Twenty men have made the cut for tonight's match against
Mallorca, including youth teamer, Tomás Mejías. Ángel Di María, Sami Khedira, and Hamit Altintop miss the
match due to injuries. Also
missing the game is Ricardo Carvalho.
The Portuguese international was finally
taken off the Sanitas injury report – yay!
– but stayed in Madrid because he has yet to integrate back into the first team
– pace of competing and all. Bueno... moving on. Los
Blancos currently have a 5-point lead over Barcelona in the tables and
sought to keep it that way in hopes of establishing themselves as the winter
champions of La Liga with a win at the Iberostar. Mallorca currently stands 14th in the table with
19 points as opposed to Madrid's 43, but it would be a grave mistake to
underestimate any opponent.
The 1st half could only be described as disappointing. The men appeared to be half-awake – much like me, but I have the excuse of having a fever – as Mallorca seemed to have more possession of the ball. Our opponents got dangerously close to Iker and his precious box one too many times for my liking. I have to hand it to Mallorca. They were very organized and holding well against the leaders of the league. In fact, they were so organized that they opened up the scoring at the 38' minute mark. Iker Casillas's reaction to the goal?
A mere shake of the head – my sentiments exactly – most
likely from frustration in how the team was playing. Kind of expected something like this, in all honesty. This wasn't the Real Madrid I know...
they're better than this. But this
is mi equipo blanco and I love and
support them no matter what.
Sergio Ramos came close to an equalizer with a header at the 44', but
the ball hit the right post. José
Mourinho sat on the sidelines, pokerfaced, but I am certain – so certain – he'll have a few words for
his men during the descanso.
The 2nd half began with a change in Madrid's
lineup, Gonzalo Higuaín on for Lass Diarra. Whatever was said in the locker rooms sure lit a fire. Karim Benzema came close to scoring
with a right-footed shot at the 60', but the shot was saved. Cristiano Ronaldo too came close to
scoring not too long after at the 65' with a long-range right-footed shot. But it was Higuaín that scored our
much-needed equalizer at the 72' with a left-footed shot to the center of the
goal, Mesut Özil at the assist with a through ball.
Madrid would have upped the score 2-1 at the 76', but the
goal was annulled. Supposedly
Ramos was offside. Upon watching
the replay, the defender did not appear to be offside, but the referee was
closer. Who knows? Either way, los Blancos were hungry for more goals. My heart thump-thumped so loudly that I thought the world
could hear during the 84' minute mark.
Longest. Minute. Ever.
Higuaín's attempt was saved, only for Benzema to pick up the rebound to
have his attempt saved, and then
there was José Callejón. Callejón
scored Madrid's second of the evening with a right-footed shot to the bottom
right corner from a distance. Brilliant shot that brought actual tears
to my eyes. Perhaps the 3rd
time is a charm.
This by no way was an easy win for los Blancos. The men
fought long and fought hard. ¡Muchas gracias, Higuaín y Callejón, muchas
gracias por todo! Real Madrid
is officially the winter champion of La Liga 2011-2012, with 8 points clear of
Barça. ¡Felicidades! Speaking
of Barcelona, who else is ready for more heart attacks? Real Madrid will face their rivals at
the Bernabéu this Wednesday, January 18th for the 1st leg
of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals... and again for the returning leg at Camp
Nou on the 25th. Two Clásicos in one month? Someone get the defibrillator ready...
Until then, ¡Hala
Madrid!
written by Gail Hidalgo
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