Real Madrid made a faltering start to their Champions League round of 16 tie against Lyon as they fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat. Two statistics tell the story of the match; Real Madrid enjoyed a whopping 66% of possession, yet Lyon managed 18 shots on goal to Reals 16. Xavi Alonso, Granero and Mahamadou Diarra saw plenty of the ball, but as soon as it got up to Kaká, Ronaldo and Higuiaín, Lyon were quick to double up, win the ball back and hit their opponents on the break. Luckily for Real Madrid, Lisandro Lopez didn't have his shooting boots on as he peppered Casillas' goal. Cristiano was full of tricks, including one outrageous backheel that fed Gonzalo Higuain but as with most of Reals attacks, the chance went begging.Lyons 4-1-4-1 formation stifled Madrid throughout, and the French side came closest to scoring in a tight first half with a fantastic volley from Delgado from outside the area that smacked the post with Iker stranded. But it took Lyon only two minutes to open the scoring in the second half, as Granero carelessly lost possession in the middle, allowing Jean Makoun to surge forward and sent a rasping, swerving shot past the despairing dive of Iker Casillas. The goal should have served to wake Madrid from their slumber, but they failed to create any clear cut chances apart from a viscious Ronaldo snapshot that Hugo Lloris tipped round the post. Plenty of possesion; little bite. All in all a lacklustre evening for Manuel Pellegrini and his men, as they fall to their third straight loss in the Stade Gerland. They will also have to contend without the suspended Marcelo and Xabi Alonso in the second leg as their march towards a possible final in the Bernabeu is met with fierce French resistance. With all that money spent this summer, they dare not complete a comeback in two weeks time.
Yes, Madrid need to awake from this strange slumber they've been in, even this weekend against Deportivo Xerez, it took them a long time to begin creating chances, and scored late in the match. I think the most important aspect to Real is putting 100% right from the start of the match.
ReplyDeleteLove the blog, check out mine at www.soccerwrapup.blogspot.com, I'd love to form an affiliation with Livin La Liga, send me an e-mail at niccoloc@hotmail.com if you're interested.
Keep on Bloggin!
Was very similar to the Xerez match. For the first 65 minutes in Chapin they had loads of possession, but couldnt find a way through. Against Xerez they were bound the make the breakthrough, especially against such an appalling defence, but in the CL? And Lyon are arguably one of the weaker teams left in the competition. Still reckon they'll go through though.
ReplyDeleteCheers for the nice words! Likewise for your blog, awesome read. Will stick a link up now, and if you have any ideas give me a shout and i'll do the same.
Fantastic, I'll stick a link up too, La Liga is probably the league I follow the least, and I love reading your blog to help me get more in touch with it.
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