We Lost to Them?

By: Corey | March 23rd, 2008

So we lost again, this time to Valencia. I didnt watch the match, its Easter give me a break. I was playin ball with my room mate before we cooked a rather delicious ham dinner and had a few beers watching the tourney. Memphis all the way. So I am just gonna copy and paste a bunch of match related items here for your viewing pleasure, comments will be much appreciated.

Match Report (from espnsoccernet.com):

MATCH SUMMARY:
REAL MADRID: Casillas; Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Marcelo; Robinho (Higuaín, 77’), Gago, Guti, Sneijder, Baptista (Robben, 62’) and Raúl.
VALENCIA: Hildebrand; Miguel, Albiol, Marchena (Iván Helguera, 32’)y Canería; Maduro, Banega (Baraja, 64’), Silva, Arizmendi, Mata (Morientes, 64’) and Villa.
GOALS:
0-1. Min. 35. Villa
1-1. Min. 36. Raúl
2-1. Min. 55. Raúl
2-2. Min. 67. Villa
2-3. Min. 88. Arizmendi
REFEREE: Carlos Clos Gómez. Booked Marchena (19’), Pepe (83’), Cannavaro (83’), and Marcelo (90’).
NOTES: Matchday 29 of La Liga played at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The points looked set to be shared following braces from Madrid captain Raul and Valencia striker David Villa until Arizmendi struck in the 88th minute to stun the home side.

Madrid’s lead at the summit is now down to four points following Barcelona’s win over Real Valladolid, while Valencia fans can breath a little easier after seeing their side drop to within four points of the drop zone prior to this weekend’s matches.

Fresh from their Copa del Rey semi-final success over Barcelona this week, Valencia looked much the livelier early on with Villa enjoying plenty of possession down the left.

However, it was Madrid who had the first decent effort of the encounter when Wesley Sneijder’s low shot forced Timo Hildebrand into a diving stop.

After a slow start, the match began to come alive and Julio Baptista brought another diving save out of Hildebrand before a 25-yard Villa effort was tipped round the post by Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Villa was to have more success with his next attempt in the 34th minute though as he gave Valencia the lead.

Madrid lost possession just outside their own area and David Silva took advantage by threading a pass through for Villa, who coolly slotted past Spain team-mate Casillas for the opening goal of the game.

Valencia’s lead lasted just a minute though before Madrid drew level through Raul.

Robinho sent in a cross from the left and Raul was on hand six yards out to head in his 14th league goal of the season.

Robinho himself really should have given Madrid a half-time lead but he contrived to head wide at the far post after racing onto a Baptista cross.

Like in the first half, Madrid looked out-of-sorts at the start of the second period, but they still managed to go ahead with their first chance thanks to Raul. Baptista and Guti both showed good determination to keep possession before the latter played a clever pass into Raul, who took one touch before guiding a low shot into the corner of the net.

That goal seemed to spark Madrid into life and Sneijder and Guti both drew saves out of Hildebrand before Sergio Ramos tested the German custodian with a close-range header.

But just as Madrid looked to be in total control, Valencia were awarded a penalty against the run of play when Silva was sent crashing by Fabio Cannavaro.

The Madrid players protested against the decision, but they went unheeded and Villa stepped up to comfortably slot home from the spot.

That goal set up a frantic last 15 minutes as both teams, for whom a three-point haul was equally vital but for different reasons, went in search of a winner.

Title-chasing Madrid looked the more likely scorers with Robinho seeing a shot parried by Hildebrand before Sneijder had an effort cleared off the line.

Valencia briefly threatened through Villa before Hildebrand produced a brilliant double save to deny Sneijder and substitute Gonzalo Higuain, who will be wondering just how he failed to score.

Higuain then hit the near post from a tight angle after rounding Hildebrand as Madrid laid siege to the Valencia goal.

There looked to be a goal coming, but no-one would have predicted it would come for Valencia, which is exactly what happened.

Arizmendi picked up possession in acres of space down the right, skipped past Cannavaro before sliding a low shot past Casillas from near the touchline, with the Spain goalkeeper seemingly anticipating a cross.

Madrid almost equalised in injury-time but Hildebrand was again his side’s hero with a finger-tip save to deny Raul his hat-trick and leave the hosts empty-handed.

Post Match Reactions:

Raul:

We had the game in the bag. We had plenty of chances and even turned it around, but up 2-1 we didn’t know how to control the game. We had chances to score the third, but they equalised and eventually took the three points.”

