Maybe Florentino Pérez might start to appreciate Gonzalo Higuaín now.

The man that Pérez wanted to offload since he returned for his second stint as Real president sits in the stands because he is recovering from surgery that repaired a herniated lumbar disc in his back, and José Mourinho has not developed a successful system to cope with this loss.  The natural deputy for Higuaín is Karim Benzema, the talented and young French international who came with his own expectations when Real splashed a cool €35 million in the summer of 2009, but he has failed to impress since arriving at the Bernabéu.

This injury was so severe for Higuaín that he was an unused substitute in Real’s most important match of the season to this point against FC Barcelona, and Barça drubbed los blancos 5-0.  Benzema, thrown unexpectedly into the Camp Nou cauldron because of Higuaín’s absence, predictably let the moment get to him and became largely ineffective against the Catalans.  To be fair, the whole squad had run out of any plausible ideas against Barça, but setting aside El Clásico, Benzema, in essence, was on trial for his future in Madrid from that match forward because Higuaín’s layoff from action extended from a week to a couple weeks to four months when the doctors recommended surgery.

Without looking deeply into the statistics, since Benzema became the starting striker against Barcelona prior to the Mallorca match on Sunday, he had scored six goals in eleven matches in all competitions.  Any top-notch striker strives for a goal ratio of one every two games, and Benzema surpassed that, but those six goals came in two matches: a hat-trick against Auxerre in the final match of the UEFA Champions League group stage, when Real already secured the top spot in the group; and a hat-trick against lowly Levante in the first leg of the Copa del Rey Round of 16, when Real ran rampant on the Valencians with an 8-0 thrashing.

Seven appearances in La Liga accrued zero goals, and in five of those matches, Mourinho substituted him.  The real indication, however, that Mourinho did not trust in Benzema came last round against Almería, when he was not named in the starting eleven, and Cristiano Ronaldo, an attacking midfielder, played as the lone striker up front with Ángel di María, Mesut Özil, and Kaká supporting Ronaldo.  In their next match in midweek against Atlético Madrid, with the tie still alive in the Copa del Rey, Mourinho opted again to place Ronaldo up front and leave Benzema on the bench.

Since Mourinho settled on his optimal starting eleven after the first few weeks of the season to gauge the situation himself with his new club, he hardly made any changes from week to week, so for Mourinho to experiment wildly with his lineup this far into the campaign showed signs of confusion and desperation within the technical staff about the current state of affairs.

Regardless of whatever happens with Real Madrid, calm or stormy, the rumors always fly around them during any January transfer window about whom they are going to sign, and with the Higuaín injury and the Benzema ineffectiveness, the names floated around.  Hugo Almeida, Emmanuel Adebayor, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Miroslav Klose, Didier Drogba, and now Roman Pavlyuchenko.  The players would never admit to this, but the dissent apparent among Mourinho, Pérez, and technical director Jorge Valdano concerning the striker question is indirectly affecting their play on the pitch, and with Barcelona routinely cruising to three, four, and five goal victories, any slip-up is magnified hundred-fold.

Despite the drama enveloping events at the Santiago Bernabéu, they have won every single match at home in all competitions this season, and after their 1-1 debacle at the Estadio Juegos Mediterráneos against Almería, Real needed the comfort of the Bernabéu to assuage their growing concerns.

Unfortunately, they hosted a Mallorca team that earned a share of the points at the Iberostar Stadium against Real in the opening round of the season, and Michael Laudrup’s team had no intention of bowing for their illustrious opponents.  In three matches as manager against the club with whom he used to play, two with Getafe and one with Mallorca, Real had only scored one goal in those three games, and in a famous 0-1 win for Getafe in February 2008, Ikechukwu Uche fired the lone goal immediately after the Real players were celebrating an Arjen Robben goal that was nullified by referee Arturo Daudén Ibáñez because he correctly ruled Raúl offside.  The win for Getafe spoiled Real Madrid perfect home record that season, and Laudrup’s Mallorca wanted to repeat the same feat on Sunday.

Laudrup has a different type of squad with Mallorca than he had with Getafe, and he cannot play the free-flowing, open type of football for long stretches like he did with Getafe.  Pablo Hernández, Ikechukwu Uche, and Manu worked and created seamlessly at Getafe to play as Laudrup wanted, and while Pierre Webó, Gonzalo Castro, Emilio Nsue, etc. are decent attacking players, they are not the type of players that will scare opposing defenses for more than a few occasions in a match.  What he does have at Mallorca is a pair of central defenders that will rival any duo in Spain, Iván Ramis and José Nunes, and a goalkeeper that continues to be underrated and under-appreciated among the Spanish scribes, Dudu Aouate.

Mallorca limited Real to a few scoring chances in their 0-0 draw in August, and when Real bossed the match in the second half and pinned all ten Mallorca players in their own half, Aouate made a multitude of outstanding saves, and Ramis and Nunes closed down and blocked several shots that would have menaced Aouate’s goal.

With Webó’s strike partner Víctor Casadesús out for eight to ten weeks with a thigh injury, both Jonathan de Guzman and Pep Lluís Martí on the sidelines with minor knee injuries, and right back Pau Cendrós suspended, Laudrup could have expected to defend for most of Sunday’s match, similar to the second half of the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

Mourinho tinkered with his lineup again, benching Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira, and Mesut Özil in favor of Fernando Gago, Esteban Granero, and Karim Benzema respectively.  With a Copa del Rey semifinal on Wednesday against Sevilla, Mourinho might have looked to rest a few players against Mallorca, but with Real blundering and bumbling through their last few matches, Mourinho could have easily been sending a message to his squad that no spot is guaranteed.  Without Benzema in the starting eleven for the past two matches, Real struggled to score, so with little choice, Mourinho stuck Benzema back up front.

While los merengues huffed and puffed in the first half, Mallorca’s Emilio Nsue had the best scoring chance of the half in the 13th minute when he shot from the right side of the penalty area across the face of goal toward the left far post and past Iker Casillas, but the post was unkind for Mallorca, pinging the ball away from goal.  Nsue entered into acres of space down the right wing because Marcelo was out of position inside Mallorca’s final third, and Casillas made sure that Marcelo knew that when he confronted Marcelo immediately after Nsue banged the post, displaying the increasingly frayed nerves and tensions among the Real players.

