Malaga CF, The Anchovies, know a little about leaving a bad taste in the mouth of Real Madrid. The Bernabeu clubs trip to the south coast last season ushered in the beginning of the end of the Jose Mourinho era. The 3-2 loss to Manuel Pellegrinis team came just before the winter break, and it was served at a suitably cold temperature after the Portugueses jibes about small clubs. It was also the day when for technical reasons Iker Casillas was condemned to the bench, a saga that has still yet to fully conclude. The defeat left Real 16 points behind Barcelona and seven adrift of Atletico in the Liga standing and forced Mourinho after the game to deny rumours that he was about to walk away with his severance cheque. - Report: Ancelotti hints at deeper Isco role - Rigg: Madrid weigh big Morata decision On the day, Isco ran riot for the home side, aided and abetted by the likes of Joaquin, Javier Saviola and Nacho Monreal as Real were reduced to hit-and-hope tactics. What a difference a year makes. Malaga have not benefited in the quite the same way as Manchester City or PSG did after a black gold-funded takeover. Whereas the aforementioned clubs hoover up the games finest talent, Malaga has had to offload theirs to balance the books. None of the above-mentioned players remain at La Rosaleda and it has shown this season, after the clubs incredible run to the Champions League quarterfinals last year where officialdom did as much to prevent a semifinal appearance as Borussia Dortmund managed. Had that contentious goal not been awarded, Malaga would have met Real in the semis. And they well might have won. But Malagas losses are nothing to Reals gains and the gulf between the sides is back to pre-Pellegrini and initial 60-million-euro splurge proportions. Roque Santa Cruz, who scored twice in five minutes that December day in 2012, remains, but the verve of that Malaga side is long since gone. Bernd Schuster has molded a team capable of the odd decent result -- Barca, Atletico, Valencia and Sevilla have all had a tough time at La Rosaleda -- but also one that managed to lose 4-1 at Rayo a few weeks ago. Malagas league position, 13th, is a testament to inconsistency. At home, though, Schusters side are no pushovers. Neither did Real have it all their way in the Bernabeu in October. The return fixture came smack in the middle of Carlo Ancelottis experimental phase and the starting 11 that day featured Isco, Asier Illarramendi, Sami Khedira and Alvaro Morata. The result was 2-0 to the home side, a scoreline embellished by Cristiano Ronaldo converting a very harsh penalty decision in the 91st minute. But it is fair to note that Malaga keeper Willy Caballero prevented a rout with a typically acrobatic display. As Malaga have changed since their last win over Real, so Real has become unrecognizable from the disjointed, inspiration-less side that last took the field at La Rosaleda. Ancelotti has a settled 11 and only injury and suspension forces the Italian into any tinkering. Isco and Morata have largely disappeared from first team view while Khedira is a long-term injury absence. Illarramendi gets the occasional run-out but cannot dent the midfield partnership of Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric. On Saturday, Ancelotti will have to contend with a scratch back four. Sergio Ramos is suspended, having forced a cheeky yellow card against Levante last week to ensure his place in next weeks Clasico, while Alvaro Arbeloa has been diagnosed with a far more serious knee problem than originally thought and will be out for most of the rest of the season. Dani Carvajal, Pepe, Raphael Varane and Marcelo will form the back four, with no change in front of them other than the likely inclusion of Isco for Angel di Maria, who is one caution away from missing the Clasico himself. There is no margin for error in La Rosaleda, and eyes are already alighting on next weekend and the chance to go seven points clear of Barcelona with a positive result in the Bernabeu. Ancelotti, cool as a cucumber, gave his sides situation a bit of the Eric Cantona treatment in his pre-match press conference: Im happy with the team, I know that they are very concentrated. We have a good [team] philosophy within. There is a story that talks about a lion and a gazelle. The lion wakes up thinking he has to run to eat. If he doesnt run, he cannot hunt. And the gazelle wakes up thinking he has to run so the lion doesnt catch him. I have said to my players that it makes no difference if they wake up thinking about being lions or gazelles, the important thing is to run. Malaga may have lost a little of its own bite, but a winter signing on loan from Galatasaray, Nordin Amrabat, can cause Reals back four a few headaches. The Morocco international has chalked up a goal and two assists since he arrived on the south coast while Santa Cruz has already acquired a taste for Reals blood with goals in La Rosaleda and the Bernabeu. Malagas only chance is to strike first, but Real will be thinking along similar lines and if they go behind, Schusters team will struggle to make up the ground.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 18:41:09 +0000
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