La Liga 2006/07 - Match reports covering Real Madrid and Atletico
This page consists of the reports written by Madrid-Uno when following the fortunes of Real Madrid and Club Atlético de Madrid during season 2006/07. It was a Championship winning season for Real, under the management of Fabio Capello, whilst Atleti subsided to yet another year of mid-table obscurity and outside qualification for Europe.
Season 2006/07
Round 38 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Mallorca and Osasuna vs Atlético
Amazing! An amazing end to an amazing comeback. With ten games left Barca looked to be cruising to a third consecutive title when defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League shook their confidence and they started to falter. Meanwhile, sneaking up on the rails, Real Madrid completed a series of improbable last minute goals securing wins and draws that took them to the brink before last night's catharsis in the Estadio Bernabeu.
For much of the night it looked as if Barcelona would be the team and city celebrating come the final whistle. The defending champions were running riot against relegated 'Nastic and were 3-0 up at the break, with goals from Puyol, Messi and Ronaldinho. Meanwhile, Real were struggling and there was a growing edge of anxiety amongst a crowd that included actor Tom Cruise and tennis star Rafael Nadal. There was an early scare when Mallorca's Arango slammed a shot on to the Real woodwork in the opening minute and they fell behind when Fernando Varela broke the offside trap to score on 17 minutes. This was followed by the exit of Real's leading scorer when Ruud van Nistelrooy hobbled off with a hamstring injury a little over half-an-hour into the game. Beckham curled a nice effort on to the Mallorca crossbar and Varela had a chance to put the visitors even further ahead but he poked his effort wide. Beckham, struggling with an ankle injury, made way for Reyes, who's first touch resulted in a goal as he latched on to Gonzalo Higuain's pull-back on 68 minutes.
Suddenly, the crowd started to fizz again and you could see the players lift themselves for the final quarter. Ten minutes later a sharp corner was met by a strong downward header from Diarra which the goalkeeper parried, but only into defender Basinas standing on the post and the ball crept over the line. Ecstasy and pandemonium. Just two minutes later Reyes sealed the result, curling in a delightful third from the edge of the area.Can I say amazing again? Amazing. It is the club's first La Liga success in four years and the traditional celebrations down at Plaza Cibeles were tinged with a touch of hysteria. An estimated 250,000 fans converged on the Cibeles fountain to celebrate a 30th title triumph. The players arrived in a white open-top bus and when they got to the historic fountain they celebrated on a specially constructed catwalk. Club captain Raul, celebrating his fifth league title, was lifted on to the monument by a crane whereupon he draped a Spanish flag, a club scarf and a club flag around the statue of the goddess as his team mates looked on.
"I couldn't have dreamt it any better," said Beckham. "It's been about winning the title for the last six months - and we've deserved it tonight. It's been an incredible experience, but all I remember now is the great things. Winning this tonight now puts to bed everything else." The England star was joined by his three sons on the pitch and was given an emotional send-off along with Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos, who is also leaving close season after 11 years in the Spanish capital. For newcomer and Pichichi winning striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose hamstring was confirmed as torn, it was "a dream come true. It is incredible. It is hard to explain the joy that I feel. I don't have the words. I don't even feel any pain. We're champions and the tear doesn't even hurt. All we have left to do is go to the party."
Atléti beat Osasuna away 2-1 but unfortunately it wasn't enough to escape 7th place and they failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup, gaining entry instead into the Inter-Toto mickey mouse thingy.
Round 37 of the Domestic Season - Real Zaragoza vs Real Madrid + Barcelona vs Espanyol
22:55 hrs, central Madrid. In what might still prove to be premature celebrations, some probably still slightly stunned Real supporters are out in Plaza Cibeles, the traditional home of the club's championship celebrations. And David Beckham's hopes of finishing his career with a Spanish league title remain alive after an extraordinary night in La Liga. With just two minutes left a topsy-turvy Saturday night saw Barcelona leading Espanyol 2-1 at Camp Nou and Real trailing 2-1 at Real Zaragoza. But Ruud van Nistelrooy's second equaliser of the night, his 33rd goal of the season, secured Real a 2-2 draw. Then, in the final minute, Espanyol equalised at Barcelona to leave Real still on top going into the final round. Sevilla, who could only manage a 0-0 at Mallorca, remain in title contention but trail the two leaders, who have the same points tally but Real are ahead because of their superior head-to-head record.
