A hard fought win by Madrid in an incident packed game. An improved performance but Madrid need to perfom better if they are to challenge for titles this season.
Bilbao started the game strongly by having a considerable amount of possession but they lacked cutting edge. Bilbao were playing a high backline rather than defending deep and this allowed Madrid to create chances and the home team did look dangerous when they ventured forward. Sneijder broke the deadlock on 12 minutes after receiving a pass from Heinze and he made no mistake in finishing with his left foot. On 28 minues a pass to Van der Vaart from Sneijder resulted in a lovely back heel/pass which Raul dummied to leave Higuain in front of the goalie. Higuain finished the move off perfectly with a left foot shot which finished in the back of the net. 10 mintues later the Basques pulled one back through Etxeberria to make it 2-1. The game started spinning out of control as there were incidents involving players with lots of pushing and accusations. The ref did little to maintain calm and booked Pepe which was the first of many cards throughout the game. On 44 minutes one of the biggest talking points of the match was the penalty he awarded to Bilbao. Heinze was penalised for handling Llorente but the contact was minimal and it was a very soft penalty which Bilbao converted to make it 2-2. After scoring, one of the Bilbao players sought out Marcelo to taunt him and moments later the Brazilian was involved in a foul where he was lucky to stay on the field. Bilbao were breaking out of defence and the Brazilian caught Etxeberria with a high challenge. End of 1st half.
The second half got underway with Bilbao having some possession in the first 10 minutes but Madrid hit the post twice. First Higuain hit the post and moments later Heinze also beat the keeper but could only hit the woodwork. Gago had a decent game and on 13 minutes he played a vital part in Madrid’s third goal after he dispossessed Llorente and fed Higuain to leave him one on one with the keeper. Higuain made no mistake in slotting the ball past the keeper to make it 3-2. Robben had his moments in the first half but was starting to exert his influence more and more in the game. Guti and Diarra both came on as subs in the 2nd half which is encouraging news for the team. Sergio Ramos was on the bench because of his comments to the press and his replacement, Michel Salgado, had one run which was reminiscent of his old days. Towards the end of the game Llorente hit the post while at the other end Robben and Guti both had good chances. The game comes to an end and Madrid are third with the same amount of points as second placed Barcelona and 1 point behind Valencia who top the table.