Mourinho admitted to his mistakes when he made two halftime changes, sending in Xabi Alonso and Mesut Özil and taking out Fernando Gago and Kaká.  In his press conference after the match, he stated how the Copa del Rey was a priority and because of that, he made a few changes because, in his words, “We [the coaching staff] have noted the physical and emotional wear and tear of the team at the moment.”

When Webó’s left-footed, pirouette first-time volley forced a stellar save by Casillas early in the second half, and referee Eduardo Iturralde González correctly did not call a handball in the box on Nunes in the 58th minute, it would not have been a stretch to imagine that Michael Laudrup would have done it again to his old team.  In all of this uncertainty, the opening goal went to Real just after the hour mark, and Karim Benzema, of all people, gave Madrid the 1-0 lead.

The build-up play set up Benzema in the box, with Ronaldo setting up Granero, who then played a through ball for Benzema.  Benzema still had plenty of work to do, and after a stepover and a dribble to create a crucial yard of room and to get the ball on his left foot, he rifled it to the left far post and past Aouate for a vital goal not only for this match but for Real’s hope of stealing the La Liga title away from Barcelona.

For the final half-hour, Real pounded Aouate’s box.  Ronaldo had a header that struck the crossbar, he also had a free kick that whizzed by the right far post by the width of a ball, and Benzema had three different chances to seal the victory, none of which he capitalized, reverting back to the Benzema that the Real fans knew.  Mallorca almost had the last laugh in the third minute of stoppage time when Nsue and Webó perfected a two-man game down the right side of the penalty area, leading to a Webó shot that needed the outstretched legs of Casillas to prevent from Mallorca equalizing at the death.

1-0 fulltime, and Real somehow pulled three points out of the Bermellón fire.

Real Madrid cannot stay in this form for too much longer if they want to reclaim La Liga from Barcelona, and while their next eight matches in the league would not worry them too much, save for Espanyol at the Cornellà – El Prat and maybe their match at home against Real Sociedad, it only takes one really poor performance as they had against Almería to squander their chance in La Liga.  They cannot ride the suggestion that Barcelona will drop points even though their world-beating ways must end at some point, and despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s Pichichi-leading twenty-two goals, he is not the answer as the lone striker up top.

There is one full week left in the transfer window, and Real Madrid may well provide the extra striker that Mourinho always wanted since he arrived in Madrid in the summer, but if Jorge Valdano wins Florentino Pérez’s influence over Mourinho, Benzema will be the man to shoulder the responsibility up front.  Speaking about Benzema after the match on the club website, Valdano continued to reiterate his support for Benzema:

“Goals are essential to strikers.  A striker needs confidence and it comes with goals.  He [Benzema] had a good game and scored a goal that allowed us to take three points.  In the past, it was players like Higuaín who had to resolve similar situations as they were heavily scrutinized, and Higuaín has turned out to be a great striker for Real Madrid. We hope the same happens to Benzema.”

While Valdano would definitely back Benzema since he was instrumental in bringing him to the Bernabéu in the summer of 2009, Benzema’s situation is strikingly similar to Higuaín when the Argentinean made his €13 million move from River Plate to Real Madrid in January 2007.  After a hit-and-miss year and a half at the Bernabéu, he banged in the goals at the end of the 2007-08 season to give Real their 31st league title, and Higuaín has never looked back.

Benzema’s goal against Mallorca on Sunday, his first in La Liga since September against Espanyol, could be the watershed moment that he needs to raise his confidence and become the striker that Valdano and Pérez saw with Lyon and the French national team.  Unfortunately, this was also said about his hat-trick against Auxerre and his hat-trick against Levante.

Fueras de Juego

- Valencia and nine-man Málaga’s 4-3 thriller at the Mestalla further ingrained the opinions about each team.  For Valencia, their attack is much more effective when both Roberto Soldado and Aritz Aduriz pair up together, and Valencia’s shaky second-half defense will cost them important points that could determine if they earn a Champions League berth at the end of the season.  For Málaga, their numerous signings this January should keep them from the relegation fight because their attacking talent should carry them through, but their defense continues to leak goals, conceding forty-five, eleven more than the next worst defenses, Almería and Levante.

- Cani did not score another goal from the halfway line, but Villarreal worked hard for their 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad to regain third place from Valencia and maintain a two-point lead over their provincial rivals.  Marco Rubén has been more than a capable deputy for Nilmar, and the jack-of-all-trades midfield work of Borja Valero and Bruno Soriano have returned the Yellow Submarine back to its lofty perch of a top-three Spanish side.

- If Atlético Madrid’s limp performance in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Real Madrid signaled trouble at the Vicente Calderón, their 1-0 defeat at El Molinón against relegation-fighting Sporting Gijón was outright impotent.  The absence of Sergio “Kun” Agüero and Atlético’s corresponding poor showings without him proves the point that he is more valuable to the Atleti at this moment than Diego Forlán, and whereas Marco Rubén has filled in admirably for Nilmar, Diego Costa has not provided that same spark deputizing for Agüero.  Atlético is starting to fall away from the top-five, seven points behind fifth-place Espanyol and ten points away from Valencia for the final Champions League spot, and Quique Sánchez Flores’ may face a sacking sooner than later.  Is that not the situation with every Atlético manager however?

Can Jose Mourinho lead Karim Benzema back into the flock?

With the reinstitution of the Galáctico policy following Florentino Pérez’s return as President of Real Madrid last summer, Pérez wasted no time in the second construction of his universe-beating side.  Lost in the shuffle of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, and Xabi Alonso joining the club, Karim Benzema quietly transferred from Olympique Lyonnais to Real Madrid, if a €35 million transfer can be considered as quiet.

Real stalwart Gonzalo Higuaín and aging team legend and Real all-time goal-scorer Raúl González Blanco stood in the way of Karim Benzema from immediately usurping the starting center forward position in trainer (what managers are called in Spain) Manuel Pellegrini’s system.  After a couple months of shuffling the starting eleven, Pellegrini justifiably relegated Benzema to a role as a super sub, marginalizing Benzema’s impact on the pitch.

Another summer of world-class player signings and a coaching change signaled a dying hope that Benzema would become more of the player that garnered €35 million for Lyon in 2009.  No such luck for Benzema, as José Mourinho opted for his patented 4-2-3-1 with Gonzalo Higuaín as the lone figure up front.  In his only start in La Liga this season against Osasuna, the Real Madrid attack played disjointedly, and Benzema ghosted through his seventy-one minute appearance with little to no impact.

