7-2: The White's Crush Valladolid



Raul Scored 3,Ronaldo 2, Zidane and Figo with a penalty. The withes put their all offensive drive to really beat the living hell out of Valladolid. The Whites produced all their weapons in a memorable game, one of their best performances in the past few years. The home side’s play, with some of Beckham’s most amazing touches, crushed the tactical approach of the visiting side, who could only bow to its rival’s display. The only bad piece of news was Cambiasso’s injury, which put him out of the game in the second half. Following this show, Real will have to prepare for its Champions League debut next Tuesday with Olympique Marseille.


The return of Raul


It only took Ronaldo 20 minutes to score his first goal with number ‘9’ on his back. The Brazilian managed to beat the visiting goalie on the second chance he had. The performance of Raul at the beginning of the championship had been questioned, but, last Wednesday with the national team, number ‘7’ already proved he is in perfect shape. Tonight the first thing he did was to convert a wonderful centre shot from Figo (31’). But his best move was to come a few minutes later when Roberto Carlos spotted him unmarked and the forward controlled the ball with his chest to slot the ball into the net. He did so with some mathematical precision (33’) just as the goalie was out to tackle him. Real had solved the encounter in just thirty minutes with some of its best play ever.
Right after the break, he audience had the chance to see one of the best goals of the season when Beckham sent a remote-controlled missile to Zidane. The Frenchman did not let the ball touch down and came up with a volley that Bizarri could not possibly clear (53’). The hankies emerged all over the stands to greet such a display of good football.

THE MATCH:
7 - REAL MADRID: Casillas; Salgado, Pavon, Ruben Bravo, Roberto Carlos; Cambiasso (Borja 71´), Beckham, Figo (Nunez 63´), Zidane (Guti 63´); Raul and Ronaldo.
2 - VALLADOLID: Bizzarri; Torres Gomez, Caminero, Julio Cesar, Marcos; Jesus, Ricchetti, Zapata (Oscar 56´), F. Sales, Sousa (Chema 40´); Jonathan (Losada 33´).
GOALS:
1-0, min.20: Ronaldo, with Julio Cesar’s help, beats Bizzarri from the edge of the area.
2-0, min.31: Centre shot by Luis Figo; Raul finishes it off with his ankle.
3-0, min.33: Roberto Carlos spots Raul umarked. The forward beats Bizzarri over his head.
4-0, min.53: Zidane, without letting the ball touch down, comes up with a volley from a centre shot by Beckham.
4-1, min.56:Losada converts a penalty for Beckham’s hand.
5-1, min.58: Penalty on Luis Figo, who takes the kick it himself .
5-2, min.59: Oscar sends a centre shot to Chema, who scores from one metre to the goal line.
6-2, min.69: Beckham sends Ronaldo a long-range shot that the Brazilian slots into the net fantastically.
7-2, min 75: Salgado shots from the edge of the area,Bizzarri clears, but Raul controls to shoot back at goal.
REFEREE: Iturralde Gonzalez. Basque Referees Association.
OTHER FACTS:Liga Matchday 3. Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, 64.721 spectators. Before the game kicked off, the white captains (Raul, Guti and Roberto Carlos) received the trophy for last year’s Liga championship.