crinkly_ears | Real Madrid 6 Rayo Vallecano 2 - Two and a Half Assists For Mesut! (Reply)

Watch this goal carefully and you'll see it is a bit of a wonder-strike. From Mesut's rather beautifully taken corner, Varane used his foot, as he was leaping through the air, to roof the ball into the net off his heel. It was a uniquely beautiful strike in everyway - and historically significant to boot!Mourinho has said in the past that "Ozil always does the simplest things. He makes football look easy, and that's the hardest thing of all." Mesut's pass to Benzema could be said to sum up that assessment. And Benzema's finish was pure class, of course.

And some other random fellow put it like this -

Benzema was, of course, properly grateful. He gave his other teammates quick high-fives, ran up to Mesut and gave him a thankful cuddle for all that German engineering!

And in a game of so many goals, there were several other on-the-pitch-love-ins of course. Alonso got a high-five -

Mesut congratulated Kaka for his lovely pass to create the second goal and also for the lovely pass that led to Mesut's shot on goal a few moments earlier. (Who said creative playmakers can't play together?)

And when Cris scored the first of his two penalties, it was another nice excuse to get in on some cuddling -

Final score: Real Madrid 6 Rayo Vallecano 2

Press & Commentary

The Real Madrid Website

After the game, Mourinho had the following to say (according to the website):

"Kaka and Ozil played closer to the goal. We didn't have a true number '10' on the pitch, but there were three excellent playmakers out there. We started pulling off more efforts. It's a shame I had to replace Kaka when we were down to ten men because he was giving a very good performance.

"Kaka and Ozil have to be prepared both physically and mentally to adapt to play closer to midfield. It isn't easy for them to do this for 90
minutes. It's risky. They have to be fit and aware that Xabi Alonso can't play alone in midfield for 90 minutes. They both responded very well. They created ball movement and covered Rayo's exits. They played well. It was a situation of risk but they transformed it into a positive scenario for the team."

The Spanish Press

El Semanal noted that Mesut's entry into the game was decisive, and that his arrival brough clarity and intelligence to the attack and, in their words "restored harmony".

Emilio Butragueno, speaking to the press after the game as Madrid's director of public relations, spoke of the "output and effectiveness" of Ozil, which allowed the team to get ahead and stay ahead after being down to 10 men after the dismissal of Angel di Maria.

Marca was as typically effusive as we've come to expect when they write about their favourite German, stating that Mesut's arrival "turned night into day."

And from As: "It is a sin to leave Ozil on the bench..."

The German Press

After a week of taking a sort of passive-aggressive enjoyment in Mesut's difficulties over the past week and a half, the German sporting press are back to praising Mesut (all the better to gleefully rip him apart should he ever have two weak games in a row again).

Sueddeutsche Zeitung: "Ozil brought a fresh wind [to Madrid's attack]."

This was precisely the same analogy used by Welt Online whose title was "Ozil bringt für Real Madrid die Wende‎"

And Bild are back to being their usual effusive selves. Taking the cue they received from RealMadrid.com, their headline read: "Ozil and Ronaldo End the Crisis!"

Goal.com

In their write-up of the actual match, Mesut came in for longer praise. Their individual critique of him was as follows:

A fantastic substitute, the German played a flurry of dangerous passes, including a perfect one to set up Benzema.

Training Pictures (September 25, 2011)

The boys were back in practice today with their Champions League game on Tuesday against Ajax (at home) looming.