On
Tuesday the 15th, Valencia CF visited Real Madrid at the Santiago
Bernabeu for the first leg in their Copa Del Rey showdown. This was the first
of three back to back matches against Real that VCF will participate in, having
to play them in La Liga this weekend and again next week for the second leg of
the two legged Copa Del Rey match-up, and if the next two matches are anything
like this one, football fans all over the world are in for a real treat.
Valencia fans will certainly feel hard done by the result at the Bernabeu
after watching a game in which they saw their team dominate proceedings only to
lose off a quick counter and a controversial call.
The
match was back and forth for its entirety. No team ever looked safe as a change
in possession almost always resulted in an opportunity for a shot. The
fireworks started on the first minute with Cristiano Ronaldo sending a free
kick just wide of Vicente Guaita’s far post. The ensuing goal kick resulted in
a quick Valencia counter during which Ever Banega turned Luka Modric inside out
before loosing the ball wide to Pablo Piatti who in turn ran into a brick wall in
the shape of Ricardo Carvalho. Mesut Ozil, too, showed off his play making
ability, slicing two lines of Valencia defenders with a near perfect pass to
Ronaldo. Guaita was even to the pass, however, and gobbled it up before Ronaldo
could inflict any damage. The battle for possession was intense in midfield,
with both teams fighting for possession and making hard tackles. Valencia, it
has to be said, did so with a bit more flair, finding it was easier to pass
their way around the Real Madrid midfielders than run around them. Eventually,
however, midfielder Dani Parejo lost his concentration and was shut down by
Modric in his own half. Modric’s tackle let Ozil in, and with his creative
juices flowing, found Modric open at the top of the box with a clear look at
goal. Modric’s shot, however, went just wide, letting Parejo, and Valencia, off
the hook. Now it was Valencia’s turn, and they made good use of it, booming
down the field and winning a corner. Jonas had a penalty shout turned down, but
the referee saw correctly that there was no foul. Adil Rami’s shot from the
following corner struck Raul Albiol on the shoulder before being cleared out of
the Real Madrid area. Rami, too, demanded a penalty, but once again the referee
made the right call in allowing play to continue. And this was just in the
first ten minutes of the match.
In the 12th minute Ronaldo tried a
shot from distance, which was saved in style by Guaita. In the 16th
minute, Tino Costa tried his luck from distance, bringing out the best in Real
Madrid keeper, Iker Casillas, who pushed the ball wide for a corner. The 17th
minute brought about a brilliant chance for Valencia to go ahead on the
scoreboard as Joao Pereira’s floated cross found Jonas perfectly on the penalty
spot. However, his powered header was straight at Casillas who handled it
easily. Valencia began to dominate possession, reducing Real Madrid to a
counter attacking game. Valencia looked more and more dangerous, and if not for
a bad call by the linesman, could have been up on the 22nd minute.
Roberto Soldado latched on to a perfect pass from Banega and found himself one
on one with Casillas, who had mistakenly ventured out of his box to sweep up
the pass. Before Soldado could get the shot away, however, the referee called a
halt to the play as the linesman flagged for offside. Replays would later show
that Soldado was very clearly onside. Real Madrid would have a brilliant chance
of their own in the 27th minute as some strong tackling and slick
passing had Ozil through one on one with Guaita. Piatti, however, came to the
rescue and put in a deft toe poke to clear the ball from danger. Just one
minute later Valencia showed off their passing game, putting Jonas through on
goal with an excellent team effort. Essien was well positioned, however, and
put out the fire before Jonas could get a shot off. The next best opportunity
came from Valencia in the 35th minute. Banega continued with his
brilliant midfield display to find Jonas, who tried to curl a shot from the
edge of the area. His fantastic curled effort went just high of the crossbar,
brushing the net as it came down. Casillas looked relieved as he knew that shot
would have beaten him. The next play Jonas struck again, capping a fantastic
Valencia move and latching on to a Guardado cross. His placed shot was straight
at Casillas, but it had so much power that San Iker could only push it away.
Three minutes later a quick counter, started by Xavi Alonso, found the Valencia
defense wrong footed and outnumbered, leaving Karim Benzema a huge gap to fire
on Guaita with. Benzema rarely passes up these opportunities, and today was no
different as in the 38th minute he put Real Madrid up 1-0. Valencia
fans would have been frustrated, after seeing their team lose out on so many
opportunities, but perhaps hopeful in snagging that all important away goal. The
first half would end with both teams still pressing for goals, advantage Real
Madrid 1-0.
The
second half would start with a substitution by Real Madrid; Marcelo out for
Fabio Coentrao. Marcelo had been butting heads with his marker Pablo Piatti,
and indeed the diminutive Argentine had been getting the better of him
throughout the game. The more skillful Coentrao was just what Real Madrid
needed, despite his bad standing with Mourinho. Just moments into the second
half the game saw its first yellow. It was for Tino Costa in the 47th
minute for persistent fouling. The foul that earned him the card was fairly
light, but having been let off the hook for a hard foul on Xavi Alonso early in
the game, and for his fouling in midfield, Tino should have had no complaints.
