Real Madrid vs Rayo Liveblog

Yawnnnnnn. Real travel to Rayo for an early bird match that could potentially mean a brief thirteen point lead at the top of the table. It has the potential to be a tricky affair given the somewhat tepid rivalry between the two sides, but the Whites will look to reaffirm their pole position after a small slip in Russia. Hala Madrid!

Squad List:
Casillas, Adan, Jesus
Arbeloa, Albiol, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo, Varane, Carvalho, Coentrao
Alonso, Granero, Khedira, Ozil, Callejon, Kaka
Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain, Joselu

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=84e598d027" >Real Madrid vs Rayo</a>

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Murali

no position even on the bench for nuri. hope joselu gets 15+ min

addy

Nuri is diagnosed with Viral gastroenteritis.That’s the reason for his absence!.

Mourinho Big Fan

Even without that virus, I doubt he will get any minutes. I think there is some serious problem with Sahin, so serious that Real Madrid & Sahin himself do not dare to disclose. It’s impossible to know what’s happening to him by only interpreting Mou’s comments — and those are all we got.

Hani Zaheer

Nuri Sahin deserves more time, and I know he will get it later on. Hope for the best for Joselu and I hope Benzema recovers soon. Hala Madrid!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WQKOETIZZ76PSLTAIP75HMWIH4 MasterIwar

Madrid and Mourinho shock me sometimes. In a game like this, where we are the team with the obvious superior talent, i expected they would come out to control the game and hold unto possession, force Rayo to defend and basically bankai their asses. Its just been long balls all day, no intention whatsoever to keep the ball and khedira lol

I actually feel Rayo have controlled the first half and i’m still scratching my head thinking, why would Madrid allow that happen? As much as I hate to say it, some guy called Carles Rexach, ex-barca player and one of those Cruyffian fanboys/disciples working for barca said Madrid sometimes play like a small team when they choose to forfeit possession and let the other team play. That’s what this game looks like.

But hey, we’re madrid, we’ll win, HALA BLANCOS.

boeder

Man, when you quote “Cruyffian” douches, you only make your argument sound silly. These people have a Mourinho-complex, nothing will EVER please them. Haters will always hate.

It was a tough match and I’m sure Mourinho realized this before hand, a lot of players were sluggish and I can’t blame Jose for that.

Johnny

Absolutely and see my 80% comment to some other idiot!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WQKOETIZZ76PSLTAIP75HMWIH4 MasterIwar

All i’m saying is i’ll prefer seeing more emphasis on keeping the ball when we play teams we’re obviously better than. We were on some stoke city shit shuttling long balls out there all day. We’ve got the canons to control games against a team like Rayo at least, right?

And man, I think that quote from the barca douche is worth thinking about.

turkish37

Wait, aren’t we leading these clowns by +13 points? Yet they have the audacity to give Mourinho and our men lessons on how to win?
AddyDBaddy

Tres Puntos…However we get em.
OkCorral

Its just tough to play away and control games. Sometimes days like this happen and Rayo is a much better team than people give them credit for (at least on current form). Look at Barca when they play away. They look lifeless and don’t have nearly the attacking chops that they do at home — unless they’re playing Madrid of course.
Johnny

Mourinho has an 80% win ratio with RM. 80% man and you are questioning him?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WQKOETIZZ76PSLTAIP75HMWIH4 MasterIwar

I love the work he’s done so far and he’s the only man who can lead R. Madrid right now. Don’t get it twisted Mou is my man, however, I do not agree with all his decision when it comes to tactics and personnel selection all the time.

I think its okay to have an opinion sometimes. Right?

hassan

“Madrid and Mourinho shock me sometimes. In a game like this, where we are the team with the obvious superior talent, i expected they would come out to control the game and hold unto possession, force Rayo to defend and basically bankai their asses. Its just been long balls all day, no intention whatsoever to keep the ball and khedira lol”
Spot on, they r hoofing the ball two matches in row now. It is like watching a completely different team than the one we have seen in Dec and January.

Khun

RONALDO WITH YET ANOTHER VITAL AND INCREDIBILE GOAL!

Poor haters.

Begone.
Ronaldo is the man.

Jean

He is indeed:):):). He is seriously talented and Im so glad that he came to Real (even if some Madridistas are sometimes too harsh with him)
OkCorral

Yeah Ronaldo this year for all of the hate, has done exactly what Messi has failed to do. Lost in everyone calling him a “flat track bully” is that this “bullying” will be a somewhat significant part of what wins Madrid the league. He’s scored 2 in his last two against Barca, a key away goal in Moscow (Which might be the most underrated goal of the season in terms of quality — left footed volley from the top of the box). Just seems ridiculous that he gets the hate he does. So often that superstars are lazy and do stupid and dumb things off the field (R9, Ronaldinho, Rooney…) and he easily avoids all of that and is still criticized so heavily. He might be the most under appreciated superstar of the last 20 years.

http://www.facebook.com/mohanad.aljibreen Ned Jibreen

Wow, I really didn’t think Rayo would put out such a fight. They deserved a draw.