Beckham, still visibly shaking off the ankle injury he suffered on England duty mid-week, played the whole game. He hobbled off at the end clutching a supporters scarf. Real went behind after half an hour when defender Ivan Helguera impeded Pablo Aimar to concede a penalty which Diego Milito tucked away. Real trailed 1-0 at half-time, but then van Nistelrooy equalized after 56 minutes. It was the former Manchester United striker's 14th goal in his last 14 games, equalling Real legend Hugo Sanchez's record of scoring in seven consecutive matches in the process. However, Madrid faltered again when Milito, set up by Aimar, cooly slotted home his second after 63 minutes. The game swung back and forth as Real pressed and Zaragoza counter-attacked. Then, with just two minutes on the clock, Van the Man from Amsterdam forced home the ball home after some neat and swift build-up play, It was his 10th goal in his last seven games, secured Real a point. Moments later news filtered through that Raul Tamudo had scored a last-minute equaliser for Espanyol. Barcelona had surrendered the title advantage in the final moment of the their game.
The champions had earlier been indebted to a controversial 'handball' goal by Lionel Messi. With his side trailing 1-0 to their city rivals, the Argentine wing took to the Argentinian speciality play-book and conjured a 'hand of God' moment from a Gianluca Zambrotta cross and punched the ball with his hand past Espanyol keeper Carlos Kameni. The protests to the referee by the Espanyol players were fervent but inneffective. A superb strike from Messi early in the second half put Barcelona in seeming total control before the late, super late, super duper late drama in both matches.
Atlético vs Celta Vigo - Atlético lost 3-2 at home to relegation threatened Celta and this result dropped the striped ones to 7th place and outside the UEFA qualification spots.
Round 36 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Deportivo and Gimnastic vs Atlético
On Saturday Real overcame La Coruña in a 3-1 win, with David Beckham providing crucial crosses for two of the goals. Depor were attired in a faintly disturbing shocking pink outfit and initially the glare from their shirts seemed to confuse the men in white. Eventually the Madridistas got a grip on the game and goals from Raul and Van the Man saw them home. Ruud said afterwards: "I wish David wasn't leaving as he is playing so well now. Maybe the Galaxy can loan him out to Madrid for a year. I'm not sure that is going to happen but I would love it if it did. He's at the top of his game and is maybe as good as he has ever been." Meanwhile, Getafe had a good go at Barca but lost 0-1 in the Nou camp, although Ronaldinho, who had scored in the first minute, was sent off just before half-time for kicking David Belenguer right in his knackers - eeeeuuuuwwww. Poor little Ronny seemed aghast when the ref showed him red and cried all the way into the tunnel like a little girl. Rijkaard maintained his reputation for whingeing, commenting afterwards that: "It surprised me because we do not have a team that is dirty. Our idea is to move the ball quickly and to keep possession. We should act more like the Getafe players maybe and when there is minimal contact we should throw ourselves about, shout out and call for cards. When my players go over they get up quickly because they know about football." (lol). On Sunday, Atleti recovered from their previous week's bashing by downing bottom-placed 'Nastic 2-0, both goals by Torres (the second a penalty). OK, thirty-six games down, two to go, and Real are still leading the league but remain equal on points with Barca.
Round 35 of the Domestic Season - Recreativo vs Real and Atlético vs Barcelona
Jesus! Your reporter's heart can't take much more of this. Having led by 2-0 after 55 minutes and looking comfortable Real looked to have given it all way by the 86th minute as Recreativo Huelva equalised from a corner. But, in a last-minuted counter-attack, (and this really was last-minute, as in last kick of the ball stuff) ancient Galactico Roberto Carlos, his knees-a-knocking, threw away the walking stick, raced up field to support Beckham, Van N and Ramos, got played in on a one-on-one with the oppo's keeper... and lifted the ball over and into the net. It's destiny I tell you. Destiny, surely. Please oh please oh please oh please. Unfortunately, in some of the heaviest downpours seen in the capital for several decades, Atleti were completely stuffed 0-6. The pain in Spain stayed mainly in the rain. This was received as doubly bad amongst the denizens of Cherry Bar because it serves to re-energise what had been a faltering Barca side. However, it's now only 3 games to go so ultimately Real still have control. But only just. Two hard games to come.
