Real Madrid-Ajax: 2-0: Take a Bow Mesut Ozil

Midfield Maestro

After being booed by the fans for the uninteresting and unimpressive style of football against Osasuna at the weekend, Real Madrid set off in their quest for "La Decima," facing four time champions—Ajax.

The jeering by the fans seemed to have worked as the style of football presented to the fans at the Bernabeu certainly improved against Ajax, the speed of play isn't "Real Madrid" yet but the defense has been super solid.

Sergio Ramos had picked up a knock just before the game and Alvaro Arbeloa had to step in, Jose Mourinho, dropped Karim Benzema and gave the start to Angel Di Maria, Mourinho started the match with a 4-5-1: Casillas, Arbeloa, Carvalho, Pepe, Marcelo, Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Di Maria, Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuain.

Martin Jol's Ajax were missing their captain—Luis Suarez and central defender—Jan Vertonghen through suspension, they too lined up a 4-5-1 with El Hamdaoui the lone man upfront: Stekelenburg, Van der Weil, Alderweireld, Ooijer, Anita, Enoh, Emanuelson, De Jong, De Zeeuw, Sulejmani and El Hamdaoui.

The pattern of the game was set in the starting minutes of the game, Real Madrid dominated the game, took a lot of long shots and wasted a lot of chances. Despite the horrid finishing there were a lot of positives for Real Madrid in the game.

Goooool del Pipita!

Goals:

1-0: Anita (OG): 31': The first goal was scrambled in from a corner kick taken by Xabi Alonso, the goal was first given to Gonzalo Higuain, but after a few replays the goal was called an own goal by Ajax defender Anita.

2-0: Higuain: 74': The second goal was a result of some brilliant play between Ozil and Di Maria, Ozil was set free in the box by a pass from Di Maria, Ozil set himself up well, took a good shot only to be denied by the brilliant Stekelenburg, but the ball came back to Ozil, who this time played the ball across the goal for the waiting Gonzalo Higuain, who taps the ball in.


Match Notes:

• Despite Angel Di Maria showing flashes of brilliance in the game, he had troubles getting past defenders. He also lacks a passing brain, taking a shot whenever he saw the slightest of opportunity instead of passing it to his teammates in better positions.
• Cristiano Ronaldo has something wrong in his head, he was very selfish and very wasteful, he too like Di Maria took unnecessary shots. Plus it wasn't his day, he missed a simple tap in after Higuain played the ball back to him.
• Gonzalo Higuain is an odd creature, when he hasn't scored his first of the season (or for 3-4 games in a row) he looks dull, sulks and moans a lot, but when he does get his goal, he starts looking amazing and sharp and there is a glow on his face, if you haven't noticed. Such was the case yesterday, he came to life after scoring Real Madrid's second.
• Mesut Ozil was once again the man of the match, brilliant performance from the German playmaker earned him a standing ovation from the crowd at the Bernabeu.
• 3 MATCHES, 3 CLEAN-SHEETS
• Ricardo Carvalho is just the person Real Madrid needed in defense.
• Needless to say, the finishing has to improve otherwise it will come back to haunt Real Madrid.
• Marcelo is amazing, was more than a handful for the stand in Ajax captain—De Zeeuw, even got him yellow carded. It was a decent showing from him at left back defensively, if he can keep this up and improve his defending, we will be looking at one of the best left backs in the world.

Quote Of The Game

"Sooner or later a few teams are going to suffer for all the chances we create." - Jose Mourinho

Highlights:

 

Statistics:

	Real Madrid	Ajax
Shots (on Goal)	35(14)	8(1)
Fouls	7	7
Corner Kicks	11	3
Offsides	3	1
Time of Possession	64%	36%
Yellow Cards	1	1
Red Cards	0	0
Saves	1	13

The trimmed version of this post can be found on my Fan vs Fan blog—Paseo Castellana.

Bayern Munich - Real Madrid: 0-0 (P: 2-4): Gracias San Iker

Photo courtsey: @kaushiklakshman

Whenever you hype up something in your head you are bound to be disappointed, such was the case of the supposedly biggest game of Real Madrid's pre-season's campaign.

The fatigue due to travel was clear on the players who played for their countries in the mid-week international friendlies, and because of that the team wasn't able to perform well as a whole.

But if there was a man on the field who looked as sharp as ever, it was the man with the captain's armband—Iker Casillas. San Iker produced one brilliant save after the another, saved 3 penalties (one in regular time) to win Real Madrid Franz Beckenbauer's testimonial match.

Couldn't imagine what the scoreline would have read if it wasn't for Iker Casillas.

If you thought Arjen Robben was pissed because of the 2 saves made by San Iker in the World Cup final, can't say what was going through Franck Ribery's mind.

I could have done my usual match review but the match had nothing to be reviewed, it was too boring, the players were so tired that they didn't even bother to press Bayern Munich to win the ball back. Xabi was too tired and wasn't efficient in winning the ball back like he usually is, his distribution was okay, but Xabi Alonso'll certainly be better after some rest.

Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso's partnership needs time and like I said Xabi was tired, that didn't help their case either, I'm positive that this partnership will improve though.

Sergio Canales hardly got on the ball, well the attack as a whole struggled because the ball winners were struggling, none of the players in attack, be it Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain or Sergio Canales looked in form.

Gonzalo Higuain missed a clear header from Pedro Leon's cross in the early goings of the game, Pipita also had a tougher chance when Cristiano Ronaldo crossed across the face of goal.

Only Pedro Leon was the one who looked like any danger to the Bayern Munich defense, good match from him, he even tracked back a lot and helped out Sergio Ramos, a LOT.

Garay might be out for a few weeks

Sergio Ramos was in vacation mode in the LA Galaxy game and he was too tired in this game as he travelled to Mexico in midweek, Franck Ribery gave Sergio Ramos headaches, and he even conceded a penalty by tackling Franck in the box, even when Sergio tackled Franck, he lost the ball by passing or clearing poorly, a game to forget for Sergio Ramos.

The central pairing of Carvalho-Garay and Carvalho-Albiol were okay, not much to be said about that.

Another negative from the game is that Garay has dislocated his right kneecap, he will undergo an MRI scan and then the extent of the injury would be determined after that, the moment I saw his knee buckle, I had a feeling he might be out for a few weeks.

Marcelo looked okay, can't say much, but this was a better defensive performance for the Brazillian.

The substitutes didn't change much, but Karim looked good, even crossed one for Cristiano, which would have been a goal was it not for the Bayern keeper—Kraft. Di Maria looked good too, I think he'll come good, just needs more time with the team, I have to stop being so critical of him. Van Der Vaart had an opportunity to score but he could only find the side-netting.

I was thankful that time wasn't added on after the 45 minutes of the half and that the game didn't go to extra time and went straight to penalties because I don't think it was humanly possible to watch one more minute of that game.

The team has to back up their arrogance with their performances and if they want to win the number of trophies that they predict for the season then they have to step-up their game and performances such as these shouldn't be repeated.

It was a ridiculously large trophy!

Real Madrid can be let off the hook, by saying that the team was tired and at least they didn't look so pleased with themselves after they were handed the "trophy," but then they should give a strong performance against Standard Liege on Tuesday after they are rested! Hala Madrid!

LA Galaxy-Real Madrid: 2-3: The Gonzalo Higuain Show

Pedro Leon scored his first goal for RM

Real Madrid have ended their two match tour of North America with a win and with the same scoreline. Real Madrid defeated LA Galaxy 2-3 at the Rose Bowl in front of an audience of 89,000.

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!

Club America- Real Madrid: 2-3: The Era Of Jose Mourinho Is Here

Sergio Canales is a crack!

Squad Number Changes:

• Cristiano Ronaldo # 7.
• Karim Benzema # 9.
• Esteban Granero # 11.
• Sergio Canales # 16.
• Angel Di Maria # 22
• Pedro Leon # 21
• Xabi Alonso # 14.
• Antonio Adan # 13 wore the # 13 shirt, didn't see what Dudek wore so might be they shared the number for this game.
• Jerzy Dudek #25 [Edit: Thanks to DyDy]
  

First half squad: 4-3-3 / 4-5-1
Dudek (GK), Juanfran (RB), Garay (CB), Pepe (CB), Marcelo (C) (LB), Lassana Diarra (CM), Gago (CM), Sergio Canales (AM), Cristiano Ronaldo (RM), Pedro Leon (LM), Benzema (ST)

Second half squad: 4-3-3 / 4-5-1
Adan (GK), Nacho (RB)—Morata (Sub: 84'), Garay (CB), Pepe (CB), Drenthe (LB), Lassana Diarra—Tebar (Sub: 69') (CM), Mahamadou Diarra (C) (CM), Granero (AM), Cristiano Ronaldo—Alex Fernandez (Sub: 84') (RM), Angel Di Maria (LM), Higuain (ST)


Goals:

• Sergio Canales: 34': Great link-up between Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema sees Benzema in the box, who slides the ball right for Sergio Canales to score. 0-1
• Gonzalo Higuain: 63': Brilliantly wighted pass from Cristiano Ronaldo frees Gonzalo Higuain who doesn't fail to score. 2-2
• Cristiano Ronaldo: 80': After having a brilliant game, Cristiano Ronaldo signs off with his characteristic free-kick.

Highlights:

Post-match Interviews:

Jose Mourinho: "Real and I have similar winning DNA"
Sergio Canales: "I am never going to forget my debut"

Notes:

I was hoping to do a better post than this, even tried watching the game, watched it but was distracted by my family members, power cut saw me lose 20 minutes at the start of the game. But I did manage to see all the goals live and let me tell you the goals that Real Madrid conceded were not good, poor defending, I was disappointed. Mourinho will definetly be furious over that.

The attack was brilliant as usual, don't understand why Karim Benzema drifts wide all the time when he is supposed to be the lone man up-front, he was almost always on the left wing, his link-up play was brilliant though. Sergio Canales was magnificent, I love him, defenitely a steal at just €4.5 million (+ €1 million for bringing him one season earlier).

Between the two new wingers, I liked Pedro Leon better, Angel Di Maria can do better, or I hope so.

Cristiano was just plain awesome, I don't know why people say he can't pass, because boy can he pass! They'd make more sense by saying he doesn't want to pass.

The most delightful thing was the contribution of the canteranos in the game, I was most impressed with Juanfran, an attacking winger who looked right at home in defense, Marcelo should take notes. Nacho who replaced Juanfran in the second half looked comfortable too. Tebar, Morata, Alex Fernandez all got a run in, I wanted to see more of them, but it's a start all right.

I'll be catching the LA Galaxy game and will do a proper review for that! Hala Madrid!