Eibar v Real Madrid Live Commentary & Result, 29/11/2015, Primera División

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	BAR Barcelona	38	29	4	5	112	29	+83	91	W W W W W
2	RMA Real Madrid	38	28	6	4	110	34	+76	90	W W W W W
3	ATM Atlético Madrid	38	28	4	6	63	18	+45	88	W L W W W
4	VIL Villarreal	38	18	10	10	44	35	+9	64	L L W D L
5	ATH Athletic Club	38	18	8	12	58	45	+13	62	W D W D L
6	CEL Celta de Vigo	38	17	9	12	51	59	-8	60	L W L W D
7	SEV Sevilla	38	14	10	14	51	50	+1	52	L L L W L
8	MAL Málaga	38	12	12	14	38	35	+3	48	W L W L D
9	RSO Real Sociedad	38	13	9	16	45	48	-3	48	W W L D L
10	BET Real Betis	38	11	12	15	34	52	-18	45	W D L L W
11	LPM Las Palmas	38	12	8	18	45	53	-8	44	L D L W L
12	VAL Valencia	38	11	11	16	46	48	-2	44	L L L D W
13	EIB Eibar	38	11	10	17	49	61	-12	43	L D L D L
14	ESP Espanyol	38	12	7	19	40	74	-34	43	W L W L D
15	DEP Deportivo La Coruña	38	8	18	12	45	61	-16	42	L W L D L
16	GRA Granada	38	10	9	19	46	69	-23	39	L W W L W
17	SPO Sporting Gijón	38	10	9	19	40	62	-22	39	W D W L W
18	RAY Rayo Vallecano	38	9	11	18	52	73	-21	38	W L L L D
19	GET Getafe	38	9	9	20	37	67	-30	36	L D W D W
20	LEV Levante	38	8	8	22	37	70	-33	32	L W L D L

Full time in the Ipurua. Real Madrid get back to winning ways in the Spanish Primera Division and close the gap on Atletico and Barcelona at the top of the table with an eventually comfortable 2-0 win away to Eibar. It was their two star men who got on the scoresheet on the day as Gareth Bale gave Los Blancos the lead with a smart header at the front post, and Ronaldo netted a late penalty after a poor challenge from Dani Garcia on Lucas Vazquez inside the area. The hosts were impressive in parts, but just didn't have the tools going forward to cause much problems. Thanks for joining us, see you next time!

S. Verdi

Yellow Card

Verdi goes into the book after a poor challenge on Modric.

BENZEMAAAAA! The Frenchman almost makes a superb impact off the bench as he cuts in from the left channel to whip a dangerous looking strike aimed at the far corner. Luckily for Eibar, it goes just the wrong side of the post.

Three minutes of added time at the Ipurua and to be fair to Eibar, they are still looking to press ahead despite having no chance of getting back into this. The home side have acquitted themselves impressively against the 10-time Champions League winners.

G. Escalante

Yellow Card

Escalante is subsequently booked by the referee for that foul on Modric. Meanwhile, Ronaldo slams yet another free kick directly into the wall.

Ronaldo gets the opportunity to add to his tally here as Madrid get the free kick on the edge of the box after Escalante scythes down Modric right on the line before entering the area. The Portuguese will definitely fancy putting this one away to ensure a fairly decent afternoon for himself.

Mikel Arruabarrena

Sergi Enrich

Last throw of the dice from Eibar here as Mikel Arruabarrena, who probably should have been introduced before now to cause Madrid some physical problems, enters the action to replace Sergio Enrich.

I. Hajrović

Saúl Berjón

Another alteration from Mendilibar as Saul Berjon leaves the action to be replaced by Izet Hajrovic.

K. Benzema

Dani Carvajal

Third and final change from Real Madrid now as Karim Benzema enters the action to replace Carvajal, who looks to have picked up a slight knock after a collision on the right wing. Vazquez will pop in at right-back for the remaining few minutes.

That goal will do wonders to settle the nerves of Benitez and co. on the Madrid bench as they can enjoy the last few minutes of play without fear that Eibar could potentially grab a late equaliser. It was a terribly fatigued challenge by Garcia inside the box, and he was punished for it as Ronaldo converted the subsequent spotkick.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Penalty Goal

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLL FOR REAL MADRID! Ronaldo finally gets on the scoresheet as he steps up and confidently dispatches the spotkick by rolling a strike into the bottom right corner with Riesgo going the other way!

PENALTY TO REAL MADRID! After previously denying Los Blancos with a plethora of spotkick appeals, the referee finally awards them the penalty after Garcia stupidly leaves a trailing leg in on Vazquez, who wrongfooted him in the right channel inside the box! Correct decision!

