… Real Six Points Ahead Barcelona
An outstanding performance from Isco helped Real Madrid come back and earn all three points in a 3-2 victory over Sporting Gijon on Saturday afternoon at El Molinon in Gijon.
Isco scored twice on the day; the first an exquisite strike to pull Real level 1-1 after Duje Cop’s opener, and the second coming in the 90th minute after Mikel Vesga and Alvaro Morata had traded headers earlier in the second-half.
It was arguably Isco’s finest performance in a Real shirt. His first-half goal was a work of art and it nicely complemented the football he played the rest of the way. Whether it was through his passing or flicks and tricks, Isco was a problem for the Sporting defence all afternoon, capped by his late winner to spoil what was a spirited display from the hosts.
The result extends Real’s lead atop the table to six points over Barcelona, who are in action later on Saturday versus Real Sociedad.
READ
Left-back Fabio Coentrao had not even seen the pitch in almost 100 days but on Saturday the Portuguese got the nod from manager Zinedine Zidane and joined a starting XI in which Sergio Ramos and Nacho were the only holdovers from the midweek win in Munich. Kiko Casilla started in goal, while Danilo manned the other full-back position on the right.
In midfield and attack there were new faces all around, with Isco, Mateo Kovacic and James in the middle and Lucas Vazquez, Alvaro Morata and Marco Asensio up front.
Sporting looked to be up for a fight and minutes after Carmona and Lucas Vazquez exchanged chances, Cop gave the Asturians a 1-0 lead with a fine finish after a delightfully played chip from Vesga that would have made Michael Laudrup or proud. Vesga’s pass rainbowed over the heads of three defenders and fell perfectly for the Croatian to finish.
But if Sporting were going to open the scoring with a “golazo”, then Real were keen to match it, if not go one better. Isco made a great case for that just two minutes later by collecting a pass from Danilo in the area, dancing past three Sporting defenders and sending a left-footer into the top corner of the Sporting net to even the score at 1-1.
There was a very nice flow to the football though, with two teams keen to go forward. Instead of parking the bus in the back, Sporting boss Rubi had his team pressuring Real in midfield and it kept Zidane’s men largely in check throughout the first half despite Los Blancos’ advantage in possession.
Isco continued to be Real’s best player his wizardry earned a free kick that almost led to a Nacho goal. Incredibly, the defender’s header was deflected by Cuellar and somehow did not go in, even with Alvaro Morata right on the goalline.
A minute later Real would rue their profligacy in front of goal as Vesga, who also enjoyed an excellent performance on the day, headed past Casilla to give Sporting a 2-1 lead. A free kick was played diagonally to the left and Babin’s header back across was met by the unmarked Vesga for the redirect into goal.
But just like in the first half, there was a Real response to a Sporting goal and nine minutes after Vesga’s header, Morata pulled the visitors level 2-2 with a header of his own after a fine cross played in by Danilo.
Heading into the final half-hour the momentum was swung back in Real’s favour. Zidane brought on Marcelo for Coentrao and Mariano for Lucas Vazquez to add more impetus to the attack, but it was Isco who kept marshalling Real forward and another sensational solo run nearly created Real’s third, but Marcelo’s shot skipped wide.
By the final 10 minutes Real were bombarding the Sporting area in search of a winner, and it only seemed fitting that it would eventually come off the boot of Isco. Marcelo played in a simple ball to the Real midfielder, who turned and fired in a shot that beat Cuellar at the near post for the 3-2 final.
Real return to action on Tuesday in their Champions League quarter-final second leg versus Bayern Munich.
Match Sheet:
2.- Sporting: Cuellar; Lillo, Mere, Babin, Amorebieta, Isma Lopez; Carmona, Sergio Alvarez (Afif, min. 91), Vesga, Moi Gomez (Nacho Cases, min. 69); Cop (Ndi, min. 79).
3.- Real Madrid: Casilla; Danilo, Ramos, Nacho, Coentrao (Marcelo, min. 57); Isco, Kovacic (Casemiro, min. 89), James; Lucas (Mariano, min. 71), Morata, Asensio.
Goals: 1-0, min. 14: Cop; 1-1, min. 17: Isco; 2-1, min. 50: Vesga; 2-2, min. 59: Morata; 2-3, min. 90: Isco.
Referee: Fernandez Borbalan (Andalusia).
Yellow Cards: Sergio Alvarez (Min. 34) for Sporting, Lillo (Min. 61) for Sporting, Isma Lopez (Min. 79) for Sporting, Nacho Cases (Min. 87) for Sporting, Morata (Min. 89) for Real Madrid.
Red cards: None.
Stadium: El Molinon.
Attendance: 23,745.
