Real Madrid 3-1 Sporting Gijon

Real Madrid took charge of the top of the table as they defeated a good Sporting Gijón side 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu. Sporting took the lead through Barral in the second half but Real came back strong through goals from Rafael van der Vaart, Xabi Alonso and Gonzalo Higuaín to snatch the three points.

Manuel Pellegrini made only one change to the side from last week’s win at Valladolid. Ezequiel Garay came in for Albiol in the center of defense with the rest of the line up remaining the same. The game started well as in the eighth minute a Xabi Alonso long ball was controlled by Marcelo on the left flank who took a few touches before moving into box and crossing only for Higuain to make a bad miss from the resulting header. The game was dominated by marginal offside decisions by the assistant referees but as far as the two sides were concerned Real were clearly on top. Cristiano Ronaldo was as electric as ever and Real started creating several chances. It felt as though a goal was just around the corner.

Esteban Granero, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín were all involved in all our attacks as Granero shot wide after a good build up involving the other two while CR9 drew a fine save from Juan Pablo who was fantastic throughout the match. Higuaín failed to test the keeper after he controlled a long ball from midfield exceptionally well. Towards the end of the first half Real started maintaining a high defense line and just before the referee blew the half-time whistle Pipita’s stinging shot was denied by yet another good save from Sporting’s custodian. Despite the added time of one minute the score remained 0-0 at half time.

Pellegrini made one change for the second half as Guti came in for Lass. Within a minute (the 52nd) both Granero and Ronaldo shot extremely poorly from just outside Sporting’s box and Real were made to pay for it. David Barral was put through with the ball on the right wing and was allowed to dribble into the box. He made full use of the space and smacked the ball into the roof of the net over Iker Casillas to give Gijon a surprise lead. When people thought the goal would silence the spectators the crowd got behind the team and made as much noise as possible giving the Bernabéu an Anfield feel.

And the team duly responded. We were back level pegging within a couple of minutes. Would you believe it? And the man behind the recovery was yet again Rafael van der Vaart. Granero won a free kick from around 30 yards out. Ronaldo unleashed the tomahawk which Juan Pablo could only scupper for the rebound to fall to Van der Vaart who finished aplomb for his fourth league goal of the campaign.

When we thought the match was on things only got better as Marcelo released a wonderful shot that was pushed away to safety by Juan Pablo. From the resulting corner, Granero found Ronaldo who rose high above every single player in the box, headed the ball off target only to be diverted in by Xabi Alonso from close range. It was his first goal from open play for Real. And the Bernabéu erupted.

The match picked up some speed and was mostly end to end stuff. Real, though, were still dominating the game. In the sixty-sixth minute Diego Castro was given space by Arbeloa to get into the box and test Iker Casillas who had to make a good save to keep the ball away from our goal. A quality player though would have buried it. It wasn’t the first error that the Spaniard made on the night and it wasn’t to be the last. Couple of minutes later, Arbeloa gave too much space again to the same player but recovered well enough to stop Castro from releasing their striker who was charging in on goal.

And from the resulting counter-attack Van der Vaart played a quick pass to Higuaín on the right wing and Pipa made a diagonal run into the center of the field with the ball and shot from just outside the box with his left foot to comprehensively beat Juan Pablo and seal the game for us. It was his 20th league goal of the season and is now just two goals behind current Pichichi Leo Messi.

Pellegrini almost immediately brought in Fernando Gago in for Granero. With Diarra injured, Lass substituted, it was the Argentine’s turn to shine. Manolo Preciado brought in Kike Mateo for De las Cuevas, replaced Carmelo with Luis Morán and made his final substitution when Bilic came in for Barral. Real too brought on Raúl for Van der Vaart.

The game returned to its normal pace but Real could have gone further ahead if not for Marcelo who shot awkwardly high after a good move involving Ronaldo, Higuaín and Raúl. In the seventy-seventh minute,  Sergio Ramos’ blunder was made amends for by Iker and Garay cleared the ball to safety. A miscued clearance/pass saw Sporting take possession but as always Iker Casillas was there to halt their attack.

On the other end of the pitch a beautiful cross from Marcelo was headed well on target by Raúl beautifully despite being under pressure. Juan Pablo was to their rescue again. A few minutes later some good work from Arbeloa saw him set up Higuaín just outside the box for a shot but the Argentine miscued it and the ball went high and handsome. Real switched to the defensive mode strictly resticting themselves to counter attacks. Six minutes from time Guti teed up Ronaldo for a sweet volley from a few yards outside the ‘D’. The Portuguese ace did well to just miss the target.

Two minutes were added on but it wasn’t enough for Real to get another goal nor for Sporting to make a comeback. Never had a team taken as many as 68 points in 27 games in La Liga as Real went three ahead of Barça in the league standings even though the Catalans have a match in hand – a Sunday night game at Zaragoza. Lionel Messi who has been taking them on his puny shoulders for the past few weeks is a major doubt for the game and that gives a chance to stay ahead. Let us hope and pray for the best.

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March 21, 2010 | Categories: Match Reports, Spanish Primera División | Tags: David Barral, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Gonzalo Higuaín, Rafael van der Vaart, Sporting Gijón, Xabi Alonso | Leave A Comment »