Real Madrid 0-0 Malaga: Ronaldo & co. held by 10-man visitors
Rafa Bentiez's side wasted a host of chances
before Nordin Amrabat saw red late on as Los
Blancos slipped from the top of the Liga
tableCristiano Ronaldo wasted a succession of
chances as Real Madrid were held to a scoreless
draw by 10-man Malaga at the Santiago
Bernabeu.
The result completed a frustrating day for the big
two in La Liga with Barcelona earlier beating Las
Palmas but seeing star forward Lionel Messi ruled
out for up to eight weeks with a knee injury.
No-one epitomised Madrid's irritation more than
Ronaldo who failed time and again to find the net
due to a combination of poor finishing - he had 14
shots but only two on target - and wonderful
goalkeeping from Malaga's Carlos Kameni.
And when the Portugal striker did beat the
Cameroonian, in the eighth minute, he saw his
effort rightly ruled out for offside.
Malaga deserved a share of the spoils for their
dogged display with the only blemish the 77th-
minute dismissal of Nordin Amrabat.
The onslaught started early and Ronaldo could
have scored before he had one chalked off by the
referee's assistant.
Rafael Benitez’s men continued to create chances
and Ronaldo again came close to breaking the
deadlock in the 28th minute after a superb cross
from Dani Carvajal, but his bullet header missed
the target by a yard.
The away side occasionally threatened on the
counterattack, and Juan Carlos should have
punished Madrid after being set up by Amrabat,
but the defender blasted his shot over the bar
from a narrow angle.
Jese was the next Madrid player to try his luck 10
minutes before the half-time whistle, only to see
Kameni keep out his low shot.
Ronaldo continued to cause the Malaga defence all
kinds of trouble with his clever movement but his
finishing let him down as Kameni proved to be too
much of an obstacle in the 36th minute.
Ronaldo did beat the Malaga goalkeeper with a
stunning strike shortly before the interval, but his
shot went inches wide as it remained all square
after 45 minutes.
The three-time Ballon d'Or winner seemed to get
his goal just minutes after the restart, only to be
denied by an excellent goal-line clearance from
Marcos Angeleri.
Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas was then called
into action when Recio tried his luck with a free-
kick from 30 yards out and the Costa Rican
showed his class with a sublime save.
Jese then really should have broken the deadlock
when he picked up a loose ball inside the area, but
he somehow aimed too high, injuring himself in the
process as he had to be stretchered off.
Luka Modric was next to be denied by Kameni
after playing a quick one-two with Karim
Benzema, before the Frenchman had a shot of his
own saved by the overworked goalkeeper.
Isco managed to beat Kameni at last in the 76th
minute, only for Weligton to come to the rescue
and clear the ball off the line and to safety.
Amrabat received his marching orders for a
moment of madness, smashing his elbow into
Marcelo's face, but it could not detract from a
wonderful day for Malaga.
Saturday's results mean Madrid are now trailing
rivals Barcelona by one point, having collected 14
points from six games.
Comments