Derby Loss

So, Real Madrid lost to Atletico Madrid at home, courtesy of Diego Costa's 11th minute goal. I wasn't surprised at this loss, but disappointed. There wasn't any surprise because what has happened over the last few games with Real Madrid, happened even in this game. So, there was nothing to be surprised about. And Atletico played just like the way anyone thought they would play.

The first thing that wasn't a surprise is what everybody knew - how Atletico would approach the game, their style of play, their man attacking threat. Carlo Ancelotti knows, Zidane knows, the players know, I know and the whole world knows. I will tell you their style of play. They played physically - attacked every ball in their own half, tackled hard, quickly closed down the player without giving him any space or time and ran tirelessly. Even I know this because I happened to watch both legs of Super Copa Espana between Atletico and Barcelona. First leg at Atletico, both the teams scored a goal, meaning Barcelona has one away goal. At Camp nou, Atletico played very rough, Barcelona with all it's tiki-taka style couldn't penetrate Atleti's defence. There were  many fouls by Atleti's players, but nevertheless, not a single goal for Barcelona's side. So, there was clear knowledge as to how Atletico would approach the game. And then, coming into this match, Diego Costa was in super form, joint top scorer in La Liga alongside Messi. You would assume that he would be tightly marked and not given any time on the ball. But no, that's not the case. When Di Maria looses the ball in midfield and Koke passed the ball to Diego Costa, there was no one marking him, very poor positioning by Pepe and Arbeloa. He would be Atletico's release man, and boy, what a game did he have. I've read that he was some how involved in entire Real's back four getting yellow cards and now that I think of it, I realise it's true.

Elche 1 - 2 Real Madrid

So, Match day 6 was over and Real was very fortunate to win that game against Elche. Sergio Ramos could've been sent off for his second bookable offence, but he stayed on till the end. Then late in injury time, Elche equalised. As far as I remember, it took them 3 passes for scoring, first was a long ball from Elche goal keeper to some one in the left wing, second pass was by that player on the left wing who played the ball to the one who assisted the goal scorer and the third pass was the assist itself. I don't know where Carvajal, Arbeloa, Pepe and our central defensive midfielders were and no matter how quickly Elche came forward, our defenders should have been able to deal with them. But it wasn't so and they equalised. From 80th minute I was sitting tight and was afraid that Elche might equalise and we might end up loosing 2 points. And that commentator kept on saying that Boakye scored a goal in injury time in last game and might fancy his chances in this game. And his words came true, that Boakye guy did score the goal in injury time. I wonder what homework did Real Madrid do regarding this guy, when they knew that he was known for scoring last minute goals. After Elche's equaliser, the game's almost over, but just then Real won a corner and I guess Illarra took it and it seemed to me that Pepe was fouled in the box. But he wasn't, the replays showed that it wasn't a foul and not a penalty. Anyway, the penalty was converted by Ronaldo.

Monthly Update

I know I wrote a post this month, but it feels like long back. I don't know why. May be because a lot of things happened so fast this month. So, lets see what's interested me this month.

First, I am  very sad that Real didn't play well against Villarreal. It was promoted to top division this season and played very well, but I expected Real to win this match. Now, we are 2 points behind Barcelona and Athletico, although I am sure that we would overtake Athletico at some point, no matter how well they have been playing. Second, the moment of the UCL match day 1 is Ronaldo's third goal, a spectacular one. To be honest, I never thought Ronaldo could dance past three defenders all alone and put one in the goal post, but I was proved wrong and I am happy to be. Third, I am really glad to see Ozil shine at Arsenal. Whether they can win the league or not, is too early to tell, but I hope they win at least one silverware this year, be it Capital Cup or FA Cup.

Ozil to Arsenal, Kaka To Milan

Hello there...

Kaka left for Milan. I feel sad, even though I have never seen him play. When he was playing at his peaks, I didn't even start watching football. But, it feels sad, that a Ballon d'Or player is humbled because of injuries and loss of form. To be match fit and be in form for next year FIFA WC at home, he needs to play regularly and hence he moved to Milan. It's understandable and I wish him all the best.

So, the sensational news is Mesut Ozil moving to Arsenal. I am very disappointed at this unfortunate turn of events. Because after CR7, it is Ozil, whom I like most. It is surprising because, just weeks before he said, he was happy at Madrid and would like to stay at Madrid for a long time to come. Many fans are disappointed at Ozil leaving the club. Lets see why he had to leave...