Still On Top: Real Madrid Defeat Zaragoza 3-1

Latifa 11’, Kaka 32’, Ronaldo 49’, Özil 56’

After their dramatic exit from the Copa Del Rey on Wednesday, Real Madrid faced Real Zaragoza at the Bernabeu in Week 21 of La Liga.

In stark contrast to the strong front Los Blancos showed from the start of their Copa Del Rey quarterfinal, Real Madrid was off to a slow start, Karim Benzema missing his shot at scoring of of a header in the 6^th minute.

Zaragoza didn’t miss their opportunity to score the opener and sent Madrid a wakeup call, Lafita scoring a mere 5 minutes later from inside the box.

The third try was the charm, however, for Kaka who scored after 2 other attempts in the 32’ off of a pass from Carvalho, evening things up for Madrid before the half.

Kaka finds the back of the net on his third shot, opening up Real Madrid’s scoresheet.

Real Madrid’s defensive line seemed to have received the wakeup call as well, giving Iker little to do for the remainder of the half.
The second half saw Los Blancos up their game, with Cristiano Ronaldo netting a goal from the inside box after Esteban Granero slid the ball to Mesut Özil who then sent a superb pass Ronaldo’s way in the 49^th minute. 

Ronaldo gets his name on the scoresheet with an assist from Özil.

Seemingly unsatisfied with just an assist, Özil took an impressive shot in the 56^th minute, after being fed the ball from an impressive link-up between Granero and Kaka, giving Real Madrid a 3-1 lead.

Mesut gets his goal, giving Real Madrid a 3-1 lead.

Xabi Alonso made way for Lass Diarra in the 60^th minute, Kaka doing the same- to a voracious round of applause from the Bernabeu- for Callejon 6 minutes later.

Zaragoza took another shot at a goal in the 71^st minute, though Postiga, with a clear shot, was denied by San Iker.

Zaragoza gained more possession, though failed to make anything of it, after Higuain came on for Benzema a minute later and Madrid’s playing style slowed.

In an attempt to press for one more goal, Marcelo injured himself, causing his move to midfield and Callejon’s repositioning as left back.

Özil put in a marvelous effort, though Granero’s impact on the midfield was just as impressive. Kaka seemed to be everywhere in the first half, opening up Madrid’s score sheet. Despite their rocky start, Los Blancos defeated Zaragoza 3-1.

Perhaps more of a relief to Madridistas was Barcelona’s 0-0 tie in their fixture against Villareal later in the day, leaving Real Madrid 7 points clear of Barcelona at the top of the table and prompting AS to update their main page to reflect the day’s emotions.

Mourinho’s men are back in action next week at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez where they will take on Getafe. ¡Hala Madrid!

Next Match: Getafe v Real Madrid. February 4. 2:00 EST.

 Written by Yasmien Mizyed