stadium. We should not treat this game like a loss, because thats not what it was. It was a depleted lineup with some players short of form that got a point on the road. Lets accept it and move on to the next match.

Alcorcon is our opponent in the Copa del Rey this midweek. The game is Tuesday at 5pm eastern time, and will only be available through streaming websites. I will miss the match, as midweek games are no longer doable for me unfortunately. Its a shame to, because it would be nice to watch Real trout around the local Alcorcon pitch in front of a few thousand excited fans. Thats the beauty of the early rounds of the Copa. The chance for some young players to get a chance is also one of the reasons many people still see the Copa as worth tuning in to, but considering how bad a week it has been, anything other then a win will keep the pressure off of Pellegrini. Justified or not, their is pressure on him from the press, and he will be looking for a convincing performance against the third division side to get his team back on track and keep his collar from getting any warmer.

I lament the external pressures that Real Madrid is associated with because these type of games should be testing grounds for the young players, but instead we will get 90 minutes from some of the squad players, the same players who could do little to win against Sporting only a few days earlier. Drenthe, Gago, Garay and Dudek will all most likely feature, and I do not forsee any Castilla players making the match. Which to me is a travesty, especially since the Castilla players have encountered Alcorcon before this season, as they are both in the same group. Maybe we will see how big Pellegrini’s bravado is if he does call up a group of mostly youth team players, and its what I would like to see. Not to discredit the opponent, but this match has come at the right time to shake up the team with some young players.

The less than stellar performances of established names like Xabi Alonso, Kaka, and Sergio Ramos need to know their role in the team is not guaranteed, and although a loss of their place against a third division team might not be the shot in the ass you would want it to be, good performances from players like Tebar, Javi Hernandez, Marcos Alonso or Acuna could lead to them pushing the established names a little harder in training, a little harder in the less glamorous league games. Give the dice a role Pellergini. The week can not get much worse then this….