With an important match against Hércules, the giant-killers of La Liga this season, Mourinho saw no reason to change a successful lineup, which meant another seat on the substitute’s bench for Karim Benzema.

If Real Madrid had any inclinations of cruising through their match against Hércules, the Greek demi-god punched them in the mouth early when David Trézéguet tallied the opening goal in the third minute.  David Cortés provided the perfect cross from the right wing, and from just inside the penalty spot, Pepe could not recover to challenge Trézéguet in the air, and Trézéguet lofted his header to the right far post, where Iker Casillas could only watch helplessly as the ball nestled into his net.

Hércules has written this story in volumes this season.  They sauntered into the Camp Nou without any visible signs of nervousness or tension and defeated Barcelona 0-2 on the backing of two Nelson Haedo Valdez strikes.  At home against Sevilla, David Trézéguet notched a brace as they made los nervionenses look lifeless and diffident, ultimately costing Sevilla trainer Antonio Álvarez his job.  On a Monday night, with Villarreal needing a win to sit on top of the mountain in La Liga for the first time in its history, Hércules did not treat their Valencian neighbors with such exaltation as they fought to a 2-2 draw after falling a man down for the majority of the second half.

Ángel di María equalized early in the second half after capitalizing on Hércules goalkeeper Juan Calatayud spillage from Cristiano Ronaldo’s thirty-yard speculative effort, and while Real heaped the pressure on Hércules, they could not fashion the killer chance that would give them the lead.  With fifteen minutes left on the clock, José Mourinho made his first switch of the match, taking out the central defender Pepe and sending in striker Karim Benzema.  While many note Mourinho for his ability to inspire his players and his acumen for defensively organizing his teams on the pitch with the control of an obsessive-compulsive, his adroitness to move the chess pieces around during the match remains understated.

After Benzema posted another poor game against Real Murcia in the Copa del Rey, no one would have been surprised if Benzema fell off Mourinho’s map completely.  Before that Copa del Rey tie on Tuesday, Mourinho sent an ultimatum to his player concerning their Segunda División B hosts:

“If last year’s situation (at Alcorcon) repeats itself, I will cross those who play off my list because they will be dead to me.”

Mourinho invoked the spirit of Don Vito Corleone with that line, but with most of what Mourinho says during press conferences, these statements should be taken with a grain of salt.  After Marcelo and sporting director Jorge Valdano vowed their support for Benzema, Mourinho reiterated his backing for the under-fire Benzema.  At the Friday press conference preceding their Saturday match against Hércules, Mourinho encouraged Benzema while deflecting criticism of his player by taking pot shots at his rivals, a Mourinho specialty:

“The person primarily responsible for his performance is the player himself.  The coach is simply an employee.  He is not playing well, but he is not dead.  We will try to improve him and get him to a level close to his potential.  There are other teams who have other players who have cost a lot of money and have not gotten enough goals.”

This thinly veiled attack on “struggling” FC Barcelona striker David Villa surely had the scribes in the Madrid and Barcelona press in full typing and writing gear, which served Mourinho’s purpose perfectly, as it took the attention away from Benzema and on another topic.

Benzema could not hide behind Mourinho’s words anymore as he sent the French international in to change the match with a quarter of an hour left.

Hiding would be the antonym of what Benzema provided for los blancos, and six minutes after Benzema’s inclusion into the match, Real stunned the crowd in the Estadio José Rico Pérez with the go-ahead goal to make it 1-2.

Marcelo should get credit for most of that goal as his run down the left flank and up the end line, rounding David Cortés on the way with strength not normally associated with the Brazilian fullback, provided the decisive cutback pass for Benzema in the penalty area.  With a striker’s instinct, Benzema’s first-time shot blistered at Calatayud’s goal, forcing Calatayud to parry it away with aplomb due to the velocity of the shot.  Fortunately for Real Madrid, the rebound off Calatayud’s save went straight to Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ronaldo side-footed it into the open net.

With a slim one-goal lead, an insurance goal would put the match away for Real, and in the 86th minute, that situation occurred to give the league-leaders the 1-3 cushion.  Ronaldo provided the through ball for Benzema into space near the endline on the right wing, and Benzema rewarded Ronaldo with a pinpoint cutback pass from the endline, and Ronaldo made no mistake with his first-time effort as he powered it past Calatayud to his right near post.

1-3 fulltime, and no two men were happier with the win than José Mourinho and Karim Benzema.

In Greek mythology, Hercules died after he wore a tunic his wife Deianeira gave him covered in Hydra’s poisonous blood.  Deianeira did not know that the tunic contained the blood because the mischievous centaur Nessus gave the shirt to her, telling her it would bring about the excitement of love to her husband.  Benzema was that blood-soaked tunic, and Mourinho played the part of Deianeira, not knowing that Benzema would ultimately kill Hércules with his striking poison.

While Hércules suffered this Greek tragedy, Karim Benzema became the hero, if only for a day.  Like Odysseus, Benzema is still traveling on his odyssey to find the consistent form that the Madridistas demand and the exorbitant transfer fee expects.

Will a superb fifteen minutes turn around over a year of underwhelming play for club and country?  With a settled starting eleven that shows no signs of breaking down, Benzema will have to prove his worth in substitute appearances in La Liga and the Champions League and spot starts in the Copa del Rey.  When the rumors flew around that Benzema was leaving the Stade de Gerland and Lyon, Benzema did not play up to his capabilities, as Lyon did not win Ligue 1 in 2009 after seven consecutive championships.

As the rumors continue to swirl about his transfer out of Madrid to Manchester United and other European suitors, Benzema will need to provide more efficient performances, as he did in his fifteen-minute stint against Hércules.  When Lyon faded in the 2008-09 season to a distant third place, Benzema was the central figure in Lyon’s attack, and although he scored seventeen goals, second behind André-Pierre Gignac’s twenty-four, Benzema’s personality befits more of a secondary scorer rather than the main man.

Benzema certainly is not the center of focus with Real Madrid with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín delivering the majority of the scoring.  If Benzema keeps his nose to the grindstone and focuses on his football rather than what the writers are saying about him, it might not keep him in Madrid but will make him look much more attractive to other European suitors.  Benzema is likely playing for his next job, and Real Madrid should be excited about that prospect because he will try twice as hard to look good for Manchester United, et al., which means a higher chance of productive performances for Real Madrid and Mourinho’s men.

