The islanders take round one
Mallorca 2-1 Real Madrid
January 10, 2008 -Mallorca defeated Real Madrid in the first leg of the King's Cup Last 16 on Thursday night, meaning that the Whites will have to take care of business next Wednesday in front of their home crowd, but first on the agenda is Levante in League action.
Real Madrid landed in the Balearic islands without six injured players or Diarra -on African Cup of Nations duty-, but with a team more than capable of resolving the first leg of Thursday's King's Cup tie. Both Sneijder and Robinho were on the pitch for the referee's whistle, as was Pepe, who made his first start since the Camp Nou. Higuaín was given the nod in attack and teamed up with Raúl.
Gregorio Manzano had a few surprises up his sleeve as well as six new faces -Moyá, Héctor, Ballesteros, Ramis, Óscar Trejo, and Borja Valero- took to the pitch. Castro, Dorado, Webó, and Güiza were all sidelined with injury, Ibagaza and Arango took their seats on the bench, and Víctor and Trejo rounded out the starting lineup.
Mallorca strike first, but Madrid respond
The islanders had the upper hand during the first twenty minutes. Not even five minutes had ticked off the clock when Varela's shot sailed into the stands. Seven minutes later former Madridista Borja Valero served an assist to Tuni, who's crossed shot attempt was cleared to corner by Dudek.
Víctor had a golden opportunity to give the hosts the lead in a one-on-one with Dudek, but the Madridista backup keeper made a brilliant save. Higuaín was told to play further down the right wing, thus handing Raúl the striker baton. The Whites soon had their first scoring chance, but the Madridista captain was unable to get a clean shot off.
Borja Valero took the ensuing corner kick after the hosts had marched down the field. Trejo controlled the cross with his chest and hammered home the goal. But Schuster's men answered right back. Sneijder's inside pass found Higuaín, who's bullet volley sailed by Moyá. A Mallorca free kick (35’) and a long distance strike by Robinho (39’) closed out the first half.
The winner to be decided in the Bernabéu
Only two minutes after the break, Mallorca retook control when Arango found the back of the net from the edge of the box. It would be some time before Madrid had their next chance; a free kick taken by Sneijder but trapped perfectly by the Mallorca keeper. Varela responded with two shots cleared by the defence and another saved by Dudek (65’).
Balboa and Saviola came off the bench and provided one of the best opportunities of the night. The youth teamer placed an opportune ball into the six, but Saviola's strike was stopped by the legs of a diving Moyá (67’). Balboa abandoned the match after injuring his left ankle, but not before Dudek's spectacular save on Arango and Guti's set-piece strike on goal.
Neither team threw in the towel until the final whistle. Mallorca defended their lead and Real Madrid gave it their all for the equaliser. All will be decided next Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu, but first the Whites return to League action against Levante on Sunday.
MATCH REPORT:
2- MALLORCA: Moyá; Héctor, Ballesteros, Ramis, F. Navarro; Varela, Besinas, Borja Valero, Tuni (Jonás, 68’); Víctor (Ibagaza, 77’), and Trejo (Arango, 36’).
1- REAL MADRID: Dudek; Salgado, Ramos, Pepe, Torres; Sneijder (Balboa, 66’; Drenthe, 77’), Gago, Guti, Robinho; Higuaín, and Raúl (Saviola, 66’).
REFEREE: Delgado Ferreiro. Booked Varela (25’), Basinas (32’), and Guti (83’).
GOALS:
1-0, min.22: Trejo inside the six.
1-1, min.24: Higuaín volley.
2-1, min.49: Arango strike from a distance.
NOTES: First leg of the King's Cup Last 16 played at Ono Estadi.
Match report by Laura Navas
Photography by David R. Anchuelo
Translation by Matthew Goltz
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