Round 34 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Espanyol and Getafe vs versus Atlético
Oh - My - God. What a game. What a comeback. What a result! Three goals to one down after the 1st half (a hat-trick for Pandiani) and looking well beaten, someone slipped monkey glands into the tea during the break and our boys came out fighting. Within 12 minutes of the restart Real were level and they spent the rest of the second half beating Espanyol's door down. However, it took until the 89th minute before Higuain caused total pandemonium in the Bernabeu by storming up from his right-back position, playing a neat 1-2 with Sergio Ramos, and slotting home. People were leaping up and down, hugging strangers, screaming, breaking down weeping - and that was just in the bar your reporter was watching in. The scenes in the stadium were astonishing and the team celebrated on the pitch with the fans long after the final whistle. This was Saturday. On Sunday Atleti put 4 past Getafe and then an increasingly nervous Barca drew 1-1 at home to Betis. This result means that Real now lead the Championship. They're on equal points with the whingeing Catalans but have a better head-to-head record. There's now a secretish feeling on the streets of Madrid that the Championship is this team's destiny. No-one's mentioning it specifically, or out-loud as it were, but you can sense it. 4 games to go.
Round 33 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Sevilla and Espanyol versus Atlético
Ooooooof! A crucial 3-2 win for Real at home to UEFA Cup finalists Seville. Van The Man scored another brace and now leads the goal scorers league (the eventual winner receives a trophy known as the pichichi for this feat) but it was Robinho's header that edged Real ahead after initially being 0-1 down that really turned the match. Unfortunately, Robinho got sent off for his celebrations, the old removing the shirt trick that those idiots at UEFA seem to think requires a yellow card - bunch of wan**rs. Nonetheless, a great result especially as it puts Sevilla two points behind Real now and into 3rd place. Atlético went down 2-1 away to Espanyol, who have also made the UEFA Cup final.
Round 32 of the Domestic Season - Athletic Bilbao vs Real and Atlético vs Betis
On Saturday Atleti drew 0-0 at home to Real Betis. Your reporter was in San Sebastian, home to Real Sociedad, with some felow Madrileños for the Sunday match of Real vs Athletic and normally showing support for any Madrid team in the heart of the Basque country would be a dangerous proposition. However, both Athletic and neighbours Sociedad are desperately struggling against relegation so its dog eat dog at the moment and Reals' 1-4 thrashing of the red and white striped Basques actually went down quite well in the bar we watched it in - although we were careful not to celebrate too ostentatiously, with each goal (Sergio Ramos on 15 mins, van Nistelrooy 35 and 50, Guti 84) being accompanied by whispered 'yes's'.
Round 31 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Valencia and Real Sociedad vs Atlético
Yes! A full house at the Bernabeu saw one of the finest goals ever scored and came away happy with a 2-1 win into the bargain as well. Real's first goal was an exemplary, errr, well, example of what the Spanish call toci-toc and which we call one-touch football. Nine first time passes (including a Robinho back-heel) moved the ball upfield for overlapping left-back Torres to cross to the right-hand edge of the box where van Nistelrooy volleyed a blistering, swerver into the opposite top corner. The stadium thundered its approval. Despite Morientes equalising early in the second-half a nice free-kick from Beckham enabled Ramos to head in from close range and round of a great night for the fans. Atleti went down 2-0 away to Sociedad and had two men sent off in the process. Since Barca went down 2-0 away to Villareal suddenly the championship is on again. It's getting tense now...
Round 30 of the Domestic Season - Racing vs Real and Atlético vs Levante
Bah! After leading 1-0 in the first half (Raul scoring) and controlling matters on the pitch for the best part of the second half Real gave away two penalties to lose the return match against Santander. The first penalty was bollocks but the second, in the last minute of normal time, was probably justified. Terrible, terrible news as Barca won their match with their own last-minute goal the following day. Atleti won 1-0 with Torres scoring a classic 'poachers' goal.
Round 29 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Osasuna and Villarreal vs Atlético
The previous Saturday, Barcelona had dropped 3 points losing 1-0 away to Zaragoza so on Sunday Real knew they had the opportunity to close the gap to two points. Normally this season, whenever they have had this sort of chance, Real have played nervously but this time they came out confident and played fluently. It finished 2-0 with an early goal from Raul on 24 minutes and a Robinho blinder on 81 minutes and Osasuna rarely got a look-in. Now the Madridistas are within bollock touching distance of the Catalan whingers the Championship is truly up for grabs. Our striped cousins down at the Manzanares river / construction site also had a great weekend, winning 1-0 away, although there was quite some controversy since one of the Villarreal players was down injured (or, more likely, play acting injured) on the goal-line when Eller streaked forward and used the prone player to beat the offside-trap and score his headed goal.