The game continued in the fashion it ended. Valencia controlled possession and
would pound away at the Real defense, while Real would steal possession and
bomb down the field on a quick counter, hoping to find Valencia out of position
again. By the 60th minute it was evident who was applying the better
pressure, as Valencia had Real Madrid against the ropes, causing Mourinho to
use his last two subs (Di Maria for Modric 61st min, and Higuain for
Benzema 69th min) to try and force a change. In the 66th
minute it appeared as though their pressure had paid off. After some excellent
team passing, Jonas found Soldado with a brilliant slipped pass, allowing the
Valencia captain through on goal. He was called offside again by a late flag,
however, and furiously slammed his shot off the crossbar. Replays showed that
Soldado was perfectly onside and that the referee had once again made the wrong
call. It all seemed like a bad dream for Valencia after that point. Just a
minute later, Piatti would find Soldado with a curled pass and this time the
Valencia captain was onside. His shot was well saved by Casillas, but the
rebound fell right to Jonas, who only had to tap the ball into the open net
with his left foot. Instead, the Brazilian forward tried to smash the ball with
his right and sent the ball wide. This seemed to have deflated Valencia as Real
Madrid came on stronger. Even though Valencia controlled possession, it became
more and more evident that they could simply not find the back of the net.
Jonas, especially, seemed to have an off day as he missed two more clear
chances at goal. Three more yellow cards were dished out, two to Valencia
players (Ruiz and Soldado) and one to Real Madrid (Albiol).
The 73rd
minute is one that many Valencia fans will dispute with their Madrid rivals for
some time. Real Madrid was on the counter down the left side. Coentrao got the
better of Rami and delivered an excellent cross. Guaita managed to get a hand
to it, and Guardado got his boot to it, somewhat clearing the ball away from
goal. Higuain seemingly never touched the ball, and the referee ruled that
Guardado had put it into the back of his own net. At a first glance it appeared
as though Guardado cleared the ball into his own face, causing him to head the
ball back goalwards, scoring an own goal. Replays showed, however, that Higuain
punched the ball in the back of the net, having placed his hand in front of
Guardado’s face. The motion was undeniable, and it appeared as though Higuain
had indeed intentionally pushed the ball into the net with his hand. Some VCF
fans are already calling it the third “Mano de Dios”. Valverde certainly seemed
to think so, and was shown a red card for protesting, forcing the Valencia manager
off the bench. If Valencia hadn’t deflated before, they certainly did after
that incident as Real Madrid’s share of possession went up and Valencia’s
chances went down. Valencia’s substitutions didn’t do much to change
proceedings either as Ricardo Costa came in for Victor Ruiz (75th
min), Fernando Gago in for Tino Costa (79th min), and Nelson Valdez
in for Ever Banega (81st min). Ozil and Ronaldo had chances to close
out the tie, barring any miracles at the Mestalla, but neither player could
beat Guaita. In the dying moments of the game Sami Khedira and Xavi Alonso saw
yellow and Jonas missed another good opportunity to score.
It was a
brilliant match to watch for neutrals as both teams went out looking for
victory and pounding away at each other’s goal mouth. Still, by hook or by
crook, it was Real Madrid who came away with victory by a deceptive 2-0 margin.
Valencia will feel emboldened by their strong performance, angry that they were
hard done by a series of bad calls, and vengeful that their manager was sent
off for standing up for his players. Hopefully they can turn those emotions
into victory over the weekend when these two titans square off again. Amunt!
Player Ratings
Vicente Guaita: 7.0- Strong performance from the
Valencia keeper. Could not be blamed for either of the goals, and it’s arguable
that had he not been in such good form the scoreline could easily have been 4-0
or worse.
Joao Pereira: 8.2- Fantastic performance from
the Portuguese right back. He was all over the right flank, closing down well
on defense and providing creatively on offense. His crossing was spot on and he
kept Ronaldo quiet for most of the game.
Adil Rami: 8.0- Solid defensively, no major
mistakes, and got forward well to boot.
Victor Ruiz: 7.8- Made some really important
clearances. Generally very good in the back, but didn’t get forward as well as
Rami.
Andres Guardado: 8.3- The refs might attribute the
second goal to Andes, but anyone who saw the replay will know it was “Pipita’s”
hand that put that ball in. If you discount the own goal Guardado is in the
running for man of the match, dominating the left flank both defensively and
offensively.
Tino Costa: 8.0- Deserved his yellow card, but
put in a surprisingly strong and consistent effort in defense. He might give
Gago a run for his money for the starting holding midfielder spot. Had a few
brilliant shots to boot too.
Dani Parejo: 6.9- Good passing and helped
control possession in midfield, but his lack of concentration and composure was
evident. Almost caused a goal by holding the ball too long in the 10th
minute and didn’t make the most of his free kicks.
Ever Banega: 9.0- Valencia’s best player by
some margin. Controlled possession, made some spectacular passes, and showed
some fancy footwork as well. When he went off the pitch the whole club
deflated; he is certainly Valencia’s heart in midfield.
Pablo Piatti: 8.3- Piatti’s been really
impressing me lately. He’s shown creative, accurate passing, tireless running,
flashy dribbling, and a defensive work ethic uncommon with offensive wing
players. He is really coming into his own under Valverde.
Jonas: 6.5- Did so well to find the
openings and get into space, but could not find the finish. All his shot missed
the target or went right into Casillas’ arms.
Roberto Soldado: 7.0- Invisible for much of the
game, though when he did show up he always had an air of danger about him. His
first touch has improved markedly, and his shoot was on target as usual. Some
bad calls kept him off the score sheet.
Subs
Ricardo Costa:
6.5- Invisible.
Fernando Gago: 6.6- Made some hard tackles, but
nothing spectacular.
Nelson Valdez: N/A- Not on the pitch long enough.
written by David Wall
No comments:
Post a Comment