Real Madrid vs Toronto FC: 5-1

The people of Toronto were not let down by los blancos display tonight. Unless they were die hard T.F.C. supporters. It's hard to be disappointed when Real Madrid wins and scores 5 goals in a single match. Those aren't the only reasons to be pleased though. There are plenty of positives to take out of today's Canadian match up. Not to mention, after Barcelona's North America act was looking to be a tough one to fallow, the other Spanish giant didn't let anyone down.

I'd like to start with the few negatives. From a Real Madrid stand point it's hard to pick out negatives unless you're looking under a microscope like me. I tend to be a bit picky. Okay so it's not like Real was playing a real quality side, but I'm not going to bash a good result and a good performance. I'm actually not disappointed about the goal at all. It was a low hard shot that rebounded to another red shirt. It happens, unlucky. I think it was great for that T.F.C kid to score against a big club like Real Madrid. I believe the announcer on ESPN said he hadn't played a regular season game at all this year. So good for him. He is just a boy. I'd be just as ecstatic as he was. The one thing that made me cringe early was when Casillas, showing he is the best keeper in world (maybe a biased opinion), came out and saved the 1v1 opportunity early in the first half. A chipped ball over the top was played to a Toronto striker who was obviously in an offsides position. However, he let it go and the back line froze as second Toronto player went darting through only to be denied by Iker from close range. Those are the little things that we can't fall asleep on, especially against good sides. He was totally unmarked and 7 out of 10 times will score a golden opportunity like that. At times the Albiol/Metzelder partnership was a little shifty. But for the first time playing together, good. Pepe will miss the first couple games of the season due to a suspension he received at the end of last season. So the German and the new Spanish signing will see a lot of time together right away when the season gets started in a short couple weeks now. I too noticed that the play dropped a little at the beginning of the second half. We need to play a complete 90 minutes or it will comeback to haunt us. For example, Real Madrid vs Juve last week. Other than that it's very hard to pull mistakes from the match. Like I said, I'm a nit-picker and that's all I've got for you.

Let's discuss the formation. It's not what a lot of people expected. I have been all over websites and discussions about what we were going to be looking at tonight and the most common ideas, from what I could see were 4-4-2 with a staggered or altered midfield or 4-2-1-2-1. That wasn't the case. Pellegrini went with a very Barcelona like 4-3-3. Here was the team to start:

------------------Casillas------------------
Arbeloa----R. Albiol--Metzelder --Drenthe
------Lass--------Kaka-------Guti--------
---Ronaldo------Benzema-----Raul-------

That's what the formation looked like, but that is most certainly not how it stayed. The play from Real Madrid was very inventive and creative. This is the kind of football we have all been expecting. Ronaldo looks like a right forward but was often found in the center or left. Kaka was up top next to Benzema who seemed to drift to the left a bit. Raul, as you may have guessed by now, was seen high and even to the right at times. The midfield was having a bit of fun by tangling defenders because they were so hard to mark as they too frequently switched places, making it extremely hard for Toronto to pick up. I don't want to concentrate too much on individual performances because it was a team effort but there are certain things that must be addressed. Real Madrid supporters on forums in recent days have been saying that Raul should step aside and give someone younger a shot. Someone even said he should work to get out of his contract (What a ridiculous comment!). I've argued that he is still valuable and he didn't do me wrong tonight. Two goals of two very different nature. Who says he doesn't still got it? He chopped a defender who is probably 7-10 years younger than he is and roofed it off the cross bar into the back of the net. The years may be beginning to wear on him, but he still has a lot to offer. Good performance by him tonight. It was evident how excited Ronaldo was to score his first goal from open play. Scoring from the penalty spot twice is rewarding but your not truly off the mark until you get one from the run of play. The goal was well worked. I clapped to it in my own living room. A chipped ball into Ronaldo, who headed it on to Benzema. The French international took a touch or so forward and then cut it back for C. Ronaldo, who continued his run and met it in stride. One touch. Bang. Beautiful. Benzema played a major role tonight. Higuain will need to step up his stuff to find game time, but I'm sure at this stage in his career Raul, sadly, cannot play every match. Back to Benzema. He had a part to play in the 4th and 5th goal. He scored from close range after Negredo worked hard to reach the end line and poked a nifty through ball in from Robben who beat the goal keeper and slid the ball home. Well done. It was a luxury to have the Confederations Cup players back in action even though Pellegrini only gave them the first half. Kaka looks awfully promising as always. I feel like he will be an extremely influential part in the upcoming season after seeing him work well with the rest of the Real players today. Arbeloa was very active, filling in for Sergio Ramos who stayed in Spain to nurse an Achilles injury. He gave the ball away a few times, but you can't have a stunning performance every game. I have yet to be disappointed by Granero. He came on as a sub and was just as composed and solid as always. I'd really like to know his pass completion percentage. It's got to be up there. Long balls, through balls, short passes. He can do it all. Xabi Alonso did just the job I thought he would. I didn't expect any less but I'm beginning to get used to something that seems rather unfamiliar as a Madridista. Depth. The healthy competition for places will do the team good. There are so many options. I feel if one player is goofing up, Madrid has another player just as willing and talented to pick up the slack. I want to give an online applause to Drenthe. He has recovered from his confidence scare last year and is as lively and athletic as always. Him and Marcelo, as I have said before, will be truly duking it out for left back all season. Heinze got out at the right time. No real smack on Gago, but Lass looks a lot more comfortable and affective without the Argentine next to him. The last thing I want to briefly touch on is defending set plays. I can actually say something positive about it this time. Madrid's set play defending was much (much, much, much) better than matches previous. The team may have been scored against, but this time not from a free kick or corner, or a header for that matter. Finally.

In the end it is a performance I, as well as many other Madridistas should be excited about. Hopefully that is just a preview for what is to come in the new campaign. I'm looking forward to watching what should be a similar performance against a significantly better D.C. United in a few days time. Just remember, this is preseason, not La Liga, the Copa del Rey, or the Champions League.

Viva el futbol y HALA MADRID!

Bobby