Casemiro

M. Kovačić

Another substitution from Benitez now and it is probably a sensible one as he introduces the defensively minded Casemiro in place of Kovacic, who has been excellent in a rare start this afternoon.

Escalante collects the ball in the centre of the park and attempts to send a pass deep down the channel for Saul Berjon, who makes the darting run in off the left wing. The latter bursts a gut to try and get on the end of the loose ball inside the Madrid box, but Pepe is positioned well to marshall possession back into the hands of Navas. Good defending.

Lucas Vázquez

Yellow Card

The referee goes back and books Lucas Vazquez for that foul on Saul Berjon, which is a bit harsh on the recently introduced substitute.

Saul Berjon drives ahead down the left-hand side and skips past a couple of challenges before going down under the sliding challenge of Vazquez, which subsequently gives Eibar the foul and a set-piece opportunity from a useful position just in from the touchline. Let's see what they can make from this.

There is a fairly strange balance to the game at the moment as Madrid are looking pretty comfortable at the back with Eibar not looking likely of mounting a comeback. With the tension currently surrounding Los Blancos and their recent results, they should be there for the taking, but the home side either don't have the fitness or the know-how to put them under pressure.

What a miss from Ronaldo! This really doesn't look like it is going to be his day today, as he initially does very well to dart in behind the Eibar defence to go one-on-one with the keeper, only to slam an awful strike into the side netting from a great position! All he had to do was roll the ball under the oncoming Riesgo, but he just snatched at it!

S. Verdi

Adrián

First change of the match from Eibar as Simone Verdi enters the action in place of Adrian.

Ronaldo is cutting a really frustrated figure out there at the moment, not necessarily due to his own performance, but the referee hasn't been awarding him too much either. He picks up the ball down the right-hand side and gallops towards the byline before looking to fizz a cross into the area, only for Junca to make the block. For some reason the official awards Eibar the goal kick, much to Madrid's annoyance.

Just over 20 minutes of normal time remaining in this La Liga clash and at the moment, Real Madrid are on course to claw back some points on Atletico and Barcelona at the top of the table, but with the scoreline as low as it is, there is always going to be some doubt as we enter the latter stages. Eibar still posing a threat here, and they are definitely not out of this.

Lucas Vázquez

J. Rodríguez

First substitution of the match now and it comes from Benitez as James Rodriguez, who has been fairly disappointing out there, leave the pitch to be replaced by Lucas Vazquez, who will certainly add some dynamisn down this right-hand side.

G. Bale

Yellow Card

Another booking for Madrid here, with Gareth Bale the guilty party this time.

Well, Ronaldo has went down a little too easily a couple of times inside the box from fairly soft challenges, which the referee has been having none of. However, on this occasion the Portuguese has the right to feel aggrieved as Junca clearly gives him a hard push on the back before he can get on the end of Kovacic's cross to get a header in on goal. Even Benitez receives a telling off from the ref for his protests.

Pepe

Yellow Card

No prizes for guessing who the next player to go into the book is, as Pepe sees yellow after bringing down Enrich near the halfway line. This is turning into a fairly entertaining duel between those two!

PANTIC SHOULD BE SCORING! The central defender makes a late run into the Madrid box during an Eibar corner kick and meets the lofted cross into the box with a powerful header, but it goes the wrong side of the crossbar! He certainly had the beating of Pepe, but he just couldn't direct his connection on target!

UNLUCKY FROM EIBAR! Inui, who has been more prominent on the right wing since the break, finds a yard of space before sending a fantastic cross deep into the six-yard box, where Enrich gets in front of Pepe to bullet a header at goal! In the end the Madrid defender does JUST enough, which means the attempt from the striker goes wide of the post!

Saul Berjon rather stupidly attempts to take a free kick short inside the Real Madrid half whilst all of his defensive team-mates are inside the box waiting for the lofted cross. It fails miserably and Kovacic wins possession before taking the pressure right off the backling with a terrific, commanding dribble deep down the left wing, which eventually earns him a corner kick.

Kovacic gets in behind Escalante and Garcia in midfield and turns sharply before darting towards goal, only to be bundled over by the former. Ronaldo stands over the free kick around 30 yards out, but it is disappointing from the former Manchester United man, who slams his strike straight into the solid Eibar wall.

Benitez can't be happy in the Madrid dugout as his team make a meal of getting the ball back to Navas. It eventually takes some juggling headed football from Pepe and Nacho before the Costa Rican actually clutches possession in his hands, which was dangerous whilst Enrich is sniffing around looking for a mistake.

