Real Oviedo
1 - 5 Real Madrid
(52' Martins) - (8' Lucas Vázquez, 38' Denis Cheryshev, 40' Granero, 55', 74' Di Maria)
Real Madrid played their
first summer friendly this Tuesday night against Real Oviedo, easily triumphing
over their counterparts with a 5-1 win.
With many of our first-teamers absent – whether from vacationing or
representing at the Olympics – the starting lineup was filled with many a
Castilla player.
Los Blancos
employed a 4-3-3 formation at the start, with Alvaro Morata as center forward. The men made it clear that they wanted to win
when Lucas Vázquez found the back of net in the 8th minute. Oviedo pushed forward in search of an
equalizer. However, the Asturians found
themselves incapable of such, having left gaps at the back, which RM took
advantage of wholeheartedly. Juanfran
had an opportunity of doubling Madrid's lead with a long-range shot in the 23rd
minute. But it proved to be too far out
of range. It was certainly a great
effort on his part.
It would seem like days
(which in reality was a mere 30 minutes) until the second goal of game. Denis Cheryshev entered the area and sunk the
ball in the back of net, Morata at the assist with a through ball. The home team would not have any time to
recover as Los Blancos scored another
not even two minutes later. Esteban
Granero scored Madrid's third following a brilliant play from Vázquez, whose
cross deflected off of Oviedo's Pascual.
The whistle blew, for which I am certain the Asturians were grateful,
and the half came to a close with Real Madrid up 3-0.
The second half began
with a myriad of lineup changes on Madrid's part. The only two – yes, two – players remaining from the first half were Granero and Alex
Fernández. These changes were not
brought about because Mourinho worried about losing. No. In
fact, the Special One understands
more than any that football is also entertainment – give spectators what they
want: first-teamers and A+ football.
Pipita was given the Captain's armband, much to my delight and to fans
worldwide.
Pipita made waves at the
49' mark, but his strike went straight into Dani Barrio's gloves. ¡Qué
lastima! The home side finally got
their first – and only – goal at the 52' minute mark, Martíns scoring against
Jesús, who left the box, much to my dismay.
When the goalkeeper advanced towards the Oviedo man, he left the area
wide open. Martíns took advantage of the
situation as he dribbled past Jesús, rolling the ball in to an empty net. Fans in the Carlos Tartiere cheered.
Their cheers would not
last very long, their happiness short lived when Ángel di María scored one for
his side in the 55th minute.
Like Martíns, Di María took advantage of a mistake made by the GK,
making the score 4-1. Oviedo's GK
hesitated with the ball at his feet, a critical error, and the Argentine
swooped in, taking the ball off of him and scored with great ease.
A penalty was awarded in
the home team's favor following Nacho's handball and appeared to be a sure
thing. However, Jesús made a great stop, pushing Manu Bust's penalty
wide for a corner. Oviedo did not give
up and continuously attempted to see the ball through Real Madrid's net but had
little to no success. On the other hand,
Los Blancos did not need to do much
to score. Di María bagged a brace at the
74' minute mark, finishing Pipita's rebounded shot, the score now 5-1 in Madrid's
favor. Callejón could have made it 6-1
after 87 minutes of play, but his shot went a tad wide. Nevertheless, a 5-1 win was just as nice.
The men play their second
friendly against Benfica this Friday, July 27th before traveling to
the US. Until then, ¡Hala Madrid!
written by Gail Hidalgo
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