By Gaurav Nimkhedkar 27th August 2018
¡Remontada!
After some good display in the season opener against Getafe, Real Madrid was heading to Montilivi for their 2nd La Liga match. Promoted last season, Girona defeated Real Madrid 2-1 when they faced them last season. Real Madrid were prepared to face the challenge and not repeat the debacle which happened 12 months back.
It was heavily rumored that the new acquisition, Thibaut Courtois would get his debut but Lopetegui awarded Navas another start after a good match against Getafe. Nacho started again, alongside Sergio Ramos, after his brilliant performance in the last match. Casemiro started instead of Ceballos and the rest were the usual starters who also featured against Getafe. Note that Luka Modric and Varane had a busy summer featuring in the world cup final and the latter's team winning it, so they were not troubled to start in this game.
The game started with huge cheers from the Girona fans, trying to get into Los Blancos' players head. But Madrid was calm and composed and started their build for that first goal. On the 8th minute, Benzema got the chance and scored but it was judged offside. The game was end-to-end from the first minute, as Girona tried to capitalize every counter attacks they could, and succeeded when Lozano burst forward giving Borja Garcia a chance to score. Nacho couldn't stop Lozano and also Kroos 'jogged' back and couldn't press Borja Garcia who scored easily.
Real Madrid feared for last season's debacle and pressed on for the equalizer, and we got so desperate that one could see Ramos going for the attacks, he got 2 header chances which he couldn't direct it towards the goal. On the 38th minute, Asensio got the ball in the box and while trying to shuffle past the defender he was tripped, a penalty call which our El Capi slotted a panenka for 1-1. Second half, calm and composed build-ups and great possessive plays resulted in another penalty call, which Benzema took, sending the Girona goalkeeper in the different direction for 1-2. Gareth Bale scored on the 59th minute after his trademark burst and slotted it easily in the bottom left corner. Gareth Bale showed that he can lead and was seen everywhere on the pitch, coming back for the build-ups, helping with counter press and then popping up on the right wing for his dash runs to assist Benzema for an easy finish for his double.
From the bench, Varane, Modric came on for Marcelo and Isco respectively for some match fitness and Lucas came on for the Welshman. They saw to it that Girona didn't cause any problems to Madrid and we secured a 1-4 win!
As Real Madrid play week after week, we're understanding what Lopetegui's system is and what he expects from the players. Players are still understanding the system and trying to get well from the world cup hangover. These are times when one can't wait to see what Lopetegui can do in the big matches, guess we'll have to wait and see
After some good display in the season opener against Getafe, Real Madrid was heading to Montilivi for their 2nd La Liga match. Promoted last season, Girona defeated Real Madrid 2-1 when they faced them last season. Real Madrid were prepared to face the challenge and not repeat the debacle which happened 12 months back.
It was heavily rumored that the new acquisition, Thibaut Courtois would get his debut but Lopetegui awarded Navas another start after a good match against Getafe. Nacho started again, alongside Sergio Ramos, after his brilliant performance in the last match. Casemiro started instead of Ceballos and the rest were the usual starters who also featured against Getafe. Note that Luka Modric and Varane had a busy summer featuring in the world cup final and the latter's team winning it, so they were not troubled to start in this game.
The game started with huge cheers from the Girona fans, trying to get into Los Blancos' players head. But Madrid was calm and composed and started their build for that first goal. On the 8th minute, Benzema got the chance and scored but it was judged offside. The game was end-to-end from the first minute, as Girona tried to capitalize every counter attacks they could, and succeeded when Lozano burst forward giving Borja Garcia a chance to score. Nacho couldn't stop Lozano and also Kroos 'jogged' back and couldn't press Borja Garcia who scored easily.
Real Madrid feared for last season's debacle and pressed on for the equalizer, and we got so desperate that one could see Ramos going for the attacks, he got 2 header chances which he couldn't direct it towards the goal. On the 38th minute, Asensio got the ball in the box and while trying to shuffle past the defender he was tripped, a penalty call which our El Capi slotted a panenka for 1-1. Second half, calm and composed build-ups and great possessive plays resulted in another penalty call, which Benzema took, sending the Girona goalkeeper in the different direction for 1-2. Gareth Bale scored on the 59th minute after his trademark burst and slotted it easily in the bottom left corner. Gareth Bale showed that he can lead and was seen everywhere on the pitch, coming back for the build-ups, helping with counter press and then popping up on the right wing for his dash runs to assist Benzema for an easy finish for his double.
From the bench, Varane, Modric came on for Marcelo and Isco respectively for some match fitness and Lucas came on for the Welshman. They saw to it that Girona didn't cause any problems to Madrid and we secured a 1-4 win!
As Real Madrid play week after week, we're understanding what Lopetegui's system is and what he expects from the players. Players are still understanding the system and trying to get well from the world cup hangover. These are times when one can't wait to see what Lopetegui can do in the big matches, guess we'll have to wait and see
