Real Madrid keep title hopes alive with 1-0 win over Espanyol
Ten-Man Real Madrid limped to a 1-0 victory against Espanyol at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat on Sunday evening. Marcelo’s superb goal was enough to seal the victory for the visitors, who went a man down in the second minute of the game, when Iker Casiilas
was shown a straight red card by referee Mateu Lahoz. The visitors took advantage of the points dropped by Barcelona on Saturday as they closed the gap on the league leaders to just five points.
Real Madrid have always enjoyed their visits to Espanyol, as they have won all of their previous seven meetings against the club. Jose Mourinho persisted with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350, while Sami Khadira replaced Kaka
in the starting line-up.
The game got off to a dramatic start as Madrid skipper Casillas was shown a straight red card in the second minute of the match. The Real keeper rushed out of his area to intercept the ball but ended up tripping Jose Callejon on the edge of the box. The
referee didn’t hesitate and sent him off. That was a huge blow for the visitors, as Angel Di Maria had to be substituted for reserve keeper Antonio Adan.
Rookie keeper Adan, who came up from Madrid’s youth ranks, was making his senior debut for the club. Both teams were on the offensive early on as they looked to unsettle each other. Adan was tested by a Luis Garcia free kick but the youngster dealt with
it comfortably. Soon after, Khadira came close to scoring but his diving header from a corner went narrowly over the bar. Marcelo came close in the 12th minute when he made a great run from the left and smashed a shot which clipped the bar.
Marcelo was finally rewarded for his brilliant display in the 24th minute. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 made an overlapping run with Marcelo and the Brazilian hammered a powerful shot inside the far post to make it 1-0 for Madrid. Los Blancos nearly scored
another when Espanyol gave the ball away direct from the restart and Adebayor made a 40-yard run before seeing his thumping shot saved by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carlos-Kameni-c8464. The hosts created chances but couldn’t capitalise on them as the teams headed into the second half.
Soon after the break, Madrid were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Ronaldo curled a shot round the wall but Kameni made a superb save to deny the Portuguese. The hosts failed to capitalise on their man advantage as Madrid dominated possession
and territory in the second half. The home side came close to scoring in the 74th minute when Callejon surged into the box and dragged his shot just inches wide of the goal. Madrid however, continued to pile on the pressure and eventually managed
to cling on to their slender lead as the final whistle blew.
It was a great result for Madrid as they restored their hopes of challenging Barcelona for the title. Los Blancos will host Levante UD in their next La Liga fixture on Saturday, 19th February.
Tags: