So, the curse continues. We lost to Deportivo at the Riazor, who always for some reason seem to up their game against us. It wasn’t pretty to watch, but when was the last time it was consistently pleasing to the eyes under Schuster?
The first chance fell to Deportivo when Álvarez turned Marcelo inside out and sent in a low cross. Mista beat Casillas with his shot, but not the crossbar, and we were lucky to be not a goal down. There were no clear chances for either teams, but Deportivo certainly kept the ball better than us. Just when we were slowly getting into the game, finding our passes, Deportivo went a goal up. Guardado was heading nowhere chasing a long ball, but Pepe fouled him needlessly and Mista scored from the resulting free kick. The marking was truly awful, Heinze seemed to think it is OK to leave a Depo player unmarked. It was neither zonal marking nor man marking, it was confusing. Casillas had absolutely no chance to block that.
Robben showed what he can do when he got the ball, but kept cutting inside far too often. Real got a counter attack going when Van-the-man put Robben through with a delighful pass. Robben should have really done better with it. His first touch was very good but his annoying tendency to shoot ONLY with this left foot meant there was no power becuase of the angle and the Depo keeper deflected it for a corner. I wonder if he can shoot a Pepsi can with his right foot!
We lacked the technique and finesse in the last third of the pitch. It was like watching a third tier English team, with Heinze pumping in long balls. Can’t blame him though, sometimes it looked as if we were playing 4-2-4. Marcelo came up with a Figo-esques cross cum shot which hit the crossbar and surprised everyone. That was the best we could offer, it really summed up our first half performance.
The All Whites got the equalizer as soon as the second half started through who else? Van the man scored the sort of goal he’s famous for. Raul’s shot took a deflection (thankfully!) and fell in front of RVN, who did well to be there and finish it. Deportivo soon restored the lead through another set piece. The corner was delivered into the box and Lopo outjumped Pepe and headed to leave Casillas with no chance to save. Again, the marking wasn’t clear. It was a bad mistake by Pepe to allow Lopo that much space. Right after Depo’s goal, Depo’s keeper made an excellent save to prevent Diarra’s header from going in. That is the closest we would come to scoring in the second half.
Casillas did well to keep us in the game by making a smart save off Verdu(I think). Depo sat back in the last 10-15 mins to protect the lead. Schuster sent in De la Red and Drenthe for Raul and Guti (bizarre he didn’t make it earlier!) for the last 10 mins, but that equalizer would never come from Real. So, we start the season with a defeat at the Riazor.
Higauin was totally absent from the game, hardly made any contribution, rarely got the ball to do anything. I thought it was a bad move to start him on the left hand side. Just becuase he’s average in his natural position, you dont go play him out of position and say he’s bad! What formation did we exactly play? And what’s up with midfield of Higuain-Diarra-Guti-Robben?? I would have preferred De la Red instead of Higuain with Guti pushed to the right. Guti needs to play further up the pitch to create any sort of impact, to make the trademark killer passes we know him for. Playing him in the center nullifies his attacking game, that too against Sergio and De Guzman. Ramos although solid at the back, was pretty average going forward. Maybe he needs more time with Robben for them to gel well. Pepe was good except for the two goals, but thats the worst thing, isn’t it? As a CD, you can’t afford to switch off. Please I want Cannavaro back soon, Heinze sucked! Marcelo was one of the best players for us, except when he was skinned early on, he was pretty good at the back, and made some good runs forward. He lacked the support from Higuain who was wandering all over the pitch. Robben was hounded by Felipe and Guardado whenever he touched the ball, but the fact that he lasted for 90 mins is a good sign. Raul worked his socks off, but you expect more form a forward. I was suprised that Schuster didn’t take him off earlier. It is becoming awfully clear that we have two slow coaches up front. I hope VDV comes starts the next game, we seriously need some long distance shooters. And one person whom I missed the most was Sneijder (who gets the number 10, yay!)! sigh! Get well soon Wesley!
Schuster has two weeks time to reflect on this, and do the needful. Here’s hoping that all our internationals come back injury free!
Till next time, cheers! Hala Madrid!
Tags: Alberto Lopo, Bernd Schuster, Guti, Jose Andres Guardado, la liga 2008-09, Real madrid Deportivo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder
