Real Madrid head into their match against Liverpool in control of their UEFA Champions League group, but only just barely. They were given all that they could handle by Ludogorets on Wednesday night, and struggled to squeak out a narrow 2-1 victory.
3 things from Real Madrid’s tight 2-1 win over Ludogorets
Real Madrid were not at their best in Bulgaria, but squeaked out three points away to Ludogorets.
Manuel Queimadelos Alonso
Ludogorets went on top just six minutes into the game, and their goal was well deserved too. They were all over Madrid in the opening minutes and created multiple set pieces, eventually resulting in them taking the lead. The goal came from a near post corner headed backwards by Cosmin Moti, and Marcelinho did well to lose Arevalo Arbeloa, then tap in an easy finish.
It looked like Javier Hernandez had gotten Madrid back into the game instantly by drawing a penalty on Yordan Minev in the 10th minute, but Vladislav Stoyanov came up with a stunning save on Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Ronaldo was able to get his revenge 14 minutes later, drawing Madrid level by drawing a spot kick of his own on Moti, then converting to level the match.
While it seemed at the time like this would be a turning point leading to a big win for Madrid, Ludogorets held their own for the rest of the half, and absolutely deserved to go into the break level.
Gareth Bale nearly put Los Merengues on top in the 51st minute, but Stoyanov came up huge again, making a spectacular reaction save on the Welshman's header. Chicharito had a big chance of his own five minutes after that, but completely mishit a shot he should have scored on off a brilliant setup by Isco.
The match changed in the 66th minute, when Benzema replaced Hernandez, who struggled in the second half. Ronaldo had a shot cleared off the line in the immediate aftermath of that switch, and Madrid scored the winning goal just 10 minutes after that.
Benzema was the scorer, and his tally came from more effort than skill. He was able to shrug off a Ludogorets defender to get on the end of a cross by Marcelo, and had a simple finish from six yards once he won the battle for the ball.
Even though Madrid never added a third goal, they were well on top to the end. Benzema nearly set up fellow substitute Toni Kroos for a goal in the 80th minute, but the German blasted his shot just over the bar. Bale had a chance to add to Madrid's win in stoppage time at the end of a counter following a Ludogorets corner, hitting a deflected shot that appeared it was going to loop over Stoyanov's head, but the Ludogorets keeper made another brilliant save.
For a second straight round, Ludogorets have come up against a huge opponent, played a great game, and lost late by one goal. It’s been pretty unlucky stuff for the Bulgarians.
Ludogorets: Stoyanov, Minev, Moti, A. Aleksandrov, Caicara, Abalo, Espinho (Andrianantenaina 82’), Dyakov, M. Aleksandrov (Misidjan 82’), Marcelinho (Wanderson 70’), Bezjak
Goals: Marcelinho (6’)
Madrid: Casillas, Marcelo, Ramos, Varane, Arbeloa, Isco (James 75’), Illaramendi, Modric (Kroos 73’), Ronaldo, Hernandez (Benzema 66’), Bale
Goals: Ronaldo (penalty 24’), Benzema (77’)
3 things
1. Ludogorets aren’t bad! - Are they going to get out of this group? No, of course not, but they’re already a heck of a lot better than anyone expected. Given their previous solid Europa League performances, maybe we should have expected more. They’ve held their own against Real Madrid and Liverpool, and with this Champions League paycheck, could become part of the furniture in the group stage.
2. Asier Illaramendi is really streaky - Illara has mixed good performances with bad ones during his time with Real Madrid, and this was one of the less spectacular ones. He’s young and growing into his role, but €30m players shouldn’t get torched by players like Marcelinho, which happened to him pretty regularly.
3. Benzema works a lot harder than Chicharito - The biggest problem Madrid had going forward for the first hour-plus of their match was that Javier Hernandez was very static up top. When Karim Benzema came in, he worked his socks off as per usual, and it made all the difference.
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