Apologies for the late
update, Madridistas. Better late than
never, no? Real Madrid played Granada at
home this past Sunday to an impressive 3-0 win.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been under the microscope as of late for
lackluster performances in his most recent appearances for los Blancos. Even I began to
wonder if Cristiano would get his groove back by the time Champions League
started. He seemed un-Cristiano...and it
made me sad. But not to worry. The Portuguese all-star delivered and not
without a resilient battle cry, leading Madrid to victory with his brace, which
takes him to 150 goals for the club.
Cristiano opened the
scoring at the 26' mark, teaming up with José Callejón. The spikey-haired duo made quite the effort,
with Calleti passing to Cristiano, who then took immediate control and shot the
ball through Granada's GK's legs. It
certainly was a goal to be seen that I could not help but feel a twinge of pity
for Toño. Los Blancos had an opportunity of doubling their lead right before
the break, again, by Cristiano, but not one to be made a fool of (yet), Toño
saved.
Two more goals and a
flurry of chances were in store for Madrid after descanso. Callejón was
subbed off at the 53' mark, replaced by Ángel di María, who set Cristiano up
for his second goal of evening with a beautiful through ball. RM had a 2-0 advantage over the visiting side
and there was much to celebrate about.
Could we see the end of this match with a clean sheet? The answer is yes.
While things seemed to be
looking up for RM, circumstances did not fair well for Granada. Borja Gómez was sent off just before the 60'
mark after receiving his second yellow of the evening. Gómez took Cristiano down rather forcefully,
leaving the Portuguese man on the ground in obvious pain. Granada went from 11 to 10 and the visitors
faced the near impossible task of saving face.
Cristiano left the pitch
five minutes later, limping as he did so with a suspected knee injury. In a post-match interview, the Real Madrid
striker informed the curious public that he was okay. "The thigh is okay. I got kicked and I have a bruise," he
stated. "Let's see if I recover in
the next few days to play with Portugal."
Yes, and please? No more
injuries, Cristiano.
Pipita Higuaín came on
for the injured milestone man and made his presence on pitch known. The Argentine needed a mere 11 minutes to
score Madrid's third of the evening.
Karim Benzema set Pipita up beautifully with a weighted pass, who took
control of the ball and saw the ball through to the back of net in an empty goal
at the 76'.
Finally, a clean sheet
for Iker Casillas. Real Madrid travel
to the Sánchez Pizjuán this Saturday to face Sevilla in Jornada 4. And Champions
League is upon us, Madridistas. Prepare
yourselves. Madrid's UCL campaign kicks
off Tuesday, September 18 at the Santiago Bernabéu against current EPL
champions, Manchester City. Until then, ¡Hala Madrid!
written by Gail Hidalgo
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