“We’re still in a good situation and we’re going to continue working. We’ve already started thinking about next Sunday’s match so that we at least maintain our lead.”

“It’s a poor result, but we’re going to keep on working hard. I think there were several things the team did well. We had a lot of chances, more so than recent matches, but we did make mistakes that cost us two goals. That’s what we have to work on.”

“Valencia scored three goals, but our intention was to give it all we had. The team fought hard, played good football, and created enough chances to take the lead, but football is like that sometimes. We didn’t finish when we had to and we were aware of the danger Valencia presented. They took advantage of their chances.”

“We had chances to score the third when it was 2-2, but Arizmendi made a great play and they won. That’s just how it goes. I think we could have won, but just the opposite happened.”

“There are many rivals and neither Barcelona nor Villarreal have been discarded. We have to keep fighting. There are nine matches left and every one from here on out is a final. The moment of truth is here. Other teams creep up if you lose because not all three of us can lose on the same day.”

“We’re eager to get back to work and to try to maintain our lead.”

Pepe:

“This match was decided by a small detail. We failed in that respect and that’s where we have to improve. We have to continue battling because there is still a lot of league to be played. We cannot give up.”
“I am sad because we lost at home in front of our fans; in front of our fans who filled the stadium today. We also lost after making a comeback, which makes us even more upset.”

“I don’t like to speak about the officiating. There were enough reasons for us to come out as winners. We have to keep our heads held high and continue working. It wasn’t a penalty in my opinion, but that’s what the referee is for and we have to accept what he says.”

“The coach also thought we played well. Next week we have another chance to win in front of our fans, but we have to pay attention to the details in order to come out on top.”

“We’re not losing steam. We played well today but just weren’t able to win.”

“Of course we have to keep an eye on Villarreal, but we’re still four points ahead of second and we have to keep on battling to maintain the lead.”

Higuaín:
“We knew how important it was not to lose, but there are still many matches to play and we still have a four-point lead. We have to work hard to ensure that what took place today doesn’t repeat itself.”

“Hilderbrand was incredible. I think it was one of the best matches of his career. I congratulate him, but today we deserved to score more goals.”

“We have to forget about this match and think about the next. There are nine finals remaining and we have to win them all. We’re in first place and we want to end this way.”

“I ask that the fans continue supporting just as they have been and that they believe that we’re going to do whatever it takes next Sunday against Sevilla. We’re already thinking about the next game, but in a calm and collected fashion.”

Bernadine:

How do you feel after seeing the team play so well and lose?
It means there are a lot of ways to win and a lot of ways to lose. Today was much harder to accept, but it’s just how football goes. This defeat wasn’t necessary, but we have to move on.

It looked like what most upset you was the way you conceded the goals.Lately we’ve really been paying the price for mistakes. I didn’t like anything at all about the third goal. I had warned my players. We were too naive to think about them and only cared about scoring our third. I told them we needed to maintain the draw and not risk it because we could be left with nothing. That was the turning point. We shouldn’t have risked it.

Madrid have lost five matches and drawn five in the second half of the season. Would you call this a crisis?
There is definitely a difference in terms of points compared to the first half. This was a defeat, that’s it. It’s a moment in time and a situation that we risked too much and paid the price.

What’s the reason for pulling Robinho when he was creating the best plays?
I thought Robinho wasn’t performing as well as expected, but it’s true that he did create the best play of the match before the change. I believed we needed some fresh legs and speed. That’s what Robben gave us. It was a good time for him to come in.

Koeman:

“As we’ve noted all season, when you feel the knife you must react and only those of quality can react. Now we’ve done this, and we must continue.”

The Valencia coach deemed his side worthy winers at the Bernabeu, despite their hosts enjoying more of the chances.

“We deserved the victory because we played a great match, working hard against a great team capable of putting us in danger – as in the second half – but we fought for victory from the first minute nonetheless,” he said.

“In the second half we played better, doing very well on the counter, and overcame the fatigue of the other day with confidence. We caught them out and got the goal that we deserved.”

And an announcement:

Bernd Schuster has scheduled a training session on Monday at 11:00 CET at Real Madrid City on the heels of his team’s defeat against Valencia. Those players called up by their national teams will not be on hand.

So we lost to a crappy goal, let two more soft ones in and generally didnt look like we could even contain a pub league team. My one comment is on the eve of Raul yet again being excluded from the Spain setup, he scores two more goals. Without Ruud as his partner. It seems ridiculous that he could be left out even though he is the second top scorer, and highest scorer Spanish scorer right now. Smooth Aragones.

