Newly promoted Sporting Gijon held title favourites Real Madrid to a goalless draw in their first fixture of the 2015-16 La Liga season at the El Molinon stadium.
The result has left the Los Blancos already trailing behind their adversaries Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, both of which secured the three points in their opening fixtures.
Their play during the game was more than matched by Sporting, whom managed to keep it toe-to-toe with the 10 time European champions. In fact, it was the home team who came closest to breaking the deadlock, as Antonio Sanabria’s header rebounded off the underside of the crossbar and the line in the first-half.
Moments following Sporting Gijon’s near heroics, Cristiano Ronaldo had a penalty call wavered after being dragged down by Sergio Alvarez. However, both sides had to settle for the 0-0 result, with newly appointed Real coach Rafael Benitez already hearing critical commentary.
Lack of attacking creativity for Los Blancos
When it comes to attack Real have one of the most formidable setups in the world, possessing several high-calibre stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. Their midfield is just as formidable, boasting a plethora of smart and experienced players, whom all know how to collaborate together as one unit.
However, with 27 shots on goal against Sporting Gijon and only eight on target, the big questions began to emerge as whether there really is enough creativity in the Real strikeforce.
Due to Benzema’s injury, Bale was utilized as a central-striker supported by not only the midfield, but also Ronaldo. Both came close to finding the back of the net, but the majority of shots were easily saved by the opposition custodian or significantly missed the area of the goal by a significant margin.
It seems the ‘Ronaldo and/or Bale’ game plan does not have the same effect it once did, now obvious to other teams despite their cohesive performance as a squad.
Perhaps the new purpose of Benitez is to conjure another attacking player to catch the opposition by surprise.
This is where Mateo Kovacic enters the fore front.
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Kovacic makes his Real debut
His departure from Inter Milan came as somewhat of a surprise, yet he has already been welcomed by the Real faithful.
The 21-year-old is without a doubt a rising star of the world game and is expected to improve tremendously given the abundance of talent surrounding him at the Galacticos.
He made his first appearance for the club against Sporting Gijon, replacing Spaniard Isco Alvarez in the 71st minute of play and slotted into the midfield line. Kovacic continued to setup teammates as many believed he would, yet was unable to alter the final outcome.
Will he assume a position in the starting XI? We will find out over the coming week, yet we know for sure he needs to improve his Spanish.
“Buenos Días a tots.”
https://youtu.be/rXnEv0jFEwA
Sporting Gijon’s impressive feat.
The shock result will fill the newly promoted Sporting Gijon with confidence ahead of this La Liga season, whom unfortunately enough were dealt the Real card for their opening fixture in the Spanish top flight.
However, when watching Abelardo Fernández’s squad play, it was clear the gap in reputation did not phase them, somewhat stifling the play of their illustrious opponents.
The hosts gradually grew into the game themselves and pressured the Los Blancos on several occasions, despite being beaten in every match statistic by Real by the end of the 90. It will no doubt be a long yet rewarding campaign ahead for the Rojiblancos.
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