CSKA Moscow (92' Wernbloom) 1 - 1 (28' Cristiano) Real Madrid
CSKA Moscow had every intention to "eliminate Real
Madrid first, and then beat Barcelona" in the UEFA Champions League. They had every intention of drawing first
blood from los Blancos. Would they?
Real Madrid currently enjoys a winning streak within La Liga and a
10-point advantage over the runner-ups in the tables, certainly great moral
boosts for José Mourinho's side.
However, nothing has been won yet.
This game against CSKA Moscow would be a difficult one, the men now
having to focus on their fixtures in the UCL and La Liga.
In the prematch press conference, Mourinho commented how
playing in Luzhniki Stadium would be different and make it difficult for his
men, saying, "synthetic [pitch] is not the same as natural [pitch]. Minus
10 degrees is not the same as 10 degrees."
RM would have to pull out all the stops – and I do believe the have
everything it takes – to defeat CSKA, but the Russian side know their turf and
weather better. Who would come out on
top in the 1st leg?
It was evident that los
Blancos had a bit of trouble adapting to the artificial surface in the
opening minutes, the Russian side using it to their advantage. The home side committed
fouls within the first few minutes of coming on pitch, none resulting in bookings. RM suffered a huge loss at the 13' minute
mark when Karim Benzema injured himself (possible pulled groin) attempting a
long-range shot on the turn. The French
international stayed down and was eventually taken off-pitch, Gonzalo Higuaín
coming in as his replacement in the 16th minute.
The Argentine international created the first chance in the
game, with a left-footed shot, Sami Khedira at the assist. However, CSKA's goalkeeper, Sergey
Chepchugov, cleared the shot, only to have the ball land at Khedira's
feet. Khedira, with the rebound, took a
right-footed shot and, yet again, Chepchugov saved. I have to give credit where credit is due. It certainly was a brilliant double save by
the CSKA keeper. The match saw its second delay due to injury because a
foul committed on Higuaín at the 19'. It seemed that they serious about the
whole "eliminating" part, as the team began picking off Real Madrid's
strikers one-by-one. At least we didn't
suffer another blow in seeing Higuaín come off the pitch.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo who opened up the scoring at the
28' with a left-footed shot to the bottom left corner. The Portuguese international took advantage
of a loose ball and angled the shot to the far corner. CSKA had been well
positioned throughout the match, which could have translated into some early on
goals, but thankfully Madrid's midfield controlled so well that they could not
take advantage of their positioning.
Los Blancos tried
to seal the match as soon as the second half began. José Callejón had two great chances of
scoring at the 50' and 51' minute marks.
Cristiano tried a through ball at the 50', but Callejón misses to the left. Cristiano assisted his teammate again at the
51', but Chepchugov saved the shot at the center of the goal. How unfortunate! CSKA came close to scoring, Ahmed Musa shooting
on target, but Iker Casillas grabbed the ball with ease from lack of force.
CSKA tried hard in the last few minutes for a draw that
would make things easier for them in the returning leg, eventually finding it
in the 92' minute. Pontus Wernbloom
scored the equalizer with a right-footed shot to the bottom right corner,
Alexei Berezoutski at the assist with a headed pass following a set piece. Madridistas surely understand my frustration
with Real Madrid's defensive line's handling of set pieces. Need I go into detail about the recent events
that took place in the match against Levante?
(Ball went sailing above
Iker's head. Not. Cool.)
And that was it. The whistle blew
and the match ended with a 1-1 draw.
Los Blancos play
Rayo Vallecano next in La Liga, Sunday, February 26th at the Campo
de Fútbol de Vallecas. They will also
play the 2nd leg against CSKA Moscow at the Bernabéu on March 14th. Until then, ¡Hala Madrid!
written by Gail Hidalgo
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