Some Related Real Madrid Posts:

Category: Team News

« Liveblog: Real Madrid v Valencia | Home | The Coach or The Players? »

Evo

Agreed - he's a good player - maybe oneday great. But I doubt him as a full on striker - he could be getting 10 goals a season if he was playing more regularly - I think he can do that, but more? probably not.
Corey

I agree with you John, I want to like him but its tough because as Steve said, he needs to start putting away his glorious chances. He has to score in order to be played as a forward, and he also needs to get a haircut, jeesh thats ugly.
john

Steve, you know how sometimes you just really WANT to like a player? I think that's my deal with Higuain. After his last second wunder-goals last season, I was seriously thinking to myself, man, if he keeps that up my next jersey will bear the number 20. I suppose I'm glad I waited.

Still, even being at the right spot at the right time is an accomplishment for our boys this second half of the season. So while he could have done better, he still was at least positioning himself well. Anyways, Hong Kong, huh? Hope you're living it up!
Steve

Hi folks, posting from Hong Kong here, so take this comment with a pinch of salt (ok, maybe a tablespoon or more), but for all the praise of Higuain's two chances that were stopped on the goal line, surely there must be some who feel like he really should've put those away?

I think he's a good young player, but his nose for goal is sorely lacking. I think it was the first one, his header, that really should've gone in, if only he had given the ball just a bit more of a touch to the side.

The second chance was a result of good movement, being in the right place at the right time, but come on, you HAVE to start putting the ball in the back of the net if you want to play as a forward.
Evo

A comment on the game.....it's been said, but...
It really does seem to be that when we play well, we lose; and when we play badly, we win.
And I thought we played well. Cana's dodgy tackle was an awful mistake though, and Robinho doesn't look like he's fit or something is wrong. But as has been said Guti was great, I thought Higuain looked strong (despite looking as though he'd stuck his head up a horses a$$ - what was with the hair style?!)
Another general comment I have is that I think the fitness of the team has slipped a bit since last season. Remember that we were lethal in the last 20 minutes of every game last season? Doesn't seem to be the same this season.
I wonder if the training policy has changed under new management? Certainly this would be consistent with Capello's reputation as a task master.
If only we could take the good things from every coach and leave out the bad ;)

To the Valencia supporter 'Cesar': I'm not sure what bad experiences you have had with RM fans, and I apologise on their behalf. May I suggest that you accept this apology, but please do not add fuel to the fire and create more bad feelings? I for one think Valencia are a great team and have been very unhappy about the problems at the club. I'm glad to see they are returning to the form I expect from a big team like them. I also don't think RM fans have very much to feel arogant about, we have suffered from a terrible lack continuity and inconsistency for years now.

Finally: Corey, keep up the good work, I'm still reading. Don't waste time worrying about people who are more interested in the art of blogging than they are in football and RM is my advice.
Corey

I didnt expect so much debate on this topic and not the game, but fair play it is. Joe and Ryan foremost put it perfectly in context, my thought process here is I didnt watch the game, and therefore I dont have a respectable opinion of the going ons of the match. So either I let the blog be unattended to because I didnt watch the match or I collect some stuff from various sources and copy and paste it together in order to give people something to look at and an area that can be used to discuss the game, not just the contents of the post.

I choose to put something up and not let readers have no area to express themselves about the match. If you missed the match, then I think I covered it pretty well with stuff I found on the internet, its a one-stop spot for a recap. I put my two cents in Mac, I made a comment on Rauls form. But what Ryan said is exaclty how I feel. You know so little about what is going on behind the scenes for bloggers that if we have no time to put a post up you get on our case for it. If you wanted to know, I am actually working pretty hard on bringing more team bloggers for La Liga to the site as well as starting a main content driven page for La Liga on the site like Serie A and Ligue 1.

I also write for the Ligue 1 page, where I am putting together a mega post with contribution from all the France team bloggers which eats up considerable time. But I dont like to parade around saying I am so busy with my 19 credit semester or my two jobs or my social life, I do what I can for those that like reading this site, or atleast commenting here and talking to other Real fans from all over the world. While my opinion within the articles I write is what the site is based on, my writing is nothing without comments from insightful readers, its why I even bother writing at all, to see what you guys have to say. But sometimes I cant write, but the comments are still important, so I put this up. While I am in no way proud of a copy and paste type post, I dont credit it as my own work, and I certainly do not do it every time, so criticizing me for it unneeded and unappreciated. Thank you everyone for your support, regularly scheduled blogging will continue tomorrow.
elisa

Sheesh people give it a break or sign up to blog and put your money where your mouth is. Sometimes your on and sometimes you're not.
Joe

I run a blog too.. so I can guess I can relate to the fact that sometimes it's either amass some stuff and update with *something*... or letting the blog just sit in grim silence.