Fueras de Juego

- Villarreal should feel fortunate to come away from the monsoon in El Molinón with a 1-1 draw after former Villarreal midfielder Sebastián Eguren gave his old team a gift by putting his arms around Carlos Marchena in the penalty area in stoppage time to hand the Yellow Submarine a soft penalty.  Marchena predictably fell to the ground like a sack of flour when he felt a hint of Eguren’s arms around him.  The match could be twisted as a good comeback with a man down after Gonzalo Rodríguez received his second yellow card with fifteen minutes left, but it showed more that Villarreal still has trouble winning away from El Madrigal, and these types of results will prevent them from challenging Barcelona and Real Madrid, unfortunately.

- Espanyol made Deportivo La Coruña look like the “Super Depor” of a decade ago as the Galicians earned their first victory of the season with a 3-0 thumping of Espanyol at El Riazor on Sunday afternoon.  Similar to Villarreal, Espanyol finds it hard to achieve results away from home, but whereas Villarreal’s 2-2-1 away record is decent enough to challenge for a UEFA Champions League spot, Espanyol’s 1-0-4 dreadful away record will prevent los periquitos from earning a top-six spot and a UEFA Europa League berth.  Due to the other results this weekend, Espanyol somehow stayed in fifth position after Jornada 9, but until they can right their woes away from the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, Espanyol will end up with another mid-table finish.

- Although Málaga created eight more scoring chances than Real Sociedad (11 to 3), held 58% of the possession, and had six more shots on target than Real Sociedad (9 to 3), La Liga’s most explosive team on both ends of the pitch lost again at home, this time to Real Sociedad 1-2.  Five losses out of five at La Rosaleda are simply inexcusable for Jesualdo Ferreira’s team as they fall into the relegation zone for the first time this season.  For Real Sociedad, the trio of Antoine Griezmann, Xabi Prieto, and Joseba Llorente are as entertaining an attacking force as any in La Liga, including the Messi-Pedro-Villa threesome at Barcelona, Ronaldo-Higuaín-di María at Real, or Nilmar-Rossi-Cazorla at Villarreal.  Llorente slotted a perfectly weighted through ball for Griezmann, which Griezmann placed into the net for the opening goal, and Xabi Prieto curled a meticulous cross from the left wing that Llorente could not miss.

- In Sevilla’s last two matches in La Liga at the Camp Nou as well as the second leg of the 2010 Supercopa de España in Barcelona, Sevilla lost all those matches 4-0.  Saturday night’s match against Barcelona in the Camp Nou broke that trend.  It was 5-0 in favor of Barcelona.

Oscar Ustari can only stare blankly as Gonzalo Higuaín beats him for a second time.

The fashionable district.  The working-class south.  The established.  The disrespected.  Commerce.  Industry.  A comparison between the two top Madrid clubs.  Getafe just wants to be in the conversation.  They are in the city too, they say.  Real Madrid does not disrespect them because they are not in Real’s radar.  With Atlético Madrid struggling to steer their campaign in the right direction, Getafe CF had a chance to be noticed in the capital against Real Madrid at the eminent and illustrious Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

The recent difficulties for Real Madrid have been well documented.  Outclassed by Sevilla, beaten by AC Milan, mediocre against Sporting Gijón, and embarrassed by Alcorcón.  All told, one win, one draw, and three losses in the last five for Madrid.  It only took until the middle of October for the rumors to start about the future and viability of Manuel Pellegrini at the Bernabéu.  The last event that Pellegrini needed to happen was another slip-up at the hands of their unnoticed cousin from the southern part of the Madrid metropolitan area.

The first half hour of the match saw few chances between the two teams, and the funereal atmosphere within the Santiago Bernabéu did not help in spurring on Real Madrid.  What sparked both the Madridistas and the players occurred in the 28th minute, when Raúl Albiol unjustly received a straight red card.  Apparently, in the eyes of referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz, Albiol prevented Getafe striker Roberto Soldado from a direct goal-scoring opportunity.  Albiol did pull the shirt of Soldado somewhat, but they both went for the ball in the air, leading to inevitable contact.  At worst, Mateu Lahoz should have given a yellow card to Albiol, but this highly controversial call gave Getafe the one-man advantage and more hope that they could upset Real Madrid in their own stadium.

Pedro León’s subsequent free kick could not curl enough as it flew a couple yards wide of the right post, but Getafe neglected to use the extra man to their benefit.  Paradoxically, Real Madrid actually played better with more vim and vigor after the red card and constantly threatened the Getafe goal through halftime.  Kaká and Karim Benzema played a two-man game down the left wing in one attack, with Kaká laying a perfect pull-back from the byline to Benzema, but Benzema’s strongly struck shot stung goalkeeper Oscar Ustari’s hands as he parried it away from goal.  Even though it was a 0-0 score at halftime, Real Madrid seemed more likely to open the scoring, while Getafe played a more conservative game after Albiol’s dismissal.  The whistles rained down from the Madridistas, but they aimed their anger more at the referees as they headed into their dressing room for halftime.

When Gonzalo Higuaín broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute to give Real Madrid the 1-0 lead, the run of play dictated that Real deserved to be ahead.  From the left wing, Marcelo whipped in a cross to Higuaín, who split between two defenders in the air, and after chesting the ball down to create space, it was a simple finish as Ustari had no chance to prevent the inevitable.

Getafe only changed their tactics after Higuaín scored.  After the referee sent off Albiol, Getafe continued to tread water rather than go for the lead.  When the goal transpired, panic seized through Getafe manager Míchel and his team, and they decided to be more gung ho in attack.  This tactic backfired three minutes later, when Lassana Diarra created a turnover in midfield, and there were only two Getafe defenders in their own half.  A two versus two battle between Mario and Cata Díaz and Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín yielded predictable results.  With the defenders on their heels, Benzema slotted a through ball to Higuaín, who took two touches and side-footed his shot across goal and across Oscar Ustari into the back of the net.  2-0 to the home team and assured three points.

Fabio Celestini had a couple of long-distance efforts that forced Iker Casillas into some good saves, but the second goal took the wind out of Getafe’s sails as they played out the final half hour without any significant scoring chances.  In eighth place starting Round 9 of La Liga, Getafe looked to continue their good form against a reeling Real Madrid side.  In particular, Roberto Soldado, Miguel Torres, Dani Parejo, and Adrián González wanted to prove to their former parent club that they should not have given up on them.  All members of the Real Madrid cantera, they disappointed as they failed to appreciably affect and effect the game to their fullest extent.  Especially when Real Madrid was handicapped with one less man, they did not have the gusto that was required to defeat any Real Madrid side.

To their credit, Real Madrid arguably had their most impressive performance of the season.  It was not necessarily due to stellar football, but it was their resolve and grit to take control of a game when they went a man down and seemingly every call went against them.  The 60/40 ratio of possession in Getafe’s favor meant nothing when observing the game; Getafe was ponderous with the ball, while Real were decisive and efficient after the red card.  Real Madrid expected to win this game, and even when they went a man down, they were the slightest of favorites to come out with a result, but Getafe never tilted the scales in their favor when they had the chance, and for that, they should be utterly frustrated with themselves.

In terms of the football played on the pitch, the Sevilla – Real Madrid clash qualified as the best match of the young La Liga season.  Honorable mentions to Athletic Bilbao’s 3-2 victory over Villarreal CF in Round 3 and the pulsating 2-2 draw between Valencia and Atlético Madrid last Saturday night, but this fixture contained everything that a writer and a supporter wanted: back stories prior to the game, vigorous and attacking football, tensions boiling over the players at hand, and incredible stops by both goalkeepers.  All of these elements amalgamated into an ebullient effervescence of magical football.

The story that dominated this game prior to kick-off was the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo due to an ankle injury sustained in Real’s 3-0 victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday.  In Real’s Round 2 match-up with Espanyol, Ronaldo started on the bench and only held a 0-1 lead at Estadi Cornellà-El Prat when he came into the game in the 66th minute and immediately changed the game.  Now that Madrid could not rely on Ronaldo versus a quality side like Sevilla, would Madrid respond positively to their first significant injury crisis of the season?

The first half hour of the match saw Sevilla control the tempo and possession, as they kept Real Madrid on their heels.  Real changed their system slightly with a 4-2-2-2 with Karim Benzema and Raúl up front with Guti and Kaká just behind and Xabi Alonso and Mahmadou Diarra protecting the defensive four, but this change did nothing to prevent Sevilla’s waves of attacks.  Man of the match Jesús Navas ran rampant down the right flank as Marcelo continually abandoned his defensive responsibilities at left back; even when Marcelo stayed disciplined, Navas went through and around him with relative ease.  One of Marcelo’s forays into the offensive third, however, did result in one of Madrid’s best scoring chances in the half when his shot from just outside the penalty box went a couple of feet wide of Andrés Palop’s near post.  The only negatives for Sevilla were that they did not capitalize on their numerous chances and Sébastien Squillaci had to be taken out of the game due to injury.  Fernando Navarro came in for Squillaci, reshaped the defense with Abdoulay Konko moving into the center of defense from right back, Adriano switched flanks and went to right back, and Navarro filled in at left back.

Sevilla broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute, when Jesús Navas headed home the opening goal.  The opportunity started with Diego Perotti cutting into the penalty area from the left flank.  Taking defenders with him, he flicked a back heel into open space down the left wing, where Fernando Navarro ran onto the pass and perfected a pinpoint cross to Navas in the box.  Not known for his heading ability, Navas would not win many standing aerial battles, but the teasing cross by Navarro gave Navas the ability to get a running start and beat a ball-watching Marcelo to give Sevilla the 1-0 lead.

The underlying tension and visible frustrations of Real Madrid came to a head in the 35th minute.  After a foul on Guti, Didier Zokora shouted some nasty words into Guti’s ear, presumably for Guti going down easily.  Guti retaliated by getting into Zokora’s face, and in response, Zokora put his hands onto Guti’s mouth and shoved him away.  Guti and Zokora nearly came to blows, while Diego Perotti involved himself in the mêlée by shoving Guti in the back to stand up for his teammate.  By this time, most of the players tried to sort out exactly what happened and kept each other from worsening the situation.  Zokora, Perotti, and Guti all got yellow cards, but symbolically, Sevilla showed they were not afraid of Real and further buoyed them to attack the Real goal.

Until the third minute of the second half, Sevilla continued to boss the game, but a Pepe equalizing header from a Guti free kick tied the score at 1-1.  In less than thirty seconds, Sevilla went from a potential 2-0 lead and certain victory to a 1-1 dogfight.  In the events immediately preceding the Pepe header, Álvaro Negredo showed his speed for a big man and ran down the right wing near the by-line.  He squared the cross across the six-yard box and Perotti had the simple finish, but somehow, Iker Casillas got across the goal line and stopped a certain goal at the far post.  Casillas was in position at the right goal post to stifle any attempt by Negredo to shoot at the near post, but when Negredo passed the ball across the six-yard box, there was a 99.9% chance that a goalkeeper could not recover and get to the other post in that short of a span.  Casillas got there and stunned Perotti, the team, and the fans; that is why Iker Casillas is in that 0.1% of goalkeepers.

That goal temporarily took the wind out of Sevilla’s sails, and Real Madrid began to take the game to Sevilla for the first time in the match.  Gonzalo Higuaín replaced an ineffective and virtually non-existent Karim Benzema in the 53rd minute and contributed almost immediately with some trenchant runs and a couple of shots at goal.  Sevilla halted the momentum train in the 66th minute when Renato scored to regain the lead at 2-1.  From a short corner, Adriano’s cross picked out an unmarked Renato who headed it towards the left far post for the goal; even the sublime Iker Casillas had no shot this time.

For the rest of the match, they went tit for tat, climaxing on the last movement of play in the fourth minute of stoppage time.  After Casillas saved another shot by Luís Fabiano, he quickly punted the ball, and the ball cushioned on the chest of Higuaín.  He settled it, made a mad dash toward goal, and laid the ball off for Kaká.  Kaká then gave Sergio Ramos a lovely through ball at the right side of the penalty area.  Ramos controlled the pass with one touch and then gave a last second, desperate lash at the ball, but it sailed wide of Palop’s near post.  End-to-end action from kick-off to the final whistle, literally.  A conclusion any less compelling would have taken away from a truly scintillating affair.

There are still thirty-two matches left in the season, and this result could have less importance by the end of the campaign, but that is for the future to tell.  Many will say that Cristiano Ronaldo could have legitimately made the difference in the result for Real Madrid.  That very well may be true, but placing that aside for a moment, for this night, in this context, the match of the season shook the players and the observers to their respective cores and witnessed gripping football at its very essence.