Round 28 of the Domestic Season - Celta Vigo vs Real and Atlético vs Mallorca
The season resumed after mid-week internationals and the break seemed to have loosened things up somewhat. It was the highest scoring round of the season so far, with 35 goals scored in ten games (although there was one 0-0 draw), and the refs dished out 72 yellow cards and 5 red. Atlético contributed one goal, 7 yellows and 1 sending off to the total when drawing at home to Mallorca, whilst Real got a sweet win away to Celta (1-2) who had previously beaten them at home but had Guti sent off - mainly for acting like a spoiled brat. Still, at least he has the nicest hair.
Round 27 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Gimnastic and Zaragoza vs Atlético
Easy pickings for Real playing second from bottom 'Nastic who were reduced to ten men after just 6 minutes. Our boys won 2-0 courtesy of a goal from Robinho on 56 minutes and an own goal towards the end. Atléti went down 1-0 away.
Round 26 of the Domestic Season - Barcelona vs Real (el Clásico - part ii) and Atlético vs Deportivo
Saturday night is fight night! For the return leg of the biggest match in Spanish football Real were short of Cannavaro and Beckham and Capello had a record of never winning at the Nou Camp (or Camp Nou if you prefer). The whingeing Catalans, on the other hand, lined up pretty much full strength (Messi and Eto'o were back from lengthy injury lay-offs) and were hot favourites. We were, frankly, expecting the worst. What we got was a six-goal thriller that swung back and forth as Real went ahead three times only to be pegged back each time courtesy of a Messi hat-trick. So, empate, but what an empate. Actually, you have to give Barca some grudging respect because they played the whole of the second half with ten men following the sending off of Oleguer for a second yellow card. The next day, Atléti got revenge for their first leg humiliation at Deportivo La Coruna, winning two-nil after scoring in the first minute.
Round 25 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Getafe (el mini derby - part ii) and Recreativo vs Atléti
Getafe retained their hoodoo (voodoo?) over the lads in white with a 1-1 draw in the Bernabeu and giving the junior club 4 points out of the two matches this season. Meanwhile Recreativo scored early and held on without too many scares to finish 1-0. Real are now in 4th position and Atleti 6th.
Round 24 of the Domestic Season - Atlético vs Real (el derby - part ii)
So here's the SP. The last match, at the Bernabeu, was a 1-1 draw (empate) The last four matches played at the Calderon have all resulted in Real wins. The last time Atléti won at home against Real was in 1998/99. So, come Saturday night, and the rojiblancos go one nil up with a nice goal from Torres in the first half and we're thinking this could be it. They're gonna shake the hoodoo. But, ten minutes later, Atletico are robbed of a clear goal when the linesman mistakenly flags for offside. It's a bad decision and you just know it's going to be crucial. And yes, sure enough, early in the second-half Real's Raul equalises. Although Cannavaro is sent off with ten minutes to go the energy isn't there from Atleti. The fans can't believe they've been robbed again and the game fizzles out 1-1.
Round 23 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Betis and Sevilla vs Atlético
Andalucia vs Madrid this weekend and the southerners came out on top. Real (5 bookings and a straight red card) drew 0-0 at home to Real Betis (7 bookings). Becks was the red card in the 90th minute. Maybe he was practicing for his first role in Hollywood as some Die Hard revenge meister. It was a vicious scythe from behind and then he did a lot of pointing and shoving and arguing to follow up. Method actor I'm guessing. Maybe Lee Strasberg school. The striped ones lost heavily in the away match, 3-1 and Sevilla played with 10 men for over 55 minutes after Marti was sent off when the score was already 2-0. Here's the top of the table:
Round 22 of the Domestic Season - Sociedad vs Real and Atlético vs Athletic Bilbao
A golden free-kick from a re-instated 'Cojones de Oro' helped Real return to winning ways on Saturday, beating Sociedad 1-2 after losing an early goal. 
