Real Madrid vs. Ajax – UEFA Champions League Match Review (Part 1)
Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Kaka and Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid take all three points against Ajax on Tuesday.
As the second round of the UEFA Champions League kicked off, Real Madrid were to face Ajax. Jose Mourinho fielded his strongest side at the Bernabeu in order to take all three points from the tricky fixture.
Real Madrid’s win came because of their counter attacking tactics. Jose Mourinho’s men scored two in the first half and scored a third to put the match to bed in the second half.
The Dutch champions did not have an answer to Madrid’s fast and free flowing football. However, they created a few chances in order to find the back of the net.
It was a comfortable win for Real Madrid as they hosted the Dutch Champions, Ajax, at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Jose Mourinho fielded his strongest available side while facing the Dutch Champions at home.
The Spanish shot stopper, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Iker-Casillas-c16815 started for Los Blancos and he was positioned between the sticks.
Mourinho played his favourite 4-2-3-1 formation, which meant that Casillas was aided by four defenders.
Pepe and Marcelo were missing out on this Champions League fixture. While Pepe is still out injured, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marcelo-c23554 watched the match from the sidelines due to suspension.
Luckily, for Madrid, Jose Mourinho had the perfect replacements for both the players. While Raphael Varane covered for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pepe-c29670, Alvaro Arbeloa played in place of Marcelo.
With these two coming into the Real Madrid first team, the back four included – http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ricardo-Carvalho-c30973 formed the centre back partnership.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sami-Khedira-c32325 made it into the first team. The German international was injured for a few weeks but he was declared fit to play against Ajax.
With Khedira coming back into the first team, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Xabi-Alonso-c37045 and Khedira played in the deep centre midfield positions. Khedira adapted more of a holding midfield role while Xabi Alonso played in the deep centre midfield position.
Mesut Ozil featured on the right wing.
On the other hand, the Brazilian midfielder, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ricardo-c30950 Kaka finally made it into the Real Madrid first team and played in the centre attacking midfield position.
The Portuguese captain http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 played on the left wing.
The sole striker for Real Madrid was http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350.
The only first team player missing from the Real Madrid attack was Angel Di Maria. The Argentinean star managed to impress in the last season. However, his poor decision making on the right flank did not allow him to make a comeback into the Real Madrid
first team.
Di Maria was often criticized for over dribbling the ball on the right flank. The Portuguese tactician, Jose Mourinho decided to give a chance to Mesut Ozil on the flank while Ricardo Kaka played in the play making role.
Kaka has been impressive throughout the season. The Brazilian midfielder finally looks to be making a comeback. His goal showed that he still has the legs to produce magic on the pitch.
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