Sevilla’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on Sunday night signaled a change in many people’s minds about La Liga only being a two-horse race this season.  With Real Madrid and FC Barcelona maintaining 100% records through the first five rounds, this talk looked justified, but lurking behind with only one loss was Sevilla.  Disrespected would not be the appropriate description that defined Sevilla’s chances to claim the domestic title, but they were certainly overlooked.  Until they engineered a convincing victory over Barça or Real, they would continue to be the outsiders looking into the palace.  They are outsiders no more.

Photo courtesy of izalldos

Tuesday and Wednesday brought about Match Day 2 in the UEFA Champions League, and the four representatives from Spain had interesting ties that helped shape their respective groups.  On Tuesday, Sevilla FC visited Rangers FC at the Ibrox Stadium, where the European night atmosphere is second to none, buoying their beloved Gers, and FC Barcelona hosted FK Dynamo Kyiv at the Camp Nou, where both teams headed into this clash with undefeated records in both league and in Europe.  On Wednesday, Real Madrid faced Olympique de Marseille at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Gabriel Heinze and Fernando Morientes played against their former employers in white, and Atlético Madrid tried to forget their domestic troubles at the Estádio do Dragão against FC Porto.

Rangers knocked Sevilla on their heels in the first half, keeping up with Sevilla’s passing football as well as using their robust style to wear down the opposition.  The height of the half culminated in the 36th minute, when Abdoulay Konko tackled Steven Naismith inside the penalty area, and referee Jonas Eriksson continued play.  There was little doubt about the legitimacy of Naismith’s claim for a penalty, as Konko made no contact with the ball and clearly took out the ankle of Naismith.

Up to that point, Rangers was even with Sevilla, but a pivotal call, or non-call in this case, changes the momentum of a match, and instead of a likely 1-0 to the home side and an extra boost to an already rapturous Ibrox crowd, Sevilla rode its bit of luck and scored four goals in a span of twenty-four minutes in the second half to secure the three points and seize control of Group G.  Rangers would ruin Andrés Palop’s clean sheet in the 88th minute by a Nacho Novo strike, a goal fully deserved for their valiant performance, but Sevilla is the class of this group and should cruise to first place at the end of the group stage.

Even though Barcelona was at home and dominated their five games in La Liga, they were wary of Dynamo Kyiv and their attacking threats of Oleh Husyev, Andriy Shevchenko and Artem Milevskiy.  Dynamo remained competitive for the opening fifteen minutes, but eventually the Barcelona Way overshadowed any attempt of Kyiv to produce any significant buildup play.  When Dynamo had possession, either Barcelona took it away quickly, or they resorted to long balls.  Barcelona forced them out of character, as they do with most teams, and their possession strategy created a plethora of chances, two of which they converted for a simple 2-0 win.  The blaugrana will not be amused with their abnormal amount of giveaways or the lack of finishing that could have spelled another two to three goals, but a solid team effort and a comfortable 2-0 win sends Barcelona to the top of the group.

Real Madrid and Manuel Pellegrini tweaked the formation and lineup for Wednesday evening’s fixture with Marseille by forming a three-man front line with the three big signings of the offseason: Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kaká.  With Guti behind the three as the roaming creative force, there was no room for Raúl in the starting XI.  At the moment, Pellegrini’s rotational policy has not created any problems in the dressing room, and if they continue to win, the players will continue to buy into him.  It is clear that Pellegrini does not quite have the grasp of how to shape this Madrid team in the best way possible as of yet, and the first forty-five minutes showed a work in progress despite its blistering start domestically.  A combination of Marseille’s work rate and discipline and Real Madrid’s tentativeness and lack of understanding within the attacking trio led to a dull first half.  In spite of a 57/43 possession ratio in favor of Los Blancos, Marseille was on equal footing, canceled out Madrid for the most part, and generated chances of their own.

Similar to the Sevilla-Rangers match, where Sevilla changed the momentum in a short time gap, Real Madrid tallied three times in a span of six minutes, including a penalty resulting from a second yellow card for Marseille central defender Souleymane Diawara that sealed any chance for Marseille to play their way back into the match.  Replays showed that Diawara made contact with the ball first, but the apparent severity of the challenge on Ronaldo forced referee Martin Hansson to flash the yellow card and send Diawara off.  With AC Milan suffering a shock 0-1 defeat at the San Siro by the hands of FC Zürich, Real Madrid has complete control of Group C.   This season, Madrid has had a tendency to let the opposition hang around and not step on their throats when they have the chance, but as the chemistry continues to develop and the familiarity increases, expect Real to salt these types of games away sooner and with more verve.

Poor Atlético Madrid.  They need some alone time to figure out their problems and deficiencies.  In the limelight of the Champions League and La Liga, however, all their frailties are shown for everyone to see, and they cannot hide.  Their Champions League matchup with FC Porto could not come at a better time.  Already struggling in the league, Atlético saw this match as an opportunity to leave their past troubles behind and start anew.  Even though Porto was a quality side who advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season by defeating Atlético on the away goals rule, a positive result could spark a much-needed boost within the team.

An ominous sign came in the 26th minute when an apparent groin injury to backup goalkeeper Roberto forced manager Abel Resino to substitute in eighteen-year-old Atlético Madrid product David de Gea for his first senior appearance.  Through the first 70+ minutes, the match was lively yet scrappy with much congestion in the midfield.  Porto had the slight edge, but there was hardly anything between them.  Then a slice a magic engineered by Porto swung the match in their favor.

In the 75^th minute, Falcao scored an incredible goal to take the 1-0 lead.  Raul Meireles started the move with a pinged cross-field ball to Hulk in the box.  Hulk then blasted his shot at the right near post but de Gea brushed it aside.  The rebound came straight back to Hulk, however, but he completely mishit it.  He was able to recover, settle the ball, and square a pass to Falcao, who attempted a daring back heel and converted the shot to take a late 1-0 lead.  Los Colchoneros did not convalesce and eventually conceded a second goal to suffer another defeat.  Now they have to travel to Stamford Bridge to confront an in-form Chelsea team who will look to secure a likely spot into the knockout stages with a win over Atlético on Match Day 3.  Abel Resino did get a public vote of confidence from the Atlético brass, but that kind of endorsement usually means very little, and more results like this will lead to his sacking sooner rather than later.