Jean

Football its unfair sometimes.At the end of the day the best (Real Madrid) will still win:):). Pleased with the final result even if “apparently” that win wasnt easy.
Im so mad that I missed the game:(:(. I thought it was going to be at 3 EST???

Mourinho Big Fan

http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/barcelona-ace-xavi-real-madrid-do-not-deserve-10-point-lead-2720101

We don’t deserve 10 points… perhaps we deserve 13 points. LOL
James

Some reactions from game:
What’s wrong with Kaka? Only a week ago I thought we was getting some of his abilities back. Guess not…
Ozil was below average again. Hopefully the Germany game will show us his true talents.
Higuain was terrible offensively. I do love his tracking back.
Ronaldo. Man, what can I say. World class creativity and finish.
Arbeloa not a starting player for Real Madrid.
What’s happened to Ramos’ speed? He was outpaced by Diego Costa multiple times.
Tough, grind out game. These are the games we must win to be champions.
HALA MADRID!

Crisi

Ronaldo made a world class goal but missed a very easy one (the one at the last minutes after fast break) even my 6 year old brother would put it in

Jean

See I hate comment like this “but missed a very easy one(the one last minutes after fats break) even my 6 year old brother would put it in”.
hassan

A mature and balanced comment.

hassan

“Ozil was below average again.”

I thought Mesut played well. He created four decent chances in match that lacked coherent build up.

“Hopefully the Germany game will show us his true talents”

Yep, it is probably 09 and Mesut is about to start his first big match for Loew’s team, vs Russia I guess. lol

boeder

We pulled off a win, a good 3 points. I have to admit we were very lucky, that crossbar attempt and the dying minute cross that would have easily been converted to a goal had the RV player made proper contact with the ball. The referee was harsh in giving Michu a straight red, maybe he was compensating for the other two challenges (on Marcelo and CR) that went unpunished even though they were pretty rough. We will sleep on a +13 gap.
super

I expected this would be a though match, so I wasn’t surprised with the poor display.
Rayo pressured & intercepted really well and some of our guys just could not handle it without hoofing the ball.
Please, please, I don’t want to hear anyone crying that we’re so poor because we missed di maria or benzema, or hear anyone shoting higuain for not being able to fill in benz’s shoes. Every match is different. And this is a tough match for our forward. We failed to build anything because the guys at the back kept hoofing the ball.

hassan

“We failed to build anything because the guys at the back kept hoofing the ball”
Agreed. we r playing to Ronaldo’s strength again lol

j_ee

We cannot blame one player or the other for today’s performance. I think all the team was just flat today. Whether it was the condition of the pitch, the match being played in the afternoon, or Rayo just pressing really well, I don’t know. But we were very lucky to escape with 3points today thanks to a fluke goal and some horrendous misses [from both teams].

In my opinion, even the officiating was pro-Madrid today. Both of our CBs could have easily received a red today in the FIRST half! Ramos being booked on the 3rd min of the game. Pepe continuing his rash tackles [in the same style] week in week out and just inviting that expulsion is not a bright game-plan. I’m not even going to talk about the blunders he and Ramos kept on committing all game long.

Even Mou was rusty today I thought with his subs coming way too late. The situation was shouting for a Callejon to energize things with his effort and off the ball movement but he waits till the last 10 mins to sub him in.

In the end we got the win we wanted, but we were way way too lucky.
James

I think most of our bad play offensively comes from the poor form of Alonso. He’s been poor for the last 2 months or since the winter break. Slow, sluggish on the ball and he hasn’t been playing any key passes. On defense, he’s been making rash tackles and not moving his feet. It’s clear that he’s been over used and needs a rest. I don’t get what Mou is thinking.

super

His form is fine but he was never great in dealing with intense pressure without gave the ball away cheaply or hoofing the ball. Add to that the guy behind him: Pepe & Ramos also hoof the ball all the time. It’s like waching EPL.

James

You are right. But his passing hasn’t been nearly as accurate or incisive as earlier on in the year. Ozil isn’t getting any service from him; he only gets those short, useless passes from Arbeloa. It’s time to rest Xabi for a match or two and give Granero some more minutes next to Khedira.

super

Not gonna happen. Xabi gave worse game than this one & still started evrygame anyway, even after minor injury & not fit 100%. Xabi, just like Cristinao, will always start by Mou no matter what his form.

