Real Madrid

This Real Madrid has great goal-scoring skills; the team netted seven against Sporting. The victory is important for the Whites, as it will give them energy to tackle the tight schedule that will see them play again on Saturday and Tuesday.

The Madridistas tried to defeat keeper Sergio Sánchez at the sound of the first whistle. Gonzalo Higuaín had the first chance after receiving the ball in the centre of Sporting's box from a pass by De la Red (3'). It was the first warning for a goal that was to come, aided by the fact that Gijon simply didn't feel comfortable at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

The Whites scored just when the visitors started to attack Iker Casillas' goal. De la Red carried the ball to the edge of the box and passed it to Raúl, who in turn gave it to Van der Vaart for him to send it to the back of the net (17’). The goal allowed Real Madrid to feel more comfortable and they started to make the crowd enjoy itself.

Higuaín had another chance on the 26-minute mark from a cross Raúl managed to pull off with hardly an angle after he made a run with the ball to the edge of the pitch. The captain looked for the second goal of the evening with a counterattack during which he passed the goal to Higuaín right on the goal-line, but the Argentine missed (30'). A couple of minutes later, De la Red crossed the ball into the box for Van der Vaart to score with a beautiful finishing touch with his heel (32'). 

The fans went wild. The team wanted to please them more and tallied yet another strike again in no time. Robben ran down the right wing with the ball and crossed it to the other side of the area. Higuaín received it and scored with a powerful crossed shot in the 36th minute.

Nothing changed after half-time and the team kept trying to net more strikes. Soon, a long pass from Robben was used by Van der Vaart to tally his third strike of the evening (46'). Four minutes later, the Dutchmen swapped roles; Robben received the ball from a great midfield pass by Van der Vaart and defeated Sánchez 30-meters away from the goal with a powerful shot (50’).

With 5-0 on the scoreboard, Bernd Schuster decided to give some men a rest and Diarra was replaced by Javi García -who made his First Division debut with Real Madrid-. Meanwhile, former Madridista David Barral pulled off a good attacking play for Sporting that ended with a goal by Kike Mateo (53').

Real Madrid wanted more strikes despite the large cushion in the score and kept trying to net some more. The next was scored by Raúl -his first in La Liga this season- on the goal-line when the ball fell at his feet after Sánchez cleared a powerful shot by Robben down the right wing.

The final goal of the evening was the crowning jewel of the game, coming from a beautiful triangulation between Saviola and Raúl that ended with the captain's great finishing touch (59’).

Sporting never gave up and their fans at the Bernabéu had a good time despite the seven goals against them. The Madridistas at the stadium were thrilled with the team's performance and cheered as the team left the pitch.

Lineups

Real Madrid
Casillas
Torres
Pepe
Cannavaro
Marcelo
Van der Vaart	Goal 18' 33' 48'
De la Red
Diarra
Javi García 56'
Robben	Goal 53'
Drenthe 70'
Raúl	Goal 60' 66'
Higuaín	Goal 37'
Saviola 63'

Sporting de Gijón
Sergio Sánchez I
Colin
Raúl Cámara
Neru 47'
Iván Hernández
Míchel
Camacho
Kike Mateo	Goal 55'
Pedro
Luis Morán 59'
Canella
David Barral
Maldonado
Diego Castro 47'