MADRID: Real Madrid showed that they can be successful without David Beckham, who was watching from the VIP stands, as they got their first win in four outings with a 1-0 victory over Real Zaragoza on Sunday.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy got the only goal to keep the Spanish giants in third place but move them to just two points behind the league leaders Sevilla. However, despite the victory, the controversy over Beckham’s move to the Los Angeles Galaxy would not go away. In the game itself, which was almost overshadowed by the continuing soap opera surrounding Beckham, Van Nistelrooy got his tenth goal of the season after 41 minutes.
Jose Antonio Reyes sent a short corner to Robinho, who in turn put a pass across the face of the goal for new Argentine signing Gonzalo Higuain to turn the ball back and leave van Nistelrooy with the job of side footing the ball into the net.
Real marginally had the best of an uninspiring first half before the Van Nistelrooy goal but they stepped up a gear and dominated the second half despite not adding to their tally.
Higuain was particularly impressive on his debut in the Santiago Bernabeu. Ruben De La Red also almost scored after 68 minutes, just a few seconds after taking over from Reyes, but had his shot just turned away for a corner by Zaragoza goalkeeper Cesar Perez.Ironically, Zaragoza are currently negotiating for the loan of De la Red, one of the brightest stars of the Real Madrid reserve team that plies its trade in the Spanish second division.
De La Red has said that he wants to go to get more top level playing time but Capello’s decision to axe Beckham and Antonio Cassano could open up a place for him in Real’s first team squad. The closest Zaragoza came to scoring was when Gerard Pique sent the ball into the box from the edge of the area and it hit the post, although more by accident than design. One negative note for Real Madrid was club captain Raul Gonzalez straining his right hamstring early in the game. He was replaced by Robinho after 14 minutes although the injury did not appear too serious and Raul spent the rest of the game in the dug out.