Becks' superb 25-yard free-kick and solid play all-round had Madrid coach Fabio Capello eating humble pie. Well, not humble exactly, viz: "He played a great game and deserves the credit. As I said before, the mark of an intelligent person is one who knows how to rectify his mistakes." It was good to see Real get a bit tougher on the pitch - a bit meaner - because it's clear they're not the sort of squad thats brimming with creative brilliance (like they think they are) so they ought to work harder. On Sunday Atléti grabbed a 1-0 at home to Athletic which keeps them in 5th position in the championship. However, the best performance from a Madrid team this week was Getafe's 3-0 destruction of Valencia. We don't talk much about the Bolton Wanderers of the Primera on this blog but many Madrileños think that Schuster, Getafe's flamboyant and clever manager, is the best in the league and there's even a small undercurrent of support for him as the national manager, although his German passport probably rules him out.
Round 21 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Levante and Valencia vs Atlético
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. On Sunday Real slumped to a dismal 0-1 defeat to unexceptional Levante. Real hit the post twice, spurned numerous clear attempts on goal (Raul was the worst offender but even the Van Man was profligate), spent a deal of time falling on the floor in the penalty area and gave away a clumsy penalty of their own. It was horrendous. Towards the end a large section of the crowd started chanting against Calderon (the president of the club) and doing that Spanish thing of waving their scarves around to signify their disgust at what they were witnessing. One supporter was shown waving a banner that said Calderon Dimision - which means 'Resign Calderon'. Well, Madrid-Uno was definitely resigned and would have resolved to drink heavily to numb the pain but had already consumed enough from the night before celebrating Jonny Wilkinson's awesome comeback game for England vs the Scotch in the 6 Nations rugby. On the Saturday Atléti went down 3-1 away to Valencia although the scoreline wasn't a totally fair reflection of the match since the striped ones gave it a good go and conceded the third when stretching for an equaliser.
Round 20 of the Domestic Season - Villareal vs Real and Atlético vs Racing Santander
After Saturday's non-performance, Zipper announced that he was giving up watching Real for this season. "They're not a team anymore," he said, as he fell asleep on his feet standing up at the bar. Not only did Real fail to 'shit on the Villa', they failed to do anything that could remotely be described as exciting. Atleti's home form continued to stutter - they drew 1-1 with Racing - but at least the crowd behaved a bit more politely this week. Later in the week the Fat Man was sold to AC Milan for £4.95m. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti commented that he was "not particularly fit", but added: "He remains a great player." errr, OK. But I'd hide the pasta in the canteen if I were you.
Round 19 of the Domestic Season - Mallorca vs Real and Atlético vs Osasuna
On Saturday, Atléti made heavy work of defeating a fired up Osasuna, eventually subduing the 'crazy-gang' from Pamplona 1-0, through a goal in the 85th minute from Ze Castro. This was the teams third meeting in 8 days (2 cup matches had previously been played) and more punches had been thrown in the games than on Ricky Hatton's fight night (well done Ricky BTW). Osasuna had 4 men sent-off in the final quarter of an hour, including two in injury time, and ended up with a midfielder in goal. There was blood on the pitch and bad-blood in the stands also with the rojiblanco manager Javier Aguirre also being sent off and a near riot amongst the striped supporters which resulted a couple of days later in the club being fined for crowd trouble. On Sunday, in the more tranquil island surroundings of Palma, Real snagged a 1-0 away win courtesy of a pearler of a free-kick from Reyes. The night's outstanding performer though was Real's right-back Miguel Torres, a 20-year-old who made some strong attacking runs and showed a mature head when defending.
Ze Castro goal versus Osasuna
Round 18 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Zaragoza and Celta Vigo vs Atlético
Phew! What a week! On the Thursday before Round 18 came the news of Golden Balls' move to Hollywood followed by Capello's rather tetchy declaration that he won't let him pull on the white jersey again for the rest of the season. Then on Saturday Espanyol beat the Barca whingers 3-1 despite 8 of the home team players being booked (5 in the last 15 minutes as they withstood a furious onlaught on their goal) and then on Sunday league leaders Sevilla were surprisingly beaten at home by lowly Mallorca. This meant that both Real and Atléti had a chance to close the gap at the top and they both took it. With Beckham watching from the VIP box, Real pulled off a great result as superdooper marksman van Nistelrooy scored the deciding goal in the night's first televised match and then the striped ones got another great away win 3-1 at Celta. Torres scored two in the first half and Aguero made it three early in the second to effectively kill off the match, although Nene (who is having the season of his life) got a consolation twenty minutes from time. With Getafe also scoring an away win this was a superb weekend for Madrid teams. By Wednesday the press was going into meltdown as speculation mounted that The Special One might be swapping Stamford Bridge for the Bernabeu next year and that Ronaldo was to be offloaded close season as well.
