Javier Camuñas’ toe poke after a mess of a defensive play was just enough to bring victory to the Pamplona side, who saw off Real Madrid from their lowly spot at the edge of the relegation zone. The 30 yr old Spaniard was the bright spot in attack for the team who are a full 30 points behind their opponents, and though he’ll take most of the praise today it was in fact the defensive effort that gave Los Rojillos the chance at the win.
Madrid were stifled at every turn, and when they did manage to work a pass through to the front, it was only to find Benzema in an offside position. Di Maria was lacklustre on the right wing, and Ronaldo tried dipping inside, as he does, but his shots were forced from 30 yards out and mostly went sailing into the stands. The team throughout was uninspired.
After the goal came at the hour mark, Mourinho made three quick substitutions, putting in Kaka, Alonso (who had a fever, and looked like it), and the new signing Adebayor. With three at the back now Benzema and the Togolese man shared space at the top, while Ozil shifted to the right allowing Kaka to slot in underneath the strikers. They picked up the pace but still couldn’t penetrate Osasuna’s stiff defense. Adebayor was clearly not match ready, and looked sluggish both with and without the ball. Kaka tried a desperation shot from the same area where Ronaldo had been sending them into the stands, and there was absolutely nothing getting through on net.
The home side looked like they might even add to the total, the linesman’s flag the only thing keeping them from running through onto the end of a counterattacking pass. But one goal turned out to be enough to fell the Madrid giants, who now find themselves a full 7 points behind Barcelona – two wins and a draw, surely signaling another championship for the Catalans.
Ex-Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor has completed his move from the stands of the Eastlands to a place on the pitch at the Bernabéu. It’s no shock that he was destined to make a move in this transfer window, seeing as he’d fallen to fifth in the Man City striker pecking order (behind even Jo, of all people). His training ground fight with Kolo Toure at the start of the month was an obvious indication of his frustration (though the two have apparently been at each other in some manner since their time together at Arsenal). How well will he do in Madrid? Considering he’s joining a coach who consistently gets the best out of his players, we imagine he’ll be back on top of his game in no time. It won’t hurt to be removed from the antagonistic relationship with Toure.
A must-win game for both sides today with the teams jockeying tentatively for the first half hour. Neither side could settle into rhythm, and ten minutes on it looked that Arsenal were bending, a team on the brink of panic, clearing poorly and unable to hold the ball in attack. Chelsea were countering quickly, and though they held less possession it seemed like Drogba might make something happen all on his own.