Soccer, Primera Division News:
Real Madrid was finally able to stop a streak of negative results, as the team defeated Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Furthermore, Gareth Bale finally ended his streak of nine games without scoring a single goal. With this victory, Los Blancos were able to cut Barcelona’s lead on top of the table to just one point before El Clasico. Moreover, the win will boost the confidence of Real Madrid’s player, who were looking rather down after the loss from Schalke 04 in the UEFA Champions League.
With the Clasico in his mind, Carlo Ancelotti made some changes in his starting lineup, but all of them proved to be successful. Team captain Iker Casillas was replaced by Keylor Navas in goal and Toni Kroos was benched in favor of Luka Modric. The Croatian received playing time in order to get back to form as soon as possible.
The first half of the match was largely dominated by Real Madrid and it was a surprise that the first goal came after 18 minutes. Los Blancos created a lot of chances in the first couple minutes, but Ronaldo, Ramos and Pepe, couldn’t score. Instead, in the 18th minute, Gareth Bale made the score line 1:0, after Ronaldo’s bicycle kick was blocked off the line. It should be noted that Bale celebrated by covering his ears and kicking the corner flag as a sign of his own frustration at the criticism he has received lately.
The Whites continued their domination and the result wasn’t late. Just a minute before the end of the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo received a pass from Carvajal and shot at goal, but the ball hit Bale and the went in. Even though it was a bit lucky, the Welshman’s touch was critical for the goal.
The second half started rather slowly and the pace didn’t change throughout it. Real was looking to preserve their power for the upcoming battle against Barcelona, while Levante just couldn’t endanger Navas. As a result, the match ended with a score line of 2:0.
Even though there is still a lot to do, Real Madrid showed that they can still dominate a game. Ancelotti will need to do some thinking before the Clasico, especially about the lineup he will use. Los Blancos have shown some pretty weak form lately, but this last game gave everyone reasons for encouragement before the game versus Barcelona.
Primera Division: Real Madrid defeats Levante, Gareth Bale scores twice
No comments:
Post a Comment