So Madrid are experiencing a very slight crisis at the moment, but this may be the perfect match to bounce back as they welcome as Espanyol side who have also lost back to back games and who also have a pretty atrocious record at Santiago Bernabeu.
Despite these consecutive defeats, it has been a relatively solid first half of the season for the Barcelona-based side. They currently occupy 10th place in the table with 20 points taken from 17 matches. They have their work cut out for them today, though!
Real Madrid have gone 18 years unbeaten at home against Espanyol. Let's build on that run and pick up another three points!El Real Madrid encadena 18 años invicto ante el Espanyol en casa. ¡A prolongar esa racha y sumar tres nuevos puntos! ‪#‎RealMadridvsESP‬‪#‎HalaMadrid‬
The main team news for Madrid is that Ronaldo has been put back into the starting XI after being rested for the first hour of the match against Atletico. Sergio Ramos is rested this time around, which means the defensive pairing at the back will be Pepe and Raphael Varane. Fabio Coentrao also replaces Marcelo at left-back.
28 Min.GOAAAAAAAAAAAAL GARETH BALE!!!!! BRILLIANT FREEKICK !!! He really needed this goal to silence his critics. 2-0 FOR REAL MADRID!! PICK THAT ONE OUT! Bale steps up to hit the free kick ahead of Ronaldo and sends the set-piece crashing off the post and in! What a sensational strike that was! Two-nil! That should silence some of the Welshman's doubters for a while! Real Madrid 2 - 0 Espanyol (James, 11'; Bale, 27')
HALF-TIME:
Real Madrid 2 - 0 Espanyol (James, 11'; Bale, 28') Half time at Santiago Bernabeu. Well it has been back to business so far for Real Madrid as they bounce back from their consecutive defeats to take a 2-0 lead in at the break over Espanyol. James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale on the scoresheet so far, but expect more goals in the second period!
Some worrying scenes for the managers here as Canas and Coentrao both go in for a 50/50 challenge and come out of it worse for wear. It did look like a pretty nasty collision and both players are currently down receiving treatment!
76th min - Nacho Fernández: 3 - 0 GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLL FOR REAL MADRID! THAT SEALS IT! Arbeloa gets down to the byline and chips a cross to the back post which evades everyone except for Nacho! The substitute takes an assured touch before smashing a strike home! Three-nil! GAME OVER!
Real Madrid 3 - 0 Espanyol (James, 11'; Bale, 27'; Nacho, 76')
FULL TIME: Real Madrid start a new potential winning run and bounce back from consecutive defeats thanks to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Espanyol in La Liga. James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, and Nacho got on the scoresheet as Los Blancos extend their lead at the top of the table. One to forget for Espanyol, who couldn't take advantage after Fabio Coentrao was sent off.
Real Madrid 3–0 Espanyol (James, 11'; Bale, 27'; Nacho, 76')
POST MATCH ANALYSIS:
Full Time: Real Madrid 3-0 Espanyol
Real Madrid played a home match after a long time and are back to winning ways after 2 consecutive defeats on the hands of Valencia and Atletico.It was an important win and win help to boost the moral of the team.
DEFENSE: Arbeloa started in place of Carvajal today who was suspended due to an accumulation of 5 yellow cards.Pepe and Varane were our centre backs and Coentrao started in place of Marcelo who suffered a slight injury during warm up.
The team was solid defensively and Casillas had nothing to do throughout most of the game.Varane met some corners with his head in the oppositions half and came close to putting one in but was slightly off target. Arbeloa isn't as good as Carvajal,neither is he as pacey as him but he is alot more experienced.He was involved in Real Madrid's 3rd goal.Nacho received a ball on his chest and scored the 3rd goal for Real Madrid.
MIDFIELD:
Isco,James and Kroos started today in midfield.They all played well and James scored Real Madrid's first when Ronaldo found him through a first time pass off Gareth Bale's lob which James finished off with ease.He was subbed off in the 55th minute to bring Nacho on when Coentrao was sent off due to a poor decision by the Referee.
ATTACK: Bale,Benzema and Cristiano lead the attack for Madrid and played well during the first half.Benzema hit the post with a volley and Bale and Ronaldo teamed up for the first goal along with James.Gareth Bale sent a stinging free kick into the net from the Right side to make it 2-0 for Real Madrid. That was Real's first FK goal of the season.I think Bale should take all the free kicks from centre and right side of the pitch and James should send curlers in from the Right side to find some Real Madrid players instead of Cristiano trying to fire all the Free Kicks from range directly into the net.Bale was good throughout the game but again messed up today after sprinting past the Espanyol defense line and clipping his shot wide off the post instead of playing it in Ronaldo's path who would have scored it easily.Bale was very unselfish last season but the lack of goals is haunting him i guess and he is trying to do too much on his own these days.I hope Ancelotti talks him out of his problem and he starts passing the ball in these situations.Ronaldo seemed frustrated in the second half and was unable to score today.I hope he gets the BallonD'or and starts scoring again.I have been noticing that he gets a bit desperate and frustrated before the ceremony.
Anyways 3 important points for Real Madrid today and a win to get us back on track. ‪#‎iHALAMADRID‬!