Contrasting Start to League for Barcelona and Madrid
August 30th, 2010
Jose Mourinho made a poor start to his spell as Real Madrid coach yesterday, with a dull 0-0 draw away to well drilled Mallorca.
Earlier on Sunday, Barcelona had kicked off their campaign to retain the Liga title with an emphatic 3-0 win away to Racing Santander, with handsome goals from Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and David Villa.
Playing at home, Mallorca‘s hero against Real was Israeli goalkeeper Dudu Aouate, who pulled off sharp saves from Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Mourinho raised eyebrows by leaving German newbies Sami Khedira and Mesut Oezil on the subs’ bench. They came on towards the end and almost conjured up the winning goal between them.
Jorge Valdano, Real’s general director, admitted that the whites were “imprecise and short of rhythm,” but pointed out that “this was a typical early season match, with too many interruptions.” Valdano finished by saying that “we created good chances at the end, and really deserved to win.”
Real keeper Iker Casillas, who hardly had a shot to save, said: “We will have to improve, but I do like this team. We created clear chances and should have scored.” When asked about the differences between Real and Barcelona, Spain’s World Cup captain replied that “they have their style and we have ours, that is all there is to it.”
Barca had earlier enjoyed their romp in Santander, in which Villa scored on his league debut. The Barca newcomer said that “this was exactly the start that I had been hoping for. I have joined a great team, and I am pride that they came looking for me.” Villa added that it is “a real pleasure” to play alongside Messi. “Whoever cannot play with Messi is not fit to play football at all.”
Veteran Barca captain Carles Puyol pulled a muscle in the pre- match warmup and playmaker Xavi limped off at half-time with a similar injury. Nonetheless, the champions were always in the driving seat, against opponents whose every mistake was harshly punished.
Messi opened the scoring after just three minutes with a classy right-foot chip after being played through by Iniesta. Thirty minutes later Spain’s World Cup final hero made it 2-0 with an impudent long- range volley after Santander keeper Tono had failed to clear a centre properly.
The hosts, playing in front of a packed house in Santander, were given a dubious penalty for an alleged trip by Maxwell on Francis, but Barca keeper Victor Valdes acrobatically saved the spot-kick of Mohamed Tchite. It would be Santander’s only clear chance of the match. Villa made it 3-0 on the hour with his first goal for Barca, heading in a perfect centre from Dabi Alves. DPA
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