 |
| Pedro Leon scored his first goal for RM |
Line-Ups:
Real Madrid: Dudek (Casillas: 46'), Sergio Ramos (Arbeloa: 46'), Albiol (Pepe: 46'), Garay, Drenthe (Marcelo: 46'), Lass (Gago: 46'), Mahamadou Diarra (Xabi Alonso: 46'), Granero (Cristiano Ronaldo: 46'), Di Maria (Pedro Leon: 46', Alvaro Morata: 88'), Van der Vaart (Canales: 46', Alex Fernandez: 90'), Benzema (Higuain: 46')
LA Galaxy: Ricketts (Perk: 46'), Berhalter (Leonardo: 63'), Franklin (De la Garza: 63'), Gonzalez (Jordan: 76'), Dunivant (Lewis: 70'), Juninho (Klein: 63'), Stephens (Cazumba: 70'), Birchall, Donovan (Kirovski: 63'), Mathis (Bowen: 25'), Buddle (Magee: 46')
Goals:
- 40': 1-0: Dunivant: Horrible set-play defending from Real Madrid allowed Dunivant to put the ball in the goal after a lot of confusion.
- 45': 2-0: Landon Donovan (P): Drenthe kung-fu kicks Juninho, gives the penalty, Donovan sends Dudek the wrong way and slots in coolly.
- 52': 2-1: Gonzalo Higuain: Gonzalo Higuain gets a sublime pass from Cristiano Ronaldo, Pipita scores in between the keeper's legs and the comeback is on.
- 62': 2-2: Gonzalo Higuain: Pipita recieves the ball back in the box from Gago, after Garay's header is saved and cleared out of the box, Gonzalo Higuain switches from the left to the right foot and curls it from the outside of his right foot, sublime finish.
- 71': 2-3: Pedro Leon: Gonzalo Higuain combined with Sergio Canales and started the move, brilliant return back-heel pass from Canales sets Higuain free, Perk saves, the ball falls to Pedro Leon who is outside the box, remontada, Pedro Leon scores his first goal for Real Madrid.
Highlights:
Post-Match Interviews:
Jose Mourinho: "I liked the team's mentality" (Source: Real Madrid Official Site)
Sergio Canales & Pedro Leon: "Mourinho is very professional" (Source: Real Madrid Official Site)
Injury Update: Pepe
Kepler Laveran Lima Ferreira, "Pepe" finished the match against the LA Galaxy with discomfort on his left soleus and has possibly sustained an injury. Further tests are pending.
(Source: Real Madrid.com)
Notes:
I don't like the kick-offs so early in the morning, and I hate it even more when I miss one half of the game due to that, but after reading a lot about the first half, I'm glad I missed the first half, if I had seen it, it would have been a very crappy start to my day. Don't worry though, I won't be so off about the first half in this post, as I know quite a bit about that half now, thanks to the highlights, the comments on Real Madrid Offside, AS, Marca & Defensa Central. I like to give researched information to my readers.
- Set-piece defending was awful in the first half, quite unlike a Jose Mourinho team, might be due to the fact that Sergio Ramos and Raul Albiol have only joined a few days ago and might still be in vacation mode. And also the fact that Drenthe can't defend.
- Royston Drenthe can't defend, the kung-fu kick on Juninho that resulted in the penalty is one of the many examples of that. I can't defend Ricky anymore, he has to be sold, not loaned like I advocated previously.
- Rafael Van der Vaart can create, and he needs someone to finish the chances he makes, Di Maria and Benzema need to improve their finishing.
- Granero's ideal position isn't on the wing, neither is it as a playmaker just behind the striker, he will be much more suited in a withdrawn central midfield role just ahead of the defensive midfielder.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is for the lack of a better word amazing, the Cristiano Ronaldo that passes the ball to his team-mates is a treat to watch.
- Gonzalo Higuain is a phenomenal forward and those who said Pipita isn't Jose Mourinho's type of striker have to start eating their words because Jose Mou has been nothing but full of praise for the Argentine's link-up play and smart forward runs.
- Sergio Canales is ________________. (Fill in the blank with your favorite adjective that you use to describe someone who is awesome!). I can't get enough of him, I want to see him play again and again, he was one of the reason I didn't want the match to end!
- I have a very strong feeling Pedro Leon will start over Angel Di Maria when the season starts.
Next on the pre-season schedule, Bayern Munich, European timings, I won't miss this. I hope Real Madrid give a better performance defensively in Germany. Hala Madrid!
