Real Madrid

La Liga returned to the Santiago Bernabéu and a newly sodded pitch for the first time in 2009. The first match of the new year was a great opportunity for Real Madrid to prove that their win against Valencia was just a sign of things to come. The Whites immediately dominated and Robben scored the game winner on 30’. Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra performed well in their Madridista debuts. Only one point off second place, Real Madrid are still very much in the title chase.

After an early one-on-one between Pepe and former Madridista Diego López (2’), Huntelaar got his first touch on the ball and proved his heart is in the right place. On 9’ Nihat had one of the rare first half chances for Villarreal. Real Madrid put on pressure and from the top of the box Robben sent a shot of the crossbar (11’). Three minutes later Sneijder tried his luck from long range only to see the ball sail wide right of López (14’).

Juande Ramos advanced the defensive line with an offensive game plan in mind. Pepe was absolutely sensational, while in the midfield Lass and Gago put forth a noteworthy performance in recovering loose balls.  Robben was held in check by Villarreal until the Dutchman dribbled between three defenders and curled a left footer into the top right corner of the opponent’s net (31’).

Villarreal tried to answer back, and Pires nearly knocked in the equaliser one minute later but was denied by Casillas (32’). Nihat got a foot on the ensuing corner only to send the ball straight into Iker’s gloves. With halftime six minutes away, Huntelaar managed to control a Ramos cross with his chest, but as he tried to place the ball to fire it home, Diego López closed the only angle on goal to thwart the Dutch striker (39’). Raúl, wasn't able to find the back of the net either after grabbing the deflection.

Pellegrini replaced Nihat with Joseba Llorente while Juande Ramos brought Drenthe off the bench for Huntelaar. Llorente needed just eight minutes to test Casillas, who somehow got a hand on the forward’s shot (53’). Real Madrid answered every turnover of possession with a counterattack. Sneijder had two excellent opportunities to put the game away but was stymied by Diego López. Ibagaza was subbed in for the Yellow Submarine, and one minute after taking the pitch provided Rossi with an assist, but the Italian could only watch in dismay as Casillas responded with another magical save (70’).

Van der Vaart stepped in for Lass, who received a heavy round of applause from the Bernabéu (77’). While both sides had plenty more chances to score, it was the goalkeepers who stole the show. Diego López prevented Van der Vaart from clinching on 84’, Cazorla was unable to beat Casillas two minutes later and Drenthe was unlucky from mid-range. Real Madrid escaped with a close win and couldn’t have started the new year off in better fashion. Mallorca are up next.

Lineups

Real Madrid
Casillas
Sergio Ramos
Cannavaro
Pepe
Heinze
Gago
Sneijder
Lass
Van der Vaart 80'
Robben	Goal 32'
Metzelder 93'
Raúl
Huntelaar
Drenthe 58'

Villarreal
Diego López
Ángel
Gonzalo
Godín
Capdevila
Eguren
Cazorla
Senna
Ibagaza 72'
Pires
Cani 81'
Rossi
Nihat
Llorente 48'