Real Madrid vs. Granada, 0-1

[flywoman]

Que injusticia!

Cristiano Ronaldo was definitely Man of the Match: he worked his ass off and scored the only goal. Unfortunately, he headed the ball into the back of his own net.



This was one of the worst matches I have ever seen Real Madrid play. Perhaps the absence of playmaker Mesut Ozil was to blame, perhaps tiredness after Wednesday's match against Barcelona, but they failed to create any chances at all in the first half against a team near the bottom of the league table. To be fair, Granada didn't have any shots on target either. Their goal came from a corner kick that Ronaldo tried to clear but only managed to launch past his startled keeper for an own goal, the first of his career. Obligatory rivalry joke: Let's see if Messi can score two of them tomorrow! (Or more likely Mascherano. Heh.)

Mourinho clearly agreed with me that the first half was horrible because when the match restarted, Gonzalo Higuain and Sami Khedira had been replaced by Karim Benzema and Jose Callejon. The changes paid off in that RM did create a lot more opportunities in the second half, keeping the Granada defenders and keeper on their toes. But they did not manage to equalize, even with four extra minutes on the clock.

Now, I'm sure that some folks will complain that RM were robbed of a corner - which they were - and that Ronaldo was wrongly reprimanded for pushing another player who had his arm wrapped around his neck. All I can say is, Modric could have been sent off with a second yellow when his clumsy tackle was followed by a handball, and Xabi Alonso should have been - the brute.

Comments

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

I supported the Spain NT before I became a fan of Barcelona, so for a while I was more or less following both teams equally. (And this year there's been so much drama going on with RM that I don't want to miss anything!)

I still like Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos a lot, but I have lost so much respect for Xabi Alonso. He's such a thug, and not in a psychotic way like Pepe - I'm sure he knows exactly what he's doing.