Exclusive report
from Enrique Romero-Salas, ex-midfielder for Green Archers United on the Supercopa
match between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
MADRID – I was seated in the area of the "ultra sur"
which is known for a chanting insults towards Barca more than anything. I
attached a picture of their flag that covered our view when the game started.
Since the first leg was 3-2, which should have been 3-1 except
for the huge error from goalkeeper Barca Victor Valdes at the 85th minute which
gave Madrid a good advantage for the second leg. The game started out like it
always does until Javier Mascherano committed an error trying to clear the ball
which ended up with a one-on-one situation for Gonzalo Higuain whose shot went
between the legs of Valdes. 1-0 RM.
A few minutes later Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of Gerard
Pique with a fancy flick that lead to another one-on-one situation with Valdes.
Ronaldo scored.
Down 2-0 early in the game really put Barca in a tough position
which became tougher shortly after when Adriano received a red card for
bringing Cristiano down (in a situation that would have led to another one on
one). They replaced Alexis with Montoya, who played in Adriano's position as a
right defender. This left Barcelona with fewer attacking options and with
only Pedro left making most of the cuts. Leo Messi was pushed down to the
midfield where they often played possession although not as dominant as the
first leg but capable with only ten men but still the Real Madrid defense was
tight and they had a much bigger advantage physically. The game was going
really well for Madrid and they could have been up by four goals with a couple
more good opportunities well saved. But just before the half ends, Messi pulled
one back by scoring a beautiful free kick around the wall and past Casillas,
just like that Barca needed one more goal to win the trophy. The second half
was a more open game with attempts coming from both ends, unlike the first
which was dominated by Real Madrid.
There were clear cut chances early in the second half from Pedro
and another from Jordi Alba but Iker Casillas protected the goal really well.
Real Madrid's counter attack was very effective in this game. Most of which
came from the defense. Pepe, in particular, really made good passes while being
a monster on defense.
Gonzalo Higuain came closest for Real who's attempt hit the post
in yet another one-on-one with Valdes. Then it was Sami Khedira's turn to have
a one-on-one after dribbling past three defenders but Valdes was good with his
save.
An extra time attempt from Montoya could have given Barca the
victory but Iker made it look easy. This game also saw Luka Modric and Alex
Song debut for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. They were rivals in the
English Premier League with Tottenham and Arsenal and in La Liga, they still
find themselves on opposing sides. That’s how it ended, 2-1 to Real which won
it by away goals.
What went wrong for Barca?
This is a lesson for Barcelona's defense which cannot mistakes
like this if they want to beat Real Madrid. The absence of Puyol and Dani Alves
made this more difficult. Being down ten men early, they had less options on
the attack and with the position they were in, they needed a miracle to win.
Cesc Fabregas did not play and David Villa is just fresh from a long injury.
Although it is still amazing how they can keep that ball with one less person
but that type of play did not work because Real was constantly on the counter.
They had Pedro and Messi trying to go against much larger players and they had
to do it repeatedly because they lacked options. Andres Iniesta was really
superb but could not produce today.
What did Madrid do correctly?
Madrid has a very solid back line with Marcelo, Sergio Ramos,
Pepe and Arbeloa. None of them made errors. When you have big men like this
bumping much smaller players it makes it really hard to challenge them. That
type of defense plus the speed and talent on that counter attack lead by
Cristiano is will be a force this year and in the next few. Much credit to
their long balls today which were very effective.
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I got in touch with Kicks Romero-Salas who I know has relocated to Spain. He filed this exclusive Supercopa report for Bleachers' Brew. Thanks, Kicks! Most appreciate this.
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