Off the pace

Real Madrid put paid to a lacklustre last few games with a draw at Primera División newcomers Almería (this is only their second season ever in the top flight). This leaves them still lying in third place in the league standings, two points behind leaders Barcelona, who have had a particularly impressive run of form recently, scoring fifteen goals (including five against Almería) in their last four encounters. Almería's late equaliser left Real feeling like they'd "let two points escape", as Bernd Schuster put it.

It was a particularly tedious first half, with no shots on goal from the local team, and not much more from the visitors. The only bright spot was Raúl's goal, which came from a great bit of skill from Higuaín on the wing, crossing the ball for the captain to deflect it past the keeper in a diving header. It was Raúl's first goal away from the Bernabéu since the one he scored against Racing Santander last April and his fifth in the league so far.

If anything, the second half was even more depressing from a Real Madrid standpoint, as the players (and coach) obviously had their minds on the clash with Juventus on Wednesday and decided to "secure" the win. Inevitably, this led to a lack of depth (to add to the general lack of width in the side), with lots of losses of possession. Almería grew in confidence and self-belief as the half wore on, and it was only a matter of time before they scored.

Sergio Ramos, who had otherwise had an acceptable game, gave the ball away with a header into no-man's land. A lightning-quick move from Almería caught him and the other defenders napping and gave Casillas no chance. Almería even had the chance to walk away with all three points, and it would not necessarily have been an unfair result.

To add insult to injury (or should that be injury to insult?), Pepe limped off three minutes into the second half and is doubtful for Wednesday's Champions League game. Another player certain of not being selected is Rubén de la Red, who fainted in Real's midweek Copa del Rey clash and who is out for an indefinite period until the doctors can determine what caused his loss of consciousness.

All in all, this game is best forgotten. One hopes that Real has plenty more up their sleeve against a Juventus finding their form, otherwise their chances of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages (not to say anything about getting further in the competition) may be in jeopardy.

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A good time to lose?

Schuster called Real's 2-0 defeat at Almería, the first after 8 straight league wins, "the best time to lose". Following days and weeks of triumphalist reporting by some sectors of the Spanish sports press (you know who they are), with the championship "in the bag" according to some, it is perhaps a welcome return to earth for those surrounding the team.

Because,to be fair, neither the Real supremo, Schuster, nor any of the players have made any such statements. They have been content to keep trotting out the old clichés about there being a long way to go and nothing being decided yet. All well and good, though I suspect that there may have been a certain amount of private complacency; given recent results, it's probably only human. That 9-point lead may be reduced to a "mere" 6 by the end of Sunday, when Barça play Osasuna, though the pressure is now on the following teams to take advantage of Real's stumble.

Having spent most of the week rehearshing defending against set plays, it was ironic that Almería's first goal came from a free kick, and the second from a penalty. A deserved result nonetheless for the recently promoted side and their coach, Unay Emery, who took the measure of Schuster's men and made them look decidedly ordinary. The one item of bad news was Ruud's van Nistelrooy's ankle injury at the end of the first half, the extent of which is still not known. The team definitely lose effectiveness up front without the Dutchman. Why Schuster decided to bring on Higuaín, who despite his clear talent is not a 'number 9', instead of Soldado, is anyone's guess.

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Sneijder shows his worth

It wasn't pretty, but it was a win. That's not a standard summary game review for last season, but a fair reflection of Saturday's outcome against Almería. The newly promoted side set out to prove that their 3-0 season opening win at Deportivo was no fluke and took the game to Real Madrid, who floundered for the first half hour or so.

Saviola, in for Van Nistelrooy who was presumably not 100% after his international duty for the Netherlands, had a goal disallowed for a clear offside before picking up a rebound off the post from a Raúl strike and neatly putting it away. In the second half, Schuster brought Drenthe in for Heinze and Higuaín in for Robinho, like-for-like substitutions which preserved the tactical line-up. Almería, however, were uncowed and rightly protested a disallowed goal soon after the restart, as Higuaín was clearly playing Uche onside.

In fact, Almería are to be congratulated for their fighting spirit, which should be rewarded with retaining their top division status at the end of the season. After Sneijder doubled Real's lead with a sublime free kick worthy of David Beckham (his fourth goal in three matches), Almería received a further blow when Crusat was sent off for bringing down Saviola as the last defender. Still they kept on coming, harassing the Real defence, making Casillas look shaky on the high balls, and finally getting their reward with a fabulous finish by Uche, after he got the better of Cannavaro. They even had a penalty appeal turned down (it looked like an accidental clash between Metzelder and Natalio, rather than a deliberate trip). This is the sort of stuff that will have Sport and El Mundo Deportivo claiming biased refereeing, while Marca and As will say it was just human error, the opposite of what either side said after Barcelona's last game. Naturally.

Higuaín made it safe a few minutes later, with Saviola in an offside position (was he or wasn't he interfering with play? You decide) and Real are now the only side with three wins out of three, although Sevilla are 2/2 with a game in hand and looking as good as last season.

The Champions League group stages kick off this week, with Real hosting Werder Bremen on Tuesday, and the fixture list is starting to look its usual congested self at this stage of the season.

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