Spanish Primera Division – Match Analysis: Real Madrid versus Valencia
Real Madrid and Valencia played out an interesting match at the Santiago Bernabeau stadium on Saturday night. Real were looking to bounce back from a humiliating 5 goal defeat to their arch rivals Barcelona in their last league encounter whereas Valencia
was looking to add to the misery of Jose Mourinho and his team.
Valencia kicked off the match controlling the larger share of possession in the first fifteen minute or so of the first half. In the 12th minute of the encounter, Valencia got their first shot on target which forced Iker Casillas into a brave
save. It was Juan Mata for the visitors who whizzed past Marcelo before cutting inside and unleashing an accurate shot. Casillas dived to his right and palmed the ball away with authority as Valencia failed to make most of the ensuing set piece.
In the 25th minute of the match, Real got their first chance to open the scoring. It was Ronaldo who surged up field and tried to play in Ozil but the Portuguese winger’s cross was deflected and ended up in the feet of Sami Khedira who was also
supporting the attack for Real Madrid.
Madrid’s midfielder, Khedira was in a one-on-one situation thanks to the deflection but his shot from around 15 yards out was saved by Valencia’s goalkeeper who did well to block the German. In the 39th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo was in the spotlight
yet again as this time he went past two Valencia defenders before powering a cross into the visitor’s penalty area. However, disappointingly there was no one inside the penalty area for Real to connect with the ball as it trickled out of play.
In the 41st minute, Ronaldo was entrusted by his team mates to take a free kick for Real Madrid which was close to Valencia’s penalty area. The Portuguese national didn’t disappoint as his shot almost found the back of the net but for Guaita’s
fine save in the Valencia goal. As the first half came to an end, Real were at level terms with Valencia; the visitors were second best for most of the first half.
The second half saw incredible drama as in the 48th minute, the Ozil-Ronaldo connection was in action yet again as the former played in the ex-Manchester United player. Ronaldo’s shot from just inside the penalty area was saved by Guaita yet again
as Valencia’s keeper proved to be an impenetrable fortress for the home side.
In the 65th minute of the match, Valencia went down to 10 men due to the foolishness of their midfielder Albelda. The Spaniard was shown his second yellow card of the night for a childish hand ball on Lassana Diarra’s pass up field. Albelda was
as a result sent off by the referee as Valencia’s task was made harder by their veteran midfielder. Real soon scored in the 73rd minute of the match, it was Ozil who played in Ronaldo. This time Ronaldo made no mistake was he finished the chance
to give Real a 1-0 lead at their home stadium.
This lead was doubled by the Ronaldo himself in the 87th minute as he got his second goal of the match after dazzling Ricardo Costa with his quick footwork. Thus the match ended in delight for Mourinho and his men as they resumed their winning
ways in the Spanish Primera Division.
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