Guti And Raul Help Real Madrid Beat Espanyol
Mauricio Pochettino lined Espanyol up in similar fashion to last weekend, playing five in midfield to support Ivan Alonso up front.
Juande Ramos, meanwhile, stuck with his usual formation, keeping faith with the much maligned Gabriel Heinze.
As expected, the match started at a frantic pace, with plenty of space available for both sides. Espanyol had the first genuine chance, when Luis Garcia's vicious free-kick was parried away by Iker Casillas. The home side certainly looked the more comfortable, as they constantly raided forward without creating any clear cut opportunities.
It took 17 minutes for Real Madrid to threaten the goal for the first time, when Arjen Robben cut in from the left and unleashed a trademark shot, only to see it fly wide of the near post. The Dutch winger was starting to get more involved, as Real Madrid seemed to look for him at every opportunity, but Espanyol generally had enough defenders back to deal with the situation.
Ivan De La Pena, meanwhile, was at the centre of all of Espanyol's attacks, but he often lacked the requisite support. After the manic beginning, both sides settled down as the ball began to do the rounds in midfield without ever really threatening to go in.
Despite the positive opening, the match had soon turned into a disappointing affair, with chances appearing very thin on the ground. Both sides seemed more intent on making sure the other did not get anywhere near the goal, with the forwards barely touching the ball. Thus the first half ended goalless, with both sides desperately in need of inspiration during the break.
Both sides came out with more intent in the second half, with the match flowing from end to end. Still, they failed to create many chances in the initial stages, with Ivan de la Pena coming closest when his shot from distance was easily saved by Casillas.
Juande Ramos wasted no time in making changes, taking Wesley Sneijder and Gonzalo Higuain off, and replacing them with Guti and Marcelo. Mauricio Pochettino responded with a change of his own, withdrawing the ineffective Ivan Alonso for Raul Tamudo.
Despite the intent, it looked very much as if a set piece would provide the only chance of a breakthrough, and so it proved when Guti struck on 66 minutes. His sweetly struck left footed free-kick cleared the ball and was touched onto the inside of the near post by Carlos Kameni, only for it to drop neatly into the net. Having just come on, Guti had given his side a largely unexpected lead.
The shock on the Espanyol bench was apparent, and it was to get even worse for them five minutes later. Receiving the ball in space on the left, Marceloa squared the ball for Raul, who finished expertly from the edge of the box, smashing it into the bottom corner with his first touch, giving Kameni no chance. Juande Ramos could take a lot of credit for the goals, after his subs played an integral part in both of them.
Sensing that the game was won, Ramos decided to give Robben a rest, replacing him with Javier Saviola. The heart had been ripped out of Espanyol, and they looked unlikely to score, with Madrid looking increasingly dangerous on the counter. With about ten minutes left, Raul Tamudo came close after beating two defenders, but his long shot flew over the bar.
On the edge of full time, Nene sent a menacing free-kick inches wide. That proved to be the last chance of the match, as Madrid hung on to the three points, to heap all the pressure on Barcelona before tomorrow night. Espanyol, meanwhile, slip ever closer to relegation.