Santander and the referee seal a comeback in a game that Real Madrid did not deserve to lose
Real Madrid outperformed the locals tonight, but two penalties –the first one clearly inexistent- successfully put away by defender Garay allowed Miguel Ángel Portugal's side to come back from one goal down. Fabio Capello's men were doing everything right, especially by dismantling Santander's favourite weapon, Nicola Zigic. But the play of the first penalty changed the course of the fixture. The bad calls by the referee played an instrumental role in Racing's turnaround. Always finding the Madridistas on the losing side of these poor decisions, the three points stayed at home. Real Madrid will have to keep at it.
The responsibility on both teams was latent at the outset of the match. Racing were in pursuit of their European dream, while a victory would have meant putting on the leader's pyjamas for Real Madrid tonight. The only change vis-a-vis Osasuna's teamsheet last week was Marcelo's lineup on the left flank of the defence, his first start this season. Fabio Capello also opted for the most defensive partnership in the middle, but a pairing that has also paid dividends throughout the season: Emerson-Diarra.
The locals had the undying patronage of a jam-packed Sardinero stadium, a true sea of green and white in the stands. And so, they came out firing on all cylinders, committed to continuing their impressive home run of late. Meanwhile, the Madridistas knew well what was in play and how they had to face up to it. They put their hopes on swift counters -their attacking weapon- and tight surveillance on the Serbian forward Zigic. Hemming in a man 202 centimetres tall was basic to curtail the attacking variations of the Cantabrians. It was a great effort by the defense, led by Sergio Ramos, who instilled the authority, soundness and stock characteristic of the greats in the rest of his teammates and delivered a superb first half.
For the locals, a former Madridista, the Cantabrian-born Pedro Munitis, was the key player, leading his team and putting in a great effort. Portugal's men had the first two clear chances on goal, but the Whites got settled in and began turning the danger tide. The first opportunity for the visitors came with 6 minutes on the clock after a flick from range by Diarra that the stopper saved awkwardly. Van Nistelrooy came in for the sweep, but defender Rubén did well to clear the ball before the Dutchman stuck the tip of his boot in. The first goal was floating in mid-air, up for grabs, and it came by way of a true comedy of errors by the locals, who gave Real Madrid the goal on a silver platter. Cristian passed it back to Garay. The Argentine defender, tipped the next best thing and under scrutiny by Manchester United scouts, was closely marked near his touch line by fellow countryman Gonzalo Higuaín, who ended up robbing the ball after an awful clearance by the green-and-white defender. The Real Madrid attacking midfielder assisted Raúl, who just did enough to put it in the back of the Santander net. It is only fair to say that it wasn't the best keeping by Toño, who did not read the flight of the ball correctly. With 33 minutes gone by and as he had done against Osasuna, the skipper cracked the can open with his second consecutive opening goal.
The Madridistas had done good to weather the initial local push, blocking Racing's ideas at the outset, a team that had been doing phenomenally well at home and was looking fresh as a daisy. Meanwhile, the Cantabrians were knocked out for a while, their match tempo really slackening until halftime. After the break, the script changed drastically. Real Madrid attempted to maintain control by keeping possession of the ball while Racing gave in to scrappy play with the passing of the minutes, their physique truly giving in spite of their quarrelsome mentality. The best chances to settle the game once and for all came by way of Gonzalo Higuaín's boots, first with a shot (min.51) and then with a one on one (min.59) against Toño; but the local keeper won those two rounds. The Argentine attacker was doing everything right: he had top pace and excellent vision, but either the finishing touch or the last ball were letting him down.
Referee Turienzo plays a part
Although looking murky, Racing would not give up. The local attempts on target were dealt with impeccably by Casillas. And suddenly, referee Turienzo Álvarez felt like he had to have a say in things. Diarra was fighting for the ball in mid-Madridista box and he clearly won the ball. But Scaloni made a mockery of it all, taking a massive dive. The player's unsportsmanlike violation is answered with an awful call: penalty awarded against Real Madrid. It was the first and most influential call of a series of horrible decisions by Turienzo, one that surely did change the course of the game. What was beyond any doubt was the perfect execution of the penalty, put away with great composure by Garay in the 71st minute. Casillas was unable to do anything.
It was a draw and the match was about to take a nosedive into a whirlwind of bad news for the visitors. The main official kept on hoarding match prominence after showing a very dubious second booking -the referee wasn't even aware of the fact- that would send the only Cantabrian player in Real Madrid, Iván Helguera, to the locker room before full time for a high foot. He proceed his stellar performance with a direct red card -should have been a yellow- for Mejía, who had just come onto the pitch and whose challenge on a theatrical Munitis was never close to dangerous. The referee was making an absolute travesty of the game.
That said, Cannavaro did commit a penalty on Zigic, allowing the 20-year-old Garay to crown the turnaround of the locals from the eleven-metre spot in the penultimate minute of the fixture. Racing poured their hearts out, but were outplayed by the Merengues until the last 10 minutes. Capello's men did not deserve the defeat, but that's the way the ball -and the referee- bounces. It's time to look ahead, continue down a firm path, keep on locking the home wins, and working hard beacuse the League is far from over.
MATCH REPORT:
Racing Santander: Toño; Pinillos, Garay, Rubén, Cristian Fernández; Vitolo, Colsa (Melo, min.68), Scaloni, Óscar Serrano; Munitis and Zigic.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo; Diarra, Emerson, Robinho (Mejía, min.88), Higuaín (Reyes, min.75); Raúl (Guti, min. 85) and Van Nistelrooy.
REFEREE: Turienzo Álvarez, from the Castille-Leon Refereeing Association. Booked Serrano, Garay, Munitis and Scaloni for the locals, and Sergio Ramos and Guti for the visitors. Sent off Helguera for two bookings and Mejía with a direct red card.
GOALS:
0-1: (min.33): Horrible defensive mistake by the locals. Higuaín grabs the ball and assists Raúl.
1-1: (min.71): Penalty taken by Garay.
2-1: (min. 89): Penalty transformed by Garay.
HIGHLIGHTS: Thirtieth matchday of the top Spanish flight played at the Campos de Sport de El Sardinero. Attendance: 22,000 spectators. Before the initial whistle, the local Club gave a shirt to Cantabrian athlete Ruth Beitia, the eight-time Spanish high jump champion.