Round 17 of the Domestic Season - Deportivo La Coruna vs Real and Atlético vs Gimnastic
Hostilities resumed after a two week Christmas break with Atleti being held 1-1 by 'Nastic at home on Saturday 6th January - the striped ones really are not performing well en casa this season - and the match ended in very bad temper with one sending off (Gabi in the 88th minute) and 6 yellows shown in total. On Sunday, Real were comprehensively outplayed away to Deportivo going down 2-0. That's five losses now and we're barely half way through.
Round 16 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Recreativo Huelvo and Barca vs Atlético
Real played Wednesday as the normal Sunday fixture would have meant playing late on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately the match was overshadowed by a tragedy in Andalucia when a bus crash left four of the visiting supporters dead and a further 35 passengers injured. The Spanish Football Federation rejected appeals from Recreativo officials for the game to be postponed. A minute's silence was held before the game and gate proceeds were to be donated to the victims' families. What was to be a celebratory game passed off in a muted atmosphere although Recreativo's players honoured their fans with a 3-0 win. A day later a rejuvenated Atleti held the whingeing Catalans to a 1-1 draw. Bravo!
Round 15 of the Domestic Season - Espanyol vs Real and Atlético vs Getafe
A fighting 0-1 win away at RCD against a team who had not lost in ten matches for Real. Van the Man was again scorer, notching in the 50th minute, and Real had to negotiate the last 35 minutes without Cannavaro who got sent off for a second (deserved) yellow card. Atléti finally got a good win at home, a 1-0 win in the mini-derby versus Bernd Schuster's well organised Getafe.
Round 14 of the Domestic Season - Sevilla vs Real and Atlético vs RCD Espanyol
Playing in their purple away kit Real sunk to a 2-1 loss on the road. Despite an early goal from David Beckham replies from Kanoute and Chevanton did for them. The Fat Man was given an awesome chance to equalise late on following a babe of a through ball from The Van Man, but fluffed it badly and it would appear that his career must be sliding to a close. Beach football and amusing fat / bald / bunny jokes for TV advertisements to follow. Atléti continued with their uninspiring home form losing 1-2 to the other team in Barcelona. 
Round 13 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis vs Atlético
A solid 2-1 win at home for Real places them only 1 point from Barca, who are leading the championship, while Atléti picked up a notable 1-0 win at Betis - always a difficult place to play.
Round 12 of the Domestic Season - Valencia vs Real and Atlético vs Real Sociedad
Cunning use of the boredom tactic enabled Real to sneak a precious away win at the Mestalla. In the first half the game was so slow you could see global warming. Real are now only 3 points off the lead in the championship. Atléti drew 1-1 at home.
Round 11 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Racing and Levante vs Atlético
A solid 3-1 win at home for Real against Santander ended bizarrely as Guti got sent off in the 89th minute and then three Real players were yellow carded in the ensuing arguments meaning the ref had given ten yellow cards and one red for the whole match. I reckon he had a specialist wager on with betfair. Atlético won strongly away 3-0 with Maniche getting a brace and Torres a penalty on his come back match.
Round 10 of the Domestic Season - Osasuna vs Real and Atlético vs Villareal
Wunderbar! (or however the Dutch say it) A superb 4 goal display from Ruud van N left a warm glow in the chest (+1 disallowed) and gave a nice boost to Real's goal difference as they left Osasuna's stadium with a 4-1 win. Nistelrooy now has eight La Liga goals. Osasuna had 7 players yellow carded as they struggled to contain the white storm. Atleti had a good win as well, winning 3-1 at home even without injured striker Torres.
Round 9 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Celta Vigo and Real Mallorca vs Atlético
Eeeeuw. Real failed to take their opportunity to leapfrog Barca into second position in the table by losing at home to Celta. Shocki called it, stating after Barca's draw that Celta were a good side and we shouldn't be so confident of winning and he was proved right as Real went down to their first defeat at home this season. Celta took the lead through Nene, who is 'hot' this season and while the much derided Emerson equalised for Real, Celta got the winner six minutes from time. The Fat Man (Ronaldo) started and failed to do anything right and Capello again used Becks as a second half sub. Atléti drew 0-0 away in Majorca.
