Well, we already qualified for the next round. We also had equaled the record of 18 wins in a row. It was time for 19 wins in a row. Oh yes. Yes it was.
The nature of the match meant that Carlo was able to rest a few players. Completely ignoring that Sergio was suspended… *ahem*
We got to see Nacho (Stalker), Varane, Coentrao, and Chicharito in the starting lineup. We also got to see Cris as our capitan.
Lineups:
Real Madrid: Keylor Navas; Alvaro Arbeloa, Raphael Varane, Nacho, Fabio Coentrão; Asier Illarramendi, Toni Kroos, Isco; Gareth Bale, Chicharito, Cristiano Ronaldo
Ludogorets: Vladislav Stoyanov; Junior Caicara, Cosmin Moti, Georgi Terziev, Yordan Minev; Svetoslav Dyakov, Fabio Espinho, Aleksandar Alexandrov; Dani Abalo, Marcelinho; Virgil Misidjan
They were so serious in the tunnel before kick off. No hugs. No besos. Just the serious business of making sure we continued our winning streak. And lots and lots of pretty.
From the start we had intentions of scoring. Cristiano took his first shot in the 2nd minute from about 30-yards out. It bounced in front of Ludogorets keeper and he was forced to make a decent save. The corner was given, and Bale’s header went over the bar.
But Ludogorets put pressure on us. Marcelinho took a shot not long after. It was directly at Keylor so it was an easy save.
In the 9th minute, Marcelinho took a hack at Isco’s legs and gave us a freekick in Bale and Ronaldo territory. Both of them stood over it, with Gareth taking it. His strike deflected off the wall and out for a corner. But the corner was wasted.
We had great opportunities to open the scoring. Isco had his chance in the 14th minute and Ronaldo in the 16th minute. Stoyanov was doing very well to deny us.
In the 18th minute, we almost fell behind. Misidjan cut inside past Arbeloa and unleashed a shot that Keylor was able to push away. He really is excellent. Glad we have depth in our squad in all positions, including keeper.
It was in the 19th minute, however, that Marcelinho conceded a penalty and got himself sent off. He did his best Luis Suarez 2010 World Cup impression by handling the ball on the goal line. Gareth had been there to score on the rebound, but the ref had already blown the whistle.
Cristiano stepped up to take the penalty. This time, Stoyanov couldn’t deny him and it was in for our first goal.
This is where I face an internal struggle. I felt bad for Ludogorets. They now had to face our attack, which is formidable to any team, while playing down a man for the next 70 minutes. But at the same time, I want us to score lots of goals. Inner struggle of a lot of fans, I’m sure.
In the 24th minute, successive shots by Kroos, Cris, and Chicharito were all missed. Cris probably should have scored but the miss by Chicharito was, by far, the worst of the three.
In the 31st minute, Dani Abalo fell to the floor clutching at his chest like he’d been kung fu kicked by De Jong. What ACTUALLY happened was shoulder-to-shoulder contact with Arbeloa off the ball. Nothing illegal. Nothing in it. Just Abalo attempting to gain some kind of advantage. Luckily, the ref saw it that way as well. It sent Twitter into a frenzy, that’s for sure.
Our second goal came in the 38th minute, when Bale’s head found a corner that Kroos had delivered beautifully.
Someone has been working on their Cristiano-style vertical leap. Also, heart celebration Bale is my favorite Bale. That sounds like some doll made by Hasbro. “Coming soon to Target shelves near you: Heart Celebration Bale. He jumps. He runs. His eyes sparkle when near Underwear Model Ronaldo. Now comes with devil horns that appear when in the presence of Juggy James.”
Right then… Now, with a 2-0 lead before the half, I could relax a little. And by “a little” I mean “almost not at all.” Because for a team that was down to 10 men, Ludogorets sure were giving us too much of a hard time!
Keylor was forced to make a save in the 40th minute when Espinho struck the ball very well. Navas tipped it over the bar as it began to dip toward goal.
The referee didn’t add any extra time and we went into the break with a two goal lead.
Second Half:
The second half began with Ludogorets taking the kick off but our boys regained possession very quickly. Even with that possession, we seemed a bit lethargic.
Then, in the 50th minute, Arbeloa decided to try to spice things up a bit. Coentrao crossed a ball and Arbeloa slipped past his defender really well to head the ball toward goal. Even my commentators were saying how they’d never seen Arbeloa playing this far forward. Me? I was cautiously optimistic, as usual.
The next few minutes saw more chances for us. Bale and Chicharito both had chances saved by Stoyanov, while Isco was starting to look even better.
In the 59th minute, Ludogorets pushed forward again. No fear in this team, is there? (No, Yoda, there is not). It was Dyakov took the shot that Navas tipped over the bar quite easily.
Our first substitution was a 2-for-1 with Coentrao making way for Marcelo and Kroos replaced by Jese. YAY JESE! I’d been way too giddy at the start of the half when I saw him warming up on the sideline. It’s so exciting to have him back. I hope that feeling never goes away. On the other side, Ludogorets’ substitution was to replace Alexandrov with Wanderson.
Ludogorets next sub was just three minutes later. Anicet Abel replaced Fabio Espinho.
In the 66th minute, Chicharito had a shot saved by Stoyanov. He just wasn’t having any luck. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but it wasn’t happening. He really should have scored.