Inua moves across the pitch from left to right and eventually gets in the Madrid defence to hit the byline, but his subsequent cross into the box is easily plucked out of the air by the grateful Navas, who did well shilst under pressure from Enrich.

We are back under way in this Spanish Primera Division clash!

Half time at the Ipurua. This has been by no means a vintage performance from Real Madrid, who have been matched or bettered in just about every department up until now, but they grew in confidence as the half went on and eventually took the lead two minutes before the break thanks to a neatly taken Bale header at the front post. Remains to be seen how Eibar will react, but at half time they find themselves 1-0 down. Very interesting second period in store!

One minute of added time has been signaled by the ref here which sounds about right as we haven't seen too many lengthy stoppages. Mendilibar will have just ripped up his half-time notes, though - what a terrible time to concede.

L. Modrić

Assist

Some intelligent work frm Modric as he exchanges a one-two with James before whipping teasing cross into the area! One from the training ground, that, and it has came off successfully to give Madrid the lead!

G. Bale

Goal

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLL FOR REAL MADRID! LOS BLANCOS DO INDEED TAKE THE LEAD! Modric takes the short corner from the left and then receives the ball back from James, before whipping a dangerous cross to the front post, where Bale rises high to glance a lovely header into the corner! One-nil! Great move!

In the past couple of minutes Madrid have just upped the tempo a little and they could be aiming to grab a goal before we get to the break. Eibar have been terrific up until now, but the intensity of their tempo means that they will likely have a few lulls when they need a bit of a rest, much like just now.

Madrid get a rare shot on goal here as Modric looks to take the game by the scruff of the neck with a penetrating run into the final third. There isn't really a suitable pass on, so he tries his luck with a low strike aimed at the bottom corner, but Riesgo reads it pretty easily and gets down to make the solid save. The Eibar keeper has did really well between the sticks so far.

M. Kovačić

Yellow Card

First Real Madrid booking here and again, it is a deserved one as Kovacic leaves the boot in on Garcia a few yards outside of the Eibar defence. Fair play to the Croatian as he is actually displaying the desire to get stuck in with the challenges and win the ball back, but it was just a little bit overzealous this time.

Ten minutes remaining in this first half and Madrid don't look any closer to opening the scoring than they did in the early stages. If anything, it is Eibar who are in the ascendancy and seem the more likely to take the lead - they just need to get Enrich into the game a little more, as he has been thorn in the side of the Madrid defence.

Mendilibar is giving the fourth official a bit of an earful here as Enrich is wrongly called as offside, not by the linesman, but by the referee! You can clearly see the official on the sideline purposefully NOT raising his flag, but the ref outranked his assistant to make the call, which was the wrong call!

M. Dos Santos

Yellow Card

We have our first yellow card of the match now and it is certainly a deserved one for Dos Santos, who goes right through Danilo on the left wing, which results in the Brazilian yelping in pain. The referee doesn't hesitate in showing the yellow card, and the Madrid man is just receiving some attention from the physios after the collision.

The Ipurua faithful get up out of their seats in expectancy as Enrich drifts in behind the Real Madrid to drive towards goal one-on-one with Navas, but they are forced to sit back down rather quickly as the attack is stopped due to an offside call from the linesman. Probably the right decision on this occasion.

Benitez's men just look to be drained of confidence here as not even their passing in the middle of the park has been particularly economic. Too many times now a potential pacey counterattack has been halted due to a loose ball into the feet of Bale, James, or Ronaldo.

The Ballon d'Or winner isn't particularly happy with the referee here as one or two times he has been clattered by an Eibar player, only for the official to play on. On this occasion, he is taken out by Ander Capa on the left wing, but the ref is probably right not to award the free kick as he plays the advantage due to Danilo bursting down the left and getting the cross in. Naturally, the Portuguese wanted the foul given.

Ronaldo manages to get in behind the Eibar defence once again and utilises his electric pace to close down on goal, but before he can reach the ball to get a shot away, Riesgo comes off his line in a flash to come out and clear at the edge of the box! Had he missed the ball there it would probably have been a red card, but it was a well-timed tackle in the end from the stopper!

Real Madrid really have not got going as of yet as just about every time they see the ball in midfield they are being smothered by the pressing of the Eibar players. Bale, James, and Ronaldo haven't looked much of a threat in the final third apart from the Portuguese's attempted lob of Riesgo, which was well saved.