Round 8 of the Domestic Season - Gimnastic vs Real and Atlético vs Zaragoza
On Saturday a solid 1-3 win for Real away to 'Nastic despite going one-nil down to a fair penalty decision in the 30th minute. For Real the scorers were Roberto Carlos, Helguera, and in the last minutes a beautiful volley by Robinho. More pain for Atlético however, going down 0-1 at home to real Zaragoza, conceding in the 88th minute. The table is looking much better now!
Round 7 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Barcelona (El Clásico) and La Coruna vs. Atlético
"This is more than football. This is politics!" So said Z-man just before kick off for the first of the two classics this season. Barca, who had been beaten by a well organised Chelsea mid-week in the Champions League, were stunned by an early Raul goal (a great header from a beautifully shaped cross by Sergio Ramos) and the first 30 minutes was all Real. Raul hit the crossbar, Robinho forced a good save from Valdes and Van Nistelrooy had a close penalty call. In the last fifteen minutes of the 1st half Barca came back into it, with Messi proving particularly troublesome, but overall it was looking good. What a difference a week makes. Useless against Getafe, fearless against Steaua Bucharest mid-week and now dominating the European champions. Five minutes into the second period Van Nistelrooy made it 2-nil and there were only few nervous moments to negotiate until the end. Ha! 'Ave it! Suweeeeet! Madrid-Uno is only a recent convert to the Real cause but he's always hated Barcelona, a nasty club with a victimhood complex. Atleti went down 1-nil away to Deportivo, so all-round a great night.
Round 6 of the Domestic Season - Getafe vs Real (The Mini Derby!) and Atlético vs Recreativo
Eugh. A disaster for Real, losing 1-0 in the most insipid of displays. Schuster, the Getafe manager, totally outfoxed Capello and his team totally outplayed Real who managed a tally of precisely 2 shots during the game, neither on target. This match was played Saturday at 2000hrs and was immediately followed by Atleti's match where they cheated their way to a 2-1 win. Coming from 1-nil down they first of all conned the ref into giving them a penalty and their second goal was as blatant a handball as you will ever see. It was Maradona (cheating Argie twat) all over again and it came as no surpise that the 'scorer' was another Argentinian. What is it with these Argie tossers? Is cheating in their genes or is it just part of their culture, like flamenco and losing wars?
Round 5 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Atlético - The Derby!
1-1 as honours were shared in a scrappy game that the striped ones dominated in the 1st half but Real dominated in the second - at least up until the point when the white storm were reduced to ten men with 20 or so minutes left. Even then, following Capello's defensive substitutions, it was going mostly Real's way apart from one horrible moment when Casillas was left totally exposed and the new (Argentine) wonder-kid for Atlético scooped over attempting an audacious chip when he should just have shot. Raul scored for Real replying to Mista's early goal, Beckham again on as a sub and Guti had the proverbial kicked out of him for 60 minutes until he was subbed. Great fun.
Round 4 of the Domestic Season - Betis vs Real and Atlético vs Sevilla
"Little by little the team is getting better", thus were the words of Zipper after Saturday evening's 1-0 away win in Seville. First half was very good for Real, with lots of shots, opportunities and not much threat at the back. Second half was more in Betis' favour with Real getting quite ugly in the last few minutes to keep them at bay. When Guti starts hacking people down you know it's getting desperate. Atléti came back from 1-nil down scoring two in the last five minutes at home to Betis' neighbours. Boooooo! Mind you, they had seven players booked in the process including Torres (again). Yey!
Round 3 of the Domestic Season - Real vs Sociedad and Athletic vs Atlético
A strong(ish) showing for Real resulted in a 2-0 win, although the second goal (by Beckham) was in injury time and served to flatter the scoreline. Nonetheless, another win and only the draw in the first game of the season remains the only game with dropped points so far. Atlético stuffed Bilbao 4-1 away.
Reyes wonder goal vs Real Sociedad. Have It! Sounds better with the Dutch commentary too!
Round 2 of the Domestic Season - Levante vs Real and Athletic vs Atlético
A solid 4-1 win away for Real with van Nistelrooy scoring a hat-trick despite missing a penalty). Atlético lost at home to Valencia 1-nil with Torres getting sent off. Muhahahaa.
Round 1 of the Domestic Season - ? vs Real and Racing vs Atlético
A 1-1 draw away for Real. Atlético got a good win away at Santander.