Real Madrid 2 - 0 Real Zaragoza
Real Madrid held out against Real Zaragoza before hitting them with two second half goals to remain seven points clear at the top of the table.
Iker Casillas was the man of the match as he kept out several efforts from the visitors and allowed the home side to snatch victory in the Bernabéu on Sunday evening.
Ruud van Nistelrooy put Madrid ahead in the 66th minute before Robinho put the result beyond doubt 11 minutes later with a fine individual goal.
It was not a vintage performance by Madrid, but it was effective and Zaragoza have both Casillas and their own inability to finish their chances for not taking something from the game.
At the start it appeared that Zaragoza had come to defend as the two lines of defenders and midfielders sat back and looked to keep their hosts at bay.
But as the game progressed it became clear that Víctor Fernánez's decision to field three forwards was all part of his plan to take the game to Madrid.
Van Nistelrooy looked to strike early, but his drive from outside the area flew well over and that was an indication of how Madrid's opening half was to go.
Berned Schuster's side dominated possession, but time and again they were troubled by the speed of Zaragoza's counter-attack with Ricardo Oliveira and Sergio García providing the pace and Diego Milito the strength.
In the 17th minute the home team had to reorganise slightly as Gabriel Heinze pulled up clutching the back of his leg and had to be replaced by Miguel Torres.
Peter Luccin went close in the 20th minute and Casillas was called upon for the first time to superbly deny Milito, who had broken clear of the defence.
At the other end Marcelo had the first of two shots that ended up flying well over Javier López Vallaejo's bar from distance.
With Zaragoza opening up the game was both entertaining and attacking and it was the visitors who looked most likely to score.
Casillas made another stop to deny Sergio García, who hammered a drive goalwards from the edge of the area and the former Barça striker again tested the keeper before the break.
Madrid sat back after the break and once again Casillas kept his side in the game as he tipped Albert Zapater's drive away nine minutes into the second half.
Guti's introduction was to change the rhythm of the game, as it has done so many times in the past, and his arrival gave the hosts a sudden lift.
The opening goal was not far away when Zaragoza had their best chances to take the lead as Diogo saw his point blank header kept out by Casillas and Oliveira hammered a low shot against the far post.
With the crowd showing signs of frustration, Madrid made their guests pay the price as they raced forward and scored with their first meaningful attack of the second period.
Robinho briefly changed flanks and skipped down the right before lifting the ball into the area where Van Nistelrooy rose unmarked to nod home from close range.
After creating the first goal, Robinho was enjoying himself and he went close with a shot that flew just over before adding a second with 13 minutes remaining.
The Brazilian picked the ball up on the halfway line and was allowed to run straight towards the edge of the Zaragoza area before he applied a superb finish by guiding the ball into the far corner of the net.
It was mountain that was too steep for Zaragoza to climb, but there was still time for Casillas to make two more superb saves as he first saved from Diogo and then kept out a free-kick in the final seconds
موضوع: Madrid Make Zaragoza Pay The Price 
الأحد يناير 06, 2008 8:22 pm