Anonymous

Luckiest win ever! Most amazing goal ever…Rayo hats off, football can be so cruel to be honest.

Don

Missed the watch. Can any1 please post a link of the goal. Thanks!!!

Anonymous

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0nf7ufiAVU&feature=player_embedded

here you go

Don

Amazing goal. Thank you Sara

James

Seriously, what’s going on with Kaka? Doesn’t he keep saying that he wants to remain in Madrid and put in good performances? He isn’t even showing any effort or heart out there! Look at Ozil, probably the player with the least defensive mentality. But he is still willing to run and run for the TEAM. Kaka, on the other hand, seems to only worry about his own performance and doesn’t work for the team. Maybe that’s why Mou was angry at him and regrets not selling him in January.

super

Kaka is old, he doesn’t have that energy anymore. It’s mou fault starting him in this kind of match imo. WOuld be better going 4-3-3 with Granero instead of Kaka.

James

I’ve said this before and I am going to keep saying it: Mou has a man crush on Kaka.

Jean

True lol.
I admit that Kaka is not playing like he used to:(. But he is still a good player and I think that we need a player of that calibre and his experience on our team and for those reasons I hope we dont sell him.
Had it be another player , we would have already sold him but its Kaka so I hope he stays:):):).

James

Well, as long as Mou’s here, don’t expect Kaka to be sold.

Anonymous

He was no worst than Ozil imo

James

Are you serious? Ozil created 3 clear scoring opportunities. The goal also came from Ozil’s play.

Anonymous

What THREE scoring opportunities are you talking about?

The goal came from Ozil’s CORNER, I think the “assist” (if you can call it that) was from Khedira. You are too extreme in your evaluations of Ozil and Kaka, there is no middle ground for you it seems; it’s either black or white.

The whole team got me wondering “what’s going on”, we lacked interest, drive and concentration, not just Kaka, but Ozil, CR, Marcelo, Gonzalo, Arbeloa and Ramos.

Johnny

Very astute observation and I agree that apart from Ronaldo (who looked like he wanted to play) and Casillas the rest were a miserable bunch. No wonder Mourinho was angry! Arbeloa is so predicatble that better sides have no worries about letting him drift alone on the right waiting for Alonso to pass it to him until he runs out of room and fluffs his lines. He is terrible. We also need to work very hard at our set pieces and play many videos on the EPL for how to swing dangerous crosses over and how to cause discomfort in the 6 yard box. Seriously Ozil is very poor with his kicks and Kaka not much better. Marcelo and Alonso are better at bending it. Anyway this was a banana skin which we managed to (just) avoid so lets move on and trust in Mourinho who now has a 80% win ratio.
Anonymous

Well said..

Yes, perhaps he was the most interested of the bunch, the rest were pretty much on flight mode. We could have lost/drawn this game very, very easily. Luck was on our side + that gorgeous goal from CR.
super

Ozil was nowhere near his best game yesterday, but he was much better than Kaka who showed very little effort. I wouldn’t say 3 clear cut chances as James said, but I’m sure you all notice 1 clear chance set up by Ozil (after fast break) in the last minute, I don’t know how Ronaldo screwed that. There are other passes that could be key passes from Ozil, but Higuain & Ronaldo failed to control it, so I wouldn’t count it.

The wonder goal Ronaldo scored came from Ozil’s corner and it was Ozil himself that won that corner, so even though he didn’t assist that goal Ozil definitely played big role in events leading to that goal. On top of that, he put a hardworking performance with effort in tacking, interception, even clearance. Trust me, if he was lacking effort Mou wouldn’t allow him stay until the last minute.

WangFengLei

Dude u need to cool off ur love towards ozil a bit.

Jean

Can someone explain to me why when one player(or 2 ) has an “off game”, some Madridistas suggest that we should sell him? I seriously want to know.
And Im not talking about Kaka btw.
Its bound to happen (players having a bad game every now and then during the season) but to suggest that we should sell a player bc he has 1 or 2 “bad games”(and not in a row) is stupid in my opinion.

James

The only player I would like to see be sold is Kaka. Arbeloa is not first team material, but is a decent backup.

Anonymous

reading how your opinions change every matchday is pure entertainment, one would say it is more entertaining than today’s game.

James

? I’ve said I wanted Kaka out for awhile now.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UBW2U6QGTXK5RKIL2EWLDQSJNQ Horace

if Kaka converted to CB, you would switch to wanting Granero out…. whoever is competition for Ozil
James

Kaka isn’t really competition for Ozil…
Anonymous

that’s right, Mesut’s competition is Adan..