In the 73rd minute, Arbeloa had a chance AGAIN! This time his header hit the woodwork. He wanted it folks!
A quick camera shot to the sidelines and I could see that Ancelotti was not happy, despite our lead. And, to be honest, neither was I. We should have had five goals by this point but we were only clutching a two goal lead.
In the 78th minute, Hernandez decided instead of taking the shot himself he’d dish it off to Bale. The shot was a weak-footed half-volley that went JUST wide of the goal. As brilliant as Stoyanov had been all night, there was no way he would have gotten to that if the trajectory had been millimeters different.
Oh. My. Spaghetti Monster. Arbeloa wanted it. Arbeloa got it.
He got his foot to a cross and smashed it goal on the volley. Stoyanov tried to scoop it out of goal and Arbeloa pounced, again, on what he thought was the rebound but the official behind the goal had ruled the first chance in. The replay showed the ball was already over the line by the time Stoyanov batted it out. Arbeloa looked almost embarrassed at himself.
For me, there was only one thing missing on Arbeloa’s goal. That one thing was Xabi running down the sideline in celebration.
In the 83rd minute, Gareth caught a stray forearm to the nose and had to be taken off. He was gushing blood pretty heavily and I, for one, thought his nose had been broken (we found out later it wasn’t). The misfortune of our speedy Welshman was the fortune of bebeh Medran.
I kind of adore Medran but I’m creeped out by the fact that he looks like my date to senior prom.
With only three minutes left in regular time, Medran made his presence known. It was a fabulous shot that looped it’s way over Stoyanov. Hell of a Champions League debut!
Look how happy everyone is for him. I love the way that Varane and Arbeloa hug him. So much love in our team. As Lozil said to me, “Alvaros ftw tonight!”
There were three minutes of time added on but Ludogorets could not come back from four goals down. During the three minutes, I couldn’t help but notice how hard Illaramendi works. The way he wins the ball back and his movement off the ball. This kid is constantly improving. He may not have immediately slotted into the place that everyone thought he would/should but he is making, and will make, a name for himself.
Following a Cristiano freekick that struck the wall, particularly one of the defenders in the face, that was it. A 4-0 win meant that we broke that win streak record. That’s 19 in a row! Count ’em.
And, since it’s been a while since he graced us with that tight torso.
Match Photos:
Post-Match Comments:
Ancelotti:
Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media following Real Madrid’s win over Ludogorets and made mention of the record of 19 victories: “It is a result we have achieved with extraordinary seriousness and an incredible amount of professionalism. It is not easy preparing for each game with the same levels of motivation and eagerness that these players are showing. I know that I have an extraordinary group of players.”
“I have a very good relationship with the players. I care a lot for them and I thank them for the work they’re doing as much as I can. We are enjoying a great moment: the players, the technical staff and the club, which has always supported us. We have to keep this moment going.”
The team’s improvement
“After losing to Atlético, I couldn’t have imagined stringing together 19 consecutive wins. I was sure that the things that weren’t going well would be fixed but not to this extent.”
Rotations
“Kroos didn’t rest today because he already did last week. That was the same for Bale, who didn’t play last week and had no need to stop.”
Illarra
“Illarra is in good form. He has found a level of consistency in the last three games and has shown more quality, with good through balls. As such he is definitely a possibility for the Club World Cup.”
Jesé
“We have to give him playing time. He is following an exercise plan and his strength levels are good. He needs to improve aerobically though and therefore needs more minutes to get better, like he’s doing now.”
Arbeloa:
Álvaro Arbeloa, who scored the third in Real Madrid’s comprehensive win over Ludogorets, assessed the triumph and his side’s run of victories: “We had quite a few chances and I was able to get on the scoresheet. I’m pleased to have done that in front of the home fans and to have celebrated it with them. It has been a perfect group stage, and now we have to wait for the draw.”
“Come May maybe we won’t remember these records. We want to keep on picking up victories and win the three games that we have left this year. Now we have to prepare well for the trip to Almería, which will be difficult. I hope we go into 2015 on this run.”
“We’re very happy for Medrán and about his goal. He was pleased and he took the match ball home with him. He is training with us and he’s doing very well.”
Isco: “Happy with the win and the run”
“I’m happy with the run that the team is on and the win against Ludogorets. It was a theoretically easy game because they went down to ten men very early on. We’re happy with the shape the team is in. We finished the game on the attack. This team is eager to keep on getting better.”
“Our aim is to win as many games as possible, but at the end of the season what matters is silverware. We have had several injuries but the coach is very good at managing the squad. Playing in central midfield is helping me to become a more complete player. I want to keep on helping in every way possible.”
Nacho: “We rounded off the year at the Bernabéu on a high”
“All in all, the team played well. Up front we have a lot of firepower and the defence is in good form. We rounded off the year at the Bernabéu on a high. Now we want to beat Almería in La Liga and start thinking about the Club World Cup.”
“Day to day, it’s enjoyable being in this team, with top players. I try to help in every way I can and to be ready for when I’m needed.”
Social Media Corner:
Our next match is Friday against Almeria.
(images and gifs from GF Sports, the-vip-football-collection, football-hqs, and realmadrid.com)
¡Hala Madrid!
-mygypsyspirit
Of Headbands and Heartbreak
watishistacorrespondents
Of Headbands and Heartbreak... 
Leave a comment