Real Madrid vs Osasuna Match Preview
Thousands of Merengue followers will be desperate to celebrate the first victory of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu, as Jose Mourinho's boys left the crowds astonished by a goalless draw on the debut match. Many key players in Mourinho's scheme are struggling with injuries, and the lack of continuity will difficult the consolidation of manager's ideals on the squad. Angel Di Maria has been the most regular player during the last matches, and after watching Argentina vs Spain friendly match from the bench, El Flaco will be looking forward to secure his place on Mourinho's squad over Mesut Ozil and other experienced left wingers. The 12th position is unusually discomforting for the Merengues and they will be eager to escape from mediocrity with a sounding victory. Their rival, on the other hand, should be aware of this and exploit every weakness in the Galactic squad to be able to stand against Madrid's monsters.
Jose Antonio Camacho will have a tough nut to crack visiting Madrid this Saturday, especially considering he'll be lacking a key defensive player (Josetxo Romero). To bear with this it is expected to see Osasuna's coach deploy many defensive midfielders to break the communication between Real Madrid's defense and offense. Javier Camuñas declared during the week his team "is going to take advantage of all the doubts of the Real Madrid". He'll be joining Miguel Flaño in the creative department, who recovered quickly from an injury that had the coach worried during the week. Sergio Fernandez, on the other hand, might not be ready to perform against the Galactics. Last minute acquisition Nelson Augusto -former Betis winger- might lead Rojillo's advance from the left wing. Would Camacho's boys be able to bring Mou's team to its knees?
Real Madrid vs Osasuna Match Report
Jose Mourinho could finally celebrate a victory at the Santiago Bernabeu, and thanks to Mesut Ozil the Merengues sent back home Osasuna without a single point. Ricardo Carvalho, Sami Khedira and Ozil played their first match as local and could communicate as expected with the rest of the team. Carvalho himself had the guts to join the offense and he scored the winning goal, while Ozil showed Mourinho might have chosen wisely by giving the Teuton Angel Di Maria's place, who waited anxiously to join the game from the bench. Cristiano Ronaldo, who recovered earlier than expected from his injuries, played a mediocre game. The thing that should worry the Merengues is the lack of efficiency of its strikers, particularly Gonzalo Higuain, who has not yet scored in La Liga.
The first half of the match was far from exciting, but just at the beginning of the last 45 minutes Cristiano Ronaldo advanced from one wing and shot against Ricardo; Osasuna's goalkeeper deflected the ball, Ozil caught it bouncing and it was Carvalho the one who tasted the net. Osasuna has not scored a single goal in these two first matches, though Iker Casillas' security between the posts might excuse the team from this weak performance. With four points, Real Madrid has shown they're ready to fight at full capacity. When Karim Benzema recovers his best level, Mourinho will be able to deploy an arsenal of deadly gunners. And the French striker is slowly awakening, as shown during the first minutes of the match.
