La Liga – Match Preview: Real Madrid versus Espanyol
Real Madrid take on Espanyol in their fourth Spanish Primera Division match of the season, Madrid who are currently managed by Jose Mourinho will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season by putting the Catalonian
minnows to the sword. Living under the shadow of Barcelona, Catalonia’s more dominant team has not been an easy job for Espanyol, who have performed disappointingly in the past two league season. However, the match against Madrid presents them with a fantastic
opportunity to set their record straight.
This match has much more to it than many people might think, admittedly not a balanced affair by any stretch of the imagination, Real Madrid versus Espanyol has a severe political twinge to it. Espanyol travel to main land Spain,
more accurately to the heart of Spanish identity, Madrid to face the country’s most famous club, in doing so they carry the hopes of Catalonian nationalism with them. It is a national derby and that itself will be enough of a reason for Espanyol to raise their
game and give Jose’s Madrid a tough time.
However, such a task is easier said than done. Real Madrid’s front line of Ozil, Ronaldo, Higuain, Di Maria and Benzema is a force to be reckoned with and if the result is as expected on form, the final score line of the match can
be an embarrassing one for Espanyol. In their last game against Real Sociedad, Real were about to come unstuck again but they were saved by a deflected Cristiano Ronaldo free kick and a superb Angel Di Maria curler that gave them a two goals to one win.
Granero who made a substitute appearance for Real Madrid against Real Sociedad told the press after the match that, Madrid have to continue their impressive start to the season by defeating Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeau stadium.
Real Madrid are already bullish just after three matches in the Spanish league season, Granero also commented on the challenge by Barcelona in his interview and said that, Real believe they can win the league this season and have the capability to finish above
Barcelona in the 2010-2011 season.
Real Madrid are currently third in the La Liga table after winning all but one of their opening three fixtures. In their first league fixture against Mallorca, Madrid only managed to come away with a disappointingly single point however,
in the second match against Osasuna, Real ended up as eventual winners by a score line of a goal to nil.
Despite maintaining an unbeaten start to the season, it can be said that Real are not firing on all cylinders at the moment. Their biggest win of the season so far came against Ajax in the UEFA Champions League, when the Dutch club
side was at the end of a two goals to nil defeat at the Santiago Bernabeau.
As far as Espanyol are concerned, they started off their league campaign in brilliant fashion by winning their first match of the Spanish Primera Divison against Getafe by three goals to one. However, they were brought back down to
earth in their second match of the season after falling pretty to a four nil defeat against Villarreal. In their last league match, Espanyol gathered their second win of the season after winning a toughly contested match against Almeria by a goal without reply.
Currently, the Catalonian club lies at seventh in the Spanish league table with six points from the opening three games.
Espanyol’s last win over Real Madrid came around about three years ago in October of 2007, when they defeated Real Madrid by a score line of two goals to one. Since then, Espanyol have drawn one and lost four of the five last meetings
between the two clubs. Last season, the corresponding fixture ended in a comfortable three goals to one win for Real Madrid. Madrid are expected to win this match because anything but a convincing win for Jose Mourinho’s side will be seen as a failure by the
Madridistas.
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