OkCorral

While Kaka did have a bad game and is really not very good anymore, to call for transfers after every bad performance is just a little cliche’d. Everyone was terrible today, the field sucked and it was just one of those days you have to go through and get a win if you want the title. If you’re watching barca -atletico they’re going through the exact same thing — every player on the field looks terrible and they don’t look like a very good team. Messi’s wondergoal will get them the points just like Ronaldo did the same for Madrid. if Messi produced a few more goals like this away, the league would be of course more interesting. Doesn’t mean anyone starts mentioning people to sell.

Its just so impulsive and reactionary and in a sense dumb.

Anyways, If you want Arbeloa to go, who’s to start in front of him? There aren’t very many fullbacks in the world who defend like he does, and he’s a decent enough player in attack. Madrid doesn’t really need an attacking fullback on the right side as they have a great one on the left. Just curious as to who you want to see start in front of him?

James

Hell, I wouldn’t mind having Ramos back at RB next year and start Varane in the CB.
Hinotame

I wonder how people would react if their bosses fired them for one mistake while having great performances practically every time you came to work…idk if its innate human cruelty or something, but we must realize that even though these players are superstars they are still humans like us. We must respect that while still being fans.

WangFengLei

Nah, never mind James.

Anonymous

its a RED nite..
we won
Liverpool won
…………… waiting for the 3eesome
Anonymous

4 o’clock here is siesta time, and the only players who seemed to unaware of this were Casillas at one end and our Ronie at the other (who says he only pads out his goal tally with inconsequential easy goals)
Xabi disactivated and Ozil on a siesta, creativity is down to Khedira….oh dear, he puts 110% of effort in, bless him but if we’re waiting for him to hold the reins we’ll be waiting a long time.
How it pains my madridista retinas to see long balls lobbed from the back and no more than two passes linked up.
In Spanish we have a saying that says those that sleep on the same mattress end up having the same opinions/habits. I wonder if that can be applied to centre backs, as Ramos today is showing some Pepe manic, brain cell absent tendencies – worrying
But since I was expecting a draw today I can only say I’m made up. 2 poor games on the trot though…..

Anonymous

2012 we really didn’t play our finest football, I guess, we do miss Angel and Alonso hasn’t been our best player, he is either being over used or just simply getting old!
About Ramos, it is Sergio, he has some crazy moments of his own without the influence of anyone..however Pepe – craziness was our best defender on the pitch.

super

Wow, saying in 2012 we didn’t play our finest football is such an insultment to players who had carried us through in the critical time in January & february. Admitedly some players haven’t at his best after winter break (Xabi, Marcelo, Arbeola). But others stepped up big time winning us that 10 point lead & giving us impressive come back showing againts Atletic, Mallorca, Malaga!!! Benzema, Ozil, Ramos, and recently Crist, were impresive in 2012.. And don’t forget we played our best game (under mou) againts our biggest enemy in camp nou in 2012!!..

Anonymous

First of all I forget to exclude clasico….second of all, saying that we didn’t play our finest football, it didn’t mean we didn’t play fine football!..that’s why with a game such as racing which we really played a boring game ended up winning with 4 goals, it wasn’t our finest game played, but we won, routine wins are not our finest football, our finest football was that camp nou clasico, that Ajax game, that Lyon away home games, that first half in Malaga game or villrreal..etc

super

Racing & Getafe were not our finest game.
But I rate malaga CDR (both leg), mallorca, & atletic as our finest football too because the spirit we showed until the last minutes, and all of those match were getting better in second half.

hassan

Late Dec to mid Feb Madrid played its best football under Mou, opening the big gap.

http://www.realmadridfootballblog.com Corey

I wish the rest of the people that come here and leave comments paid more attention to what you have to say labomba. My sentiments exactly.

http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam

I liked J_ee’s comment as well. Spot on.

Mokia

Well I still have an erection from ronaldo’s goal. Its been hours

http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam

you should see a doctor about that.

Anonymous

I’d add urgently to ur statement! LOL
Mokia

Nah..

http://www.facebook.com/mohanad.aljibreen Ned Jibreen

We needed to win ugly and we did.
galactico

“we will not win la liga this year”.guardiola.

mind games….when you realize you’re playing it against Jose fkking mourinho,you just roll it up,make a ball of it and flush it down the toilet. thank you
http://www.facebook.com/mohanad.aljibreen Ned Jibreen

And what about this save?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoQiM7jGTns

http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam

This save wins you the league my friend. And some people doubt this guy?

WangFengLei

i don’t know which one’s getting me erected,,CRon’s or Casillas’s

Anonymous

Some doubted him, I do believe these saves only can be done by the one only Iker, How many out of world saves he had so far this season?

Real Madrid vs Rayo Liveblog

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