Real Madrid 5-0 Xerez
1-0 Ronaldo, 1′
2-0 Ronaldo, 75′
3-0 Guti, 78′
4-0 Benzema, 82′
5-0 Van Nistelrooy, 89′

Real Madrid moved to the top of the table Sunday, ahead of Barcelona on goal differential, after a 5-0 rout of Xerez that was a more difficult affair than the final score might indicate. Cristiano Ronaldo netted a second straight brace for his new club and did all the meaningful scoring, giving Real the two-goal cushion upon which they built their late-game goal flurry. Yet even with all the talent in the world – quite literally – wearing white on the pitch, many questions remain for Madrid after a win that was less dominating than one would expect against a newly promoted side.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the quarter of a billion Euros splashed out this summer, Real took the better part of 90 minutes to finally click as a team. Last week I railed against their defensive miscues, but a similar charge can be leveled against their offense, which continues to rake in the goals despite playing a haphazard, individualistic style of football. After Ronaldo scored on a zinger in the first minute, Madrid appeared to go into hibernation for the next 70+ minutes, creating little more than moments of individual brilliance in the midst of mediocre play. Xerez just kept plugging away, little engine that could style, and their midfield did a commendable job of jamming up the works and preventing Madrid from ever finding a rhythm. With no Xabi Alonso to pull the strings in midfield, Real were left with Gago and Lass playing the double-pivot and little creativity flowing from the midfield.

As much was made clear when Pellegrini yanked Raul and Kaka in favor of Granero and Guti, leaving CR9 to partner Benzema as the two out-and-out strikers. All of a sudden the ball was moving more fluidly and play was built up from the midfield to create opportunities for the attacking players. Xerez clung to the one-goal deficit for a surprisingly long time, and the Andalucian side even had a number of chances to tie the game. Their failure to provide any quality service into the box was eventually their undoing, though, and with a quarter of an hour remaining Ronaldo skied in the box to head home Granero’s corner and secure the victory.

After that, the floodgates opened. Benzema whiffed at the ball, missing it completely about eight yards out, leaving it for Guti to clean up and smash past Xerez keeper Renan. The young Frenchman got his shortly thereafter when he drove up the lefthand side, juked the defender out of position just enough, and then blasted a left-footed shot into the net for 4-0 and his first regular season goal with Real Madrid. Even Ruud Van Nistelrooy got in on the act two minutes from time, scoring Real’s fifth on a slotted shot that nutmegged the keeper and rewarded the standing ovation he got from the fans on his introduction.

It was an amazing final fifteen minutes that displayed, in a brief flourish, all that these new-look Galacticos are capable of. But the other 75 minutes painted a more worrying picture, one of a team still struggling to find itself amidst all the new signings and suffering some growing pains in the process. Xerez didn’t possess enough threats to really test them defensively, but in the absence of defensive pressure their offense showed its own lack of fluency for much of the game. Unlike the team’s defensive troubles, though, I’m not exceedingly worried about these offensive hicc-ups. They will be worked out, and in much less time than it will take to get the back line in order. And until all those kinks are ironed out, there will always be a Cristiano or a Kaka or a Benzema etc. etc. to pull another rabbit out of the hat to save them. Today, there were five rabbits to be found, four of them in quick succession, in the dispatching of Xerez. A bit more consistency and a lot more fluency will go a long way toward calming the nerves of the fans who expressed their anxiety as the lack of a second goal weighed heavier and heavier in this one. The goals will quiet the critics for now, but for the sake of La Liga I hope they find their game sooner rather than later.

("How poorly Madrid are defending.")

Espanyol 0-3 Real Madrid
0-1 Granero, 39’
0-2 Guti, 77’
0-3 Ronaldo, 90’

This was a constant refrain from the Spanish language announcers and the theme of most of the match, as the Merengues struggled to hold their nerve at the back, occasionally looking as porous as SpongeBob Square Pants in defense. It should be noted that two of the team’s first choice defenders – Pepe and Sergio Ramos – were out of the line-up, which will take its toll on any squad. But with two Spanish internationals deputizing for them, in Albiol and Arbeloa, Madrid have little to complain about. Regardless of any caveats about missing players, though, the key word for this game was “composure,” which was sorely lacking over much of the pitch against Espanyol.

Despite the clear gap in quality (and paychecks) between the two teams, Espanyol were easily the better side for much of the game. Aside from a bad miss that Metzelder sent over the crossbar, the Periquitos had the best chances in the game’s early stages. Casillas prevented his side from going 1-0 down inside the first half hour when he saved Moises Hurtado’s shot from close range. Hurtado only had such a clear-cut opportunity because of horrible defending by Madrid, who left Luis Garcia completely unmarked near the back post, allowing him a free header back in front of goal to the waiting Hurtado. Fortunately for Los Blancos, Iker’s legs bailed them out and kept the scoreline even. Soon thereafter, Raul Tamudo narrowly missed getting his head onto an Ivan Alonso cross after some more shaky defending.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, they struck, on a lovely little one-two between Kaka and Granero. El Pirata, who was brilliant all game, secured the ball nicely, dropped it off to Kaka, then darted into the box to receive the return pass and blast it past Kameni. It was very similar to the first goal against Deportivo in Jornada 1, when Madrid suddenly found their attacking boots on a double-nutmeg pass by Kaka to a streaking Benzema. That time, the post intervened and Raul was required to clean up the rebound. This time, Granero made no mistake with the shot to give his side the advantage.

The second came only after numerous chances for Espanyol to equalize, when Kaka dribbled around three defenders on the left, got his nose out in front, and laid it off for Guti to slot home. It was a lovely play by Kaka, who looks to be the team’s most important creative player so far. And finally, substitute Cristiano Ronaldo got his first goal from open play for the team when Guti played a perfect through ball to the world’s most expensive (and most precisely coiffed) football player. Ronaldo streaked with it down the right hand side and coolly put the ball between Kameni’s legs for the goal. It was once again refreshing to see his joy and relief at scoring for his new team, as his new price tag has appeared to weigh on him since arriving in Spain. A couple more goals like that, and those worries will be a thing of the past, like his relationship with Sir Alex at the end of his ManU tenure.

