Gareth Bale breaks goal drought as Real Madrid see off Huesca
Gareth Bale ended a three-month goal drought in La Liga to give Real Madrid a nervy 1-0 win away to basement club Huesca on Sunday, taking his side back into the top four at the expense of Alaves.
The Wales forward, who had not found the net in the league since Sept. 1 but had scored in the Champions League, gave Real an ideal start by volleying home a cross from Alvaro Odriozola in the eighth minute.
Huesca, bottom of the table with a meagre seven points and without a win since the opening day of the season, did not lay down against the European champions though, and it took a flying save from Thibaut Courtois to prevent Ezequiel Avila levelling soon afterwards.
Bale was denied another goal in the second half by Huesca's keeper and the home side laid siege to Real's area in the final stages but fell short of an equaliser as Courtois tipped a dangerous free kick over the bar in stoppage time and Dani Carvajal made a frantic clearance.
Real's eighth win in nine games in all competitions under coach Santiago Solari saw them climb above Alaves into fourth in the standings on 26 points after 15 games, five behind leaders Barcelona. Reuters
This, put simply, is a game Real Madrid must win. They have a chance to climb to fourth in La Liga after a slow start to the season, and their opposition today sit rock bottom of the table.
Huesca have just one win to their name since their promotion to the top tier. They have accumulated just seven points. A comfortable victory for Santiago Solari's side, then, should be an inevitability.
This has been a strange La Liga season, though. Another shock result may not be entirely out of the question.
Newly-crowned Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric starts for Real Madrid today. Regardless of the controversy surrounding the decision, the Croatian has enjoyed a superb 2018. He'll be hoping to dictate today's game from midfield, alongside Marcos Llorente, who makes just his second league start of the season.
Back in Madrid, the Bernabeu will play host to the Copa Libertadores final later today. For now, though, the focus is on northeastern Spain, where Real will play at the decidedly less glamorous Estadio El Alcoraz. It has a capacity of just 7,000, but the home fans are sure to make themselves heard.
Benzema nearly finds himself clean through after some quick thinking by Bale. The Welshman launches a throw into the path of his teammate, but the keeper is out quickly.
Some understandable nervousness at the back for Huesca. Vazquez drills a ball into the box and it is, eventually, cleared. Huesca look a bit tentative in the early stages, perhaps not surprising given the nature of the occasion. Fourteen years ago they were in the fourth tier. Now they're hosting the mighty Real Madrid.
Some encouragement for the hosts. They win a corner, which is swung in by Ferreiro and drops to an unmarked Etxeita at the back post. He heads just wide.
That didn't take long. Odriozola breaks forward and crosses to the far post. It's met by Bale who fires a powerful volley past Jovanovic. That's his first goal in ten games.
It's not the start the home side wanted. Real Madrid look capable of putting a few past them today, particularly having opened the scoring early. Huesca will know, though, that the visitors are particularly vulnerable defensively away from home. They've conceded 16 goals on the road this season. Only Huesca have a worse record.
Real chance for Huesca. They break into the box and Gomez finds himself with some space. He lays the ball off to Ávila who hits a powerful shot towards goal. Courtois parries it away and Real Madrid clear.
Excellent buildup play by Huesca, who move the ball nicely from one end of the pitch to the other. It eventually leads to a cross, which is blocked by Llorente and out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.
Bale cuts onto his left foot and brings a fine save out of Jovanovic. His shot was headed for the top corner, but the goalkeeper got across well to push it away.
Carvajal goes into the book for a foul on Hernández, who was bearing down on goal. There are complaints from the home fans that the card should have been a different colour.
The match will be shown live on Eleven Sports 1 from 3:10pm and on their La Liga TV channel from kick-off. Fans can also watch the match on Eleven Sports through iOS mobile and tablet apps as well as on Android mobiles.
Highlights will be shown at 10:45pm on Eleven Sports’ La Liga TV channel.
Player to watch…
Luka Modric: The Croatian broke Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s dominance over the Ballon d’Or by claiming the prize on Monday evening in Paris. The 33-year-old stated that the award capped a very special year for him, but Santiago Solari will need similar performances from Modric that saw him claim the award as Real Madrid look to get themselves back in contention in the title race. He delivered such a performance last weekend by helping a young midfield overwhelm Valencia, but that has been a rare sight for the Madrid faithful so far this campaign.
Form guide…
Huesca: DLDLLL
Real Madrid: WWLWWW
Odds…
Huesca to win: 15/2
Real Madrid to win: 3/10
Draw: 23/5
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