Real Madrid versus Villarreal
Jornada 7: 27th October


Okay, i finally saw a replay of the game and it was definitely an improvement on last week against Santander.

Positives:
- The team fought for the ball and didn't get overrun like the last game.
- They didn't lose concentration or intensity.
- They dominated possession and midfield.
- Raul looked sharp after coming off the bench. His understanding with Morientes was superb and it was good to see them playing together after so long.
- Zidane had a superb game, he controlled the midfield, tried to get involved in the action, scored a superb goal... a virtuoso performance.
- Casillas didn't have to make too many saves, but when he did have to make saves, he was superb. Cesar is going to find it hard getting that many games this year.
- We played well but lost the game due to genuine bad luck. Cambiasso missed a shocker, shooting wide at an empty goal, rushing into his shot a little. Then Roberto Carlos hit the post right at the end of the game.


Negatives:
- Too much ball watching instead of anticipating the game. This happened both offensively (like when Cambiasso played Zidane through in the second half), and defensively with opposing players, especially Palermo being left unmarked and with too much space.
- No width down the wings, we missed Figo. Neither McManaman nor Solari were fast enough
- Lack of speed in transition, with the midfield sometimes being over elaborate
- Bad final ball. Despite all the midfield possession, Reyna was not tested enough, and the service to the forwards was not consistently good enough. The ball was played in from of the defence too often leaving the forwards with too much to do.
- Both Guti and Ronaldo played badly. They lacked speed and inventiveness. Their runs were not particularly intelligent or penetrative. They had zero understanding with each other. And they both played too deep.
- Ronaldo still looks a little slow and off the pace, needs to work on the fitness and get more involved in the game. There were many occasions when he had a hint of space and a fit Ronaldo would have taken on the defenders, in a blur of speed, but not the Ronaldo we saw yesterday.

The best player: Zidane
The worst: Guti and Ronaldo