So in the end, they got the goals and outclassed an opponent they had every right to beat, but they made it as nerve-wracking as possible along the way. I couldn’t count how many times I grimaced as a ball rolled past numerous Madrid defenders or an Espanyol player dribbled with ease into the heart of the defense. They looked quite unorganized and, consequently, exceedingly vulnerable to the counterattack. At times, even clearing the ball became an exercise in futility and difficult to watch. It was more Espanyol’s profligacy in front of goal than Madrid’s defense that kept them off the scoreboard, but I suppose they’ll take a clean sheet any way they can get it.

In their first two games, Real Madrid have shown both how high they can go and how much they still have to do to attain such heights consistently. That tricky bit of composure is still clearly lacking, and it hurts the defense more than the offense. They have enough astronomical talent in the attack to come out with little unity or plan and still score goals. The back line is not quite so blessed with riches, but even if it were, defense is another proposition altogether. Individual stars can do little on their own to shut down an opponent, instead requiring a coherent system to which all subscribe in order to excel. It is this system which Madrid lacks at this point, and it is this which Pellegrini must correct, and soon, if he wants to content with Barcelona (and keep his job).

To be fair, this is an entirely understandable predicament for a team that was hastily assembled over the summer and which tends to feature between five and eight new faces in the starting eleven. They were always going to need time to gel, and as long as they are winning, they will probably be granted leniency from the demanding home fans. With lots of players resting due to international action midweek and a looming Champions League clash, they were also fielding somewhat of a B team – if such a term can be applied to a line-up that features the likes of Kaka, Benzema, and Xabi Alonso, but you get the picture. San Iker may just be enough to save them until they get their act together, but this can only go on for so long and the defensive deficiencies cannot be bailed out indefinitely by offensive firepower. At some point, Real Madrid are going to have to learn how to defend. I suspect that with time and the return of some much needed familiar faces, they will settle into their roles and play at least competently together, which is not something that could be said about them in this performance.

Together for the moment

The much-anticipated return of La Liga began with a scintillating match between the new galácticos of Real Madrid and the pesky Deportivo La Coruña, who always gives Madrid a run for their money, literally.  Because of the continued suspension of Pepe and the tendinitis suffered by Sergio Ramos, the Real Madrid defense was not at full strength, and Ezequiel Garay and Álvaro Arbeloa started in their positions respectively.  All of Madrid’s big signings started, and they began in a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation with Lass and Xabi Alonso in central midfield and in front of the back four, Cristiano Ronaldo on the right of the three, Raúl on the left, and Kaká roaming in the middle behind the striker Karim Benzema.

Early in the match, Madrid played tentatively as expected, trying to figure the best strategy to incorporate the strengths of the new players.  They created a plethora of chances but did not construct the decisive pass to generate a genuine goal-scoring opportunity.  Then the magic materialized that los madridistas expected since the formation of this second galáctico team.

In the 26th minute, on another attacking situation, Kaká’s vision and audacity came to fruition.  Cutting inside towards the “D,” Kaká sensed the diagonal run of Karim Benzema and slotted a pass to him that traveled first between Pablo Álvarez’s legs, then between Juan Rodríguez’s legs to spot Karim Benzema.  Benzema then fired his shot first time, split through goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubía’s legs, and hit the post; Raúl cleaned up the rebound, and it was 1-0 Real Madrid.  It was debatable whether Benzema was onside when Kaká played his through ball to him, but nevertheless, that was why Florentino Pérez sought out these world-class players: for this kind of ingenuity and flair.

No sooner than four minutes later did Depor expose Real Madrid’s defense with a training ground free kick routine.  Depor caught Madrid sleeping, and Riki headed home the equalizer.  Madrid gave both Riki and Alberto Lopo an ample amount of space, and Riki ended up scoring, but to have two players so open from a relatively short free kick was inexcusable.

Real Madrid scored five minutes later on a penalty by Cristiano Ronaldo.  Lass made another decisive pass into the box for Raúl, and Aranzubía felled Raúl whilst trying to take the ball off his foot.  Ronaldo took the penalty with his famous stutter step and beat Aranzubía to retake the lead 2-1.  Ronaldo then showed his panache a minute later when he did a series of step-overs, breezed by the defender, and crossed a beautiful ball to Raúl in the box.  Unfortunately, for Real, Raúl’s shot went straight into Aranzubía’s stomach, but Ronaldo’s individual brilliance lit up the Bernabéu yet again.

The combination of Lass and Xabi Alonso controlled the midfield, akin to their rivals Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández at Barcelona, and they were able to keep possession and take possession back whenever Madrid lost the ball.  These two hold the key to unlocking opposing defenses; if they dictate the middle of the park, the front line will be able to be free to set up their one-two’s and other intricate positions.

The Real Madrid defense was caught ball watching in the first minute of the second half.  Andrés Guardado worked the left flank and crossed to Juan Carlos Valerón, where he had the ability to control the cross, take the shot, and score from the top of the penalty box.  No one was close enough to Valerón, and even when Ezequiel Garay attempted to close down Valerón’s shot, it was only in vain as Valerón blasted his shot passed a frozen Iker Casillas.  Garay and Raúl Albiol did not have the chemistry required for a central defensive pair, and that was the kind of situation where Madrid missed the calm and positioning of Pepe.

Real almost gave up a third goal in the 57th minute when Guardado again paced down the left wing and sent a heavenly ball to Valerón.  Valerón sliced through the center of the defense again but inexplicably sent his shot wide of the post.  Casillas had no chance, and from the six-yard box, it was harder to miss than to score, but somehow, Valerón managed to do so.  Depor paid for their missed golden chance when Lass scored three minutes later from just outside the “D”.

The final was 3-2 in favor of Real Madrid, and each of the new players had their distinct moments of skill.  Their defense needs major improvement, and maybe when Pepe and Sergio Ramos return, these defensive gaffes will not occur as often.  The statistics suggest that Madrid dominated the match with 59% of the possession, twenty-eight shots with eleven on goal, and ten corner kicks to Depor’s three.  When watching the match, there was always a feeling that Deportivo La Coruña could get a draw or even win.

Real is definitely still a work in progress, and it will take more than one match to develop the chemistry needed to gel as a unit.  Offense was not the problem last year, and they will likely surpass the eighty-three goals they scored in the prior season; however, they cannot expect to outscore teams on every occasion.  Benzema, Ronaldo, Kaká, Xabi Alonso, et al. will not be the problems.  If the back line continues to leak goals as if it were the Exxon Valdez, Real Madrid will not win La Liga or any other competition this campaign.