Real Madrid vs Deportivo La Coruna
Venue: The Riazor
Date: 2nd November, 2002

A good performance by the team I felt, especially keeping in mind the state of the pitch, that was very slow and waterlogged and bad for the sort of passing game we play.

Very tactical midfield battle, and the sort of game where one sloppy mistake could cost you the match, and it was good to see that after the mistakes of the last few weeks, the defence played with concentration and sat deep in their own half. With a slow defence, trying to push up the defensive line is suicide, and it has hurt us this season.

There were very few chances and the chances that were there were quite equally distributed. I actually felt that Madrid had slightly the better chances, especially when Ronaldo miscontrolled a long high through ball from Heirro and when Roberto Carlos' free kick cannoned off the keeper towards the end. That Ronaldo miss was a shocker, his first touch just deserted him, with Raul on the field there was no way that it would have been anything but a goal. Casillas made one great save off his legs, and was lucky when a free kick dipped and hit the crossbar (very seaman-like keeping :)) but on the whole neither team threatened too much.

Player feedback:

Hierro: Great first half, superb anticipation and distribution. But faded as the match went on, and his age and slowbness really showed once as he was left beaten just outside the box in a dangerous area in the second half

Cambiasso: Poor game. His distribution and passing have really taken a dive the last few games (although this was admittedly not a great pitch for passing). Makalele is obviously tackling better than him, but right now, Makalele is also passing better than him which is not a good sign.

Ronaldo: Another poor game, and clearly still not at his sharpest or quickest. First touch let him down at his best opportnity. Seemed more mobile than in the last match against Villareal, and tried to get more involved. Still struggling to adapt to our style, to act like a targetman, often playing with his back to the goal.

Figo: Yet another terrible performance. The right flank was terrible until Minambres came on, and yes, I do think he played better than Figo. I agree 100% with Merengue when he says that Figo is one of the reasons why our buildup is so slow... he hardly ever seems to get past defenders this season, but he still insists on holding on to the ball instead of some quick first time passing, eventually ending up with a dive in the right corner. His crossing hasn't been brilliant either. Figo really needs a spell on the bench to recover his fitness and form. However, his workrate was high and he did play well defensively.

Solari: Our best player on the pitch today. Blemished his report card somewhat with a blatant dive in the penalty area but was a traet to watch. Was fast, incisive and created loads of problems with his trickery. The left flank always seemed the most threatening option for us, and he linked up well with Zidane. He faded in the second half but that was largely because Depor started putting two defenders on him everytime he had the ball. He really should have cut down on the dribbling then but that doesn't take away from what was a superb performance. I really think that on current form he is a better option than Figo on the right wing, once Raul is back.

Summary:
People can talk about a crisis but an away draw at the Riazor, on a bad pitch, without Raul, and having played on equal terms, that's a good result for us, as well as a good performance.

The future:
Solari must play on the right wing instead of Figo. Figo needs the rest, and Solari looks sharper, quicker and more dangerous. I can't wait for raul to be back, it's a different team when he is playing. We can have all the stars in the world but without Raul, the team feels incomplete and that shows on the pitch. And give Ronaldo time. I know that he isn't fitting into our system but he's far too good a footballer to not figure it out eventually.