34 min Madrid are playing like a team who know. They’re so patient in possession, comfortable in the knowledge that at some point they’ll acquire themselves another goal.
31 min Lovely from Madrid, Lucas flicking outside to Odriozola, who snaps a fine low cross into the middle. For a second, Benzema looks certain to score, but hanging back to stay onside deprives him of the half-yard he needs to reach it.
30 min Lucas looks a real player now, and he combines with Ceballos to tease Raul Garcia, then swivels into a low cross that Ramalho turns behind for no reason. The corner comes to nowt.
27 min Madrid keep at it. I’d not be at all surprised to see them chap another before half-time.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Girona (Casemiro 25)
A fine header from Alcala takes the corner away from Benzema and Bono smashes a right hand that sends the ball well away. But Kroos picks it up 25 yards from goal and curls over a belter of a cross, and Casemiro turns up behind Alcala, who’s distracted by Varane, to power a glance into the bottom corner. That was coming.
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25 min As Kroos prepares to take it, Alcala pulls Benzema down, and rather than give a penalty, the ref stops the game and dispenses a warning. Strange.
24 min Lovely pass from Marcelo, out to Lucas, and his cross is deflected by Alcala; Bono can’t catch up with it in time to stop it going behind. The corner begets another.
23 min Ramalho finds Pons down the right, who hooks over a fair cross from a tricky position, but it’s easily collected by Courtois.
21 min Asensio looks sharp and he takes the ball on the left, cuts inside, and curls a low shot that lacks the power it would have had he performed the same activity from the other side.
19 min But here come Griona on the break, Stuani taking time to make a run and set himself before taking a pass from Portu to lash a rising shot at the near post which Courtois palms away.
17 min It’s a nice day in Madrid, and Real Madrid are warming up, Kroos directing an attack and lifting the ball over the challenge of Pons before squaring to Lucas. Immediately, he pokes it in behind – to himself – hares after it and lifts a shot that Bono does very well to claw away. Excellent play all round.
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16 min We’ve barely seen Lucas Vazquez so far, as almost all of Madrid’s play has come down their left.
14 min Kroos sprays one wide to Marcelo, who can’t quite reach it on the stretch. He’ll be ganting on winning his place back off Reguilon, but will need to do a lot of running so to do.
13 min Nice from Ceballos, his return flick allowing Asensio to cross. His decent low effort is kicked away, and so is his follow-up.
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12 min Madrid are showing signs. First, Kroos slings a lovely ball out to Marcelo, whose cross is cleared, then Kroos whips in a free-kick that Luiz heads away.
10 min Benzema drops deep to involve himself in the play and seeing him still there makes me think how remarkable it is that he’s still a first pick. Not because he isn’t good, verily he is, but players like him, who facilitate others, tend not to be appreciated at the Bernabeu. A centre-forward there to clear space for the wingers is not a usual thing.
8 min Girona will be happy with how this is going. Madrid haven’t got close to their box and they’ve looked dangerous themselves.
7 min Portu exchanges passes with Granell and darts into the box down the left side, but Stuani can’t do anything with his cut-back.
5 min Madrid have settled into their passing. It looks like Girona are four at the back, not their usual three.
4 min Yes, it was offside, so Courtois took a frask in shnook for nothing. You’ve got to laugh.
2 min Look at this! Stuani finds himself running at Varane and gets around the outside! Courtois narrows the angle, and wears the shot on his not insignificant nose. It bleeds.
2 min ““I’d love to love Girona Futbol Club,” emails Charles Antaki. “Beautiful town, lovely coast nearby, small club risen from the lower divisions, and so on. But City, and But Gulf trillions, and But Who Are they Now Really? Nevertheless I hope they give Real a complete thrashing.”
Yes, I suppose my experience of Girona is the airport you use when you go on a £250 for flights, accommodation and insurance holiday on the Costa Brava in 1997. A holiday most renowned for the shirt-wearing Geordie below who turned up in our room with a temper and a pool cue, and a crew of local dealers who’d heard people from Leeds were on their territory, and assumed that a couple of our lot, who were wearing Leeds shirts, were those very people .
The question here is whether or not Madrid are up for this – do they just expect to win? – and whether six changes from the win at Ajax will make a difference. The thing is, confidence is coursing through the club, and Asensio, for example, scored the winner the other night. Good luck, Girona.
So, these teams. Santi Solari leaves the in-form Vinicius Jr on the bench, which is annoying for those of us who were looking forward to seeing him. Rude. The same is so of Gareth Bale, while Luka Modric has been omitted entirely.
Girona, meanwhile, play a 3-5-2, so expect Lucas Vasquez and Marco Asensio to have a lot of the ball – Marcelo too.
Teams!
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Odriozola, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Ceballos; Lucas Vasquez, Benzema, Asensio. Subs: Navas, Carvajal, Nacho, Mariano, Bale, Valverde, Vinicius Jr.
Girona (3-5-2): Bono; Ramalho, Alcala, Juanpe; Porro, Pere Pons, Douglas Luiz, Granell, Raul Garcia; Stuani, Portu. Subs: Iraioz, Roberts, Lozano, Carles Planas, Aleix Garcia, Valery I Paik.
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Preamble
Are they doing it again? They bloody are, aren’t they. After yet another mosey through a season of nothing, Real Madrid are running into form just as things get serious. And this time, the league, as well as the Champions League, is in reach. If they win today, they go six points behind Barcelona, who they play at home twice the week after next: first in the Copa del Rey semi second leg, and then in the league. Sort those out, and who knows where it’ll all end?
And, in Girona, they face obliging opponents. In La Liga, the visitors are fourth-bottom, and Madrid recently based them home and away in the Cup. A 3-3 draw at Camp Nou earlier in the season gives Blanquivermells hope, but in all likelihood they’re going to take a further doing.
Kick-off: 11pm GMT
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