The Whites salvage a point in Palma
Mallorca 1-1 Real Madrid
April 05, 2008 -Real Madrid managed to salvage a point during their visit to Mallorca in Matchday 31 of La Liga on Saturday. The Whites finished the match with ten men after Sergio Ramos was booked for the second time and sent off. The defender will miss next weekend's clash against Murcia.
The same starting eleven who took the pitch last weekend against Sevilla walked out of the tunnel at ONO Estadi with the loan objective of leaving the stadium with three points in hand. Casillas received protection from a back line comprised of Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, and Marcelo, while Guti was accompanied by Gago, Robben, and Sneijder in the midfield and Raúl and Higuaín in attack.
Mallorca stood strong against La Liga leaders from the moment the ball was kicked off. Five points away from a spot in European competition next season, their intention was to make sure the three points at stake stayed home. The first scoring chance, however, came off the boots of Robben, who was unable to finish cleanly after receiving an assist from Sneijder (5’). Jonás quickly answered for the hosts with a shot from the right flank which Casillas was able to trap with little trouble (7’).
Pressure on both ends
Real Madrid threatened Miguel Ángel Moyá's box on several occasions, but Mallorca controlled possession. Guti had a go from mid-range which the keeper steered wide of net (14’). Mallorca then converged on Casillas. Dani Güiza nearly slipped the ball by the Madridista after a pass from Ibagaza, but Iker cleared to corner (23’).
Arjen Robben was the most active player on the pitch in the first half. Not only did the Dutchman successfully complete passes, but had several good looks on goal and came close to netting the first of the night midway through the period. Daudén Ibáñez then disallowed a goal by Güiza after seeing Sergio Ramos hit the deck following a leap for the ball inside the six.
Score with a Dutch touch
The best play of the half was product of the best player of the half. Robben dribbled up the right flank, feinted past Nunes, and passed into the small box to find an unmarked Wesley Sneijder, who hammered home with his left (42’).
Real Madrid hit the dressing room at halftime confident of what was to come. The match, meanwhile, met all expectations: two teams doing battle with seven matchdays left and plenty of objectives to accomplish.
Valero equalises
It always seems in this sport that, just when one team dominates and has more chances, the other one scores. So, in typical football fashion, Kanouté scored from a set-piece in which the ball hit Keita's head only to land at the Malian's feet (37').
Real Madrid did a better job of pressuring in the second period and the defense advanced its position for precautionary measures. Mallorca never stopped searching for the equaliser, however, and looked to break the centre of the back line. Gago did a superb job of taking Ariel Ibagaza out of the equation and keeping his Argentine counterpart from participating in attack.
Twenty minutes into the second half Sergio Ramos saw his second yellow for tackling Varela. One man down, Madrid had the difficult task of maintaining the lead. It didn't take long for Mallorca to capitalize on Ramos' absence. Borja Valero received a pass from Arango and curled the ball into the upper left corner of Casillas' goal to pull the hosts even (72’).
One point brings Madrid slightly closer to winning the league, and they'll have another chance to pull within arm's reach next Sunday when Murcia visit the Bernabéu.
MATCH REPORT:
REAL MADRID: Casillas, Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Marcelo, Sneijder (Torres, 75’), Guti, Gago, Robben, Higuaín (Diarra, 69’) and Raúl (Baptista, 81’).
RCD MALLORCA: Moyá, Fernando Navarro, Ramis (David Navarro, 27’), Nunes, Héctor (Webo, 79’), Basinas, Varela (Valero, 68’), Ibagaza, Jonás, Arango and Gúiza.
REFEREE: Arturo Daudén Ibáñez. Booked Fernando Navarro (39’), Heinze (75’), Casillas (84’), and Borja Valero (89’) and sent off Sergio Ramos (46’ & 65’).
GOALS:
0-1, 7': Sneijder.
1-1, 37': Borja Valero.
NOTES: Matchday 31 of La Liga played at ONO Estadi in Mallorca. Attendance: 20,000.
Match report by Arancha Díaz
Photography by David R. Anchuelo & Víctor Carretero
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