Very smart save from Navas as Inui typically cuts in from the left wing before drilling a strike at goal. Things get complicated for the Real Madrid goalkeeper due to a deflection off the leg of Pepe, but he eventually gets down to make the stop, whilst also getting up to top Enrich popping in the rebound. Great work from the Costa Rican.

Navas attempts to catalyse a Madrid counterattack with a quick throw out to Modric who turns sharply before looking to move into midfield. However, the retreating Escalante displays an impressive bit of strength and desire to get back and rob the Croatian of possession in a dangerous position, keeping pressure on Los Blancos in the process.

SAAAAAAAAVE FROM RIESGO!! Ronaldo manages to break the offside trap and drives forward into the box before looking to lift the ball over the oncoming Eibar goalkeeper, who ends up making the great save! Kovacic follows it up around 25 yards out and attempts to smash the rebound high into the net, only to see his strike go north of the crossbar! Madrid should be 1-0 up!

UNLUCKY ENRICH! Eibar show their first real threat of the match as the centre-forward collects possession around 30 yards out before taking a few strides forward and lashing stinging strike at goal, but it is straight down the throat of Navas, who ends up making the comfortable save. The home fans appreciated that bit of play from their man in attack.

Kroos takes a sore one to the heel in midfield but recovers after a few moments and then sends a lovely drilled pass to the left of midfield for Kovacic. The Croatian moves into space and then attempts to thread a pass into the channel for Danilo, but it is way off and ends up going out for an Eibar throw-in. The former Inter youngster is just taking a little while to find his feet here.

When the starting line-ups were released, it seemed likely that Carvajal would start at left-back with Danilo featuring in his usual position on the right, but it looks like it may be the other way around judging by their positioning. They are, of course, interchangeable on each flank if needs be.

Inui, who looks to have been deployed down the left wing in these early stages, darts inside from the touchline and finds a yard of space before whipping a teasing cross into the box, looking for Enrich. In the end, Navas takes the pressure off his defence by coming off his line to claim possession out of the air.

One factor that could play a part in the outcome of this game is the pitch, as there isn't a particularly good surface on display at the Ipurua. We are only five minutes into the game and already parts of the grass are starting to divide, which is probably the last situation Madrid would want to find themselves in when the confidence is low.

Eibar have impressed a lot of Spanish football fans this season with their confident and high tempo approach when playing at home, and it looks like the formula may continue today as they are going after Real Madrid from the get go. However, the Blancos have already had a couple of opportunities where space has opened up massively in behind the home side's defence, so they'll need to be wary of that threat.

We are under way at the Ipurua!

The teams are making their way to the pitch and we are almost ready for kick-off!

Real Madrid enjoyed their clashes against Eibar last season and won home and away 3-0 and 4-0 respectively, and such a tally of goals without reply should see them head into this match fairly confident, even with their poor recent form.

Eibar have made three changes to their starting XI since the 1-1 draw away at Villarreal. Coming in is Ander Capa, Inui, and Adrian, with Ekiza, Keko, and Borja making way. Real Madrid make four alterations from the Champions League win over Shakhtar, which see Casilla, Varane, Isco, and Casemiro make way for Navas, Danilo, Kroos, and James.

Real Madrid (4-3-3: Navas; Danilo, Nacho, Pepe, Carvajal; Kovacic, Kroos, Modric; James, Bale, Ronaldo.

Eibar (4-3-3): Riesgo; Capa, Pantic, Dos Santos, Junca; Garcia, Adrian, Escalante; Berjon, Enrich, Inui.

TEAM NEWS...

Eibar, meanwhile, are enjoying a great start to the season and find themselves loftily positioned in 7th, just four points away from the Champions League positions. Jose Luis Mendilibar has overseen a run of just one defeat in eight matches, whilst also defeating Getafe and Rayo Vallecano at home in that time. Their recent performances, combined with the poor atmosphere in the Real Madrid camp at the moment, can give the hosts today cause for optimism.

Madrid are currently third in La Liga with 24 points taken from 12 matches, with Atletico four points ahead in second place. The Spanish capital club actually enjoyed a stellar start to the campaign and recorded an impressive unbeaten run, but they have lost their past two league games to Sevilla and Barca respectively.

Los Blancos are no doubt still reeling from their 4-0 demolition at the hands of Barcelona in the Clasico last Saturday, and with the Blaugrana winning with the same scoreline against Real Sociedad yesterday, Rafa Benitez's outfit currently find themselves nine points behind their great rivals with a game in hand.

Good afternoon football fans! Welcome to LIVE coverage of the Spanish Primera Division clash between Eibar and Real Madrid from the Municipal de Ipurua!

Eibar v Real Madrid Live Commentary, 29/11/2015

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