Point conceded, man.
Ryan Knapp

I defend Corey though. If you don't run a blog, people really don't know that it does take time to do. Each article I do takes me at least 45 minutes-1 hr to do so that I don't sound like an asshole when I write.

And I know that Corey puts way more into that based on the insight he posts.

Again, we don't get paid to do this, but when I want to post but don't have time, I try to compile something like Corey did so that people can at least have a place to leave a comment or two.

We have lives, we have girlfriends (some are more allowing than others, thank god mine actually likes that I blog), we have school (I know Corey does and I'm doing a ph.d).

The last thing we want to do is leave the blog in a eerie calm, so sometimes we post other articles. Corey says that they aren't his, so who cares. Instead of me trolling around to find the articles he puts them here for you to read in one spot.

Seriously, if you want to complain, then you run your own place.
john

The internet is crawling with people that want to prove they're right and point out other people's flaws (myself included). That said, there's a box up at the top of your browser that contains a URL. If you don't like what you're reading, I suggest you do your typing up there. Try goal.com, perhaps. Or maybe http://www.hodu.com/complainer... would be a better choice.

And on to other matters. Corey, since you didn't get a chance to watch the game, let me assure you that Real played a fantastic match. Guti was special, taking chances and creating space (he was even back-tracking to take on defensive duties!), Raul was back in form (obviously) Sneijder was all over the pitch and two of Higuain's efforts had to be cleared off the line. Honestly, if it weren't for Hildebrand's fantastic saves (13 total saves, no small number) Madrid would have netted at least 4.

Cannavaro definitely had a putzy day, responsible for 2 goals (including the penalty), and there were a couple other incidents where Valencia caught us off guard (with our 'little white panties down' according to Ray Hudson) with lightning fast counters and made our defense look pourous and fumbly. But in all, a solid match.

It's a shame that the game we deserved to win was a loss (possesion and shots on target don't tell the whole story, but seriously, that's a pretty hefty margin), as opposed to all the games we've won that people say we deserved to lose.
Mac

Look, it's not a matter of whether we have a "right to complain," what I'm saying is that I don't think copy-pasting an entire article from another site helps anyone. Blogs are about expressing your views, no?, so I'd say a quick two sentences from Corey would be better than a string of text from another site.

It's a reccomendation on how to make the blog a little better, by no means an attack on Corey or his blog. Otherwise, the work he puts into the Real Madrid blog (plus Steve) *is* definitely appreciated by us readers :)

Yeesh.
mike

corey is a blogger. doing it for fun. unless hes getting paid to write stop complaining. why don't one of u guys contribute something of substance. retards.
Mac

"we are here to talk about football"

That's the point... the blogger's not doing much talking.
Corey

I am going to say this once and once only:

You do not have to read this page if you do not want to, no one is holding a gun to your head and there is plenty of content on the internet about Real Madrid that you dont have to read my page. As I have always said, if you have nothing nice to say, dont say it at all.

And when I say at the very beginning of this post I am going to "copy and paste a bunch of match related items here for your viewing pleasure" does that not tip you off to what the post will contain? Please leave your smug and arrogant comments off the page, we are here to talk about football, not my "shallow personal analysis" or "I am bringing the Offside into disrepute".

That is all.
Cesar

Ya, you lost to US!
AMUNT VALENCIA!!!
I like Madrid but sometimes you guys get too satisfied and proud of yourselves, for no reason whatsoever ... it's more satisfying to beat you when you act that way ...
Mac

Nothing wrong with taking a break, even on big games, but too often has this blog seen just copy/pasted stuff when a personally written analysis, however shallow, would be better.
Corey

yeah I take Easter off because I am a blogger, not a professional journalist and I have a life, you should get one.
areallaticfromthesouth

You are seriously having a laugh. You claim to be a Real Madrid fan and you take Easter OFF cook ham sink a beer or two and watch something American.

Not only that you 'nick' stuff from people who are actually working. Talk about bringing 'The Offside' into disrepute!!!!