Espanyol 0 : 1 Real Madrid - Ten-man Real grind out win

Posted Sunday, February 13, 2011 by PA

Real Madrid overcame the second-minute dismissal of Iker Casillas to beat Espanyol 1-0 at Cornella on Sunday night and move to within five points of fierce rivals Barcelona at the top of the Primera Division.

Casillas was shown a straight red card for a supposed foul on Jose Callejon just outside the box after less than 90 seconds, but the Espanyol forward went to ground far too easily after minimal contact with the Spain keeper.

The dismissal - only the second in Casillas' distinguished career at Madrid - produced an immediate reshuffle from Real coach Jose Mourinho, who sent on reserve keeper Adan and hauled off Argentina winger Angel di Maria.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Madrid looked the more dangerous and Marcelo gave the visitors the lead midway through the first half when he drilled home from a tight angle.

Emmanuel Adebayor missed three glorious chances to extend Madrid's lead, but Marcelo's strike proved enough as Mourinho's side kept Espanyol at bay with relative ease in the second half.

Madrid had been seven points behind league leaders Barcelona prior to this weekend's fixtures, but saw the Catalans surprisingly held at Sporting Gijon last night.

That gave Mourinho's men the opportunity to move within five points of their eternal enemy with a win on Sunday night, but things did not start well.

Casillas, whose only previous dismissal had come at Osasuna in 2006, looked disgusted as he was given his marching orders inside two minutes.

And the Espanyol fans, who had seen their side win all but two of their home matches in the Primera Division this season, sensed an upset.

But Mourinho sides are often even harder to break down with 10 men than 11, as Barca found out to their cost in last season's Champions League semi-final second leg against Inter Milan.

Following the early dismissal of Thiago Motta in that match, the Portuguese's well-drilled side defended brilliantly and held on to lose just 1-0, which was enough for his team to advance to the final - which they later won - at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Now installed as coach at the Bernabeu, Madrid have proved equally stubborn at times, although their last trip to Barcelona ended in a 5-0 defeat at the Nou Camp.

There was no chance of a repeat this time around, though, even with 10 men.

Sami Khedira twice tested Carlos Kameni, who looked nervous following his error-strewn display in the defeat at Almeria last weekend, as the game settled down.

And Marcelo exposed what looks to be a weakness of the Cameroon keeper when he rifled home from an acute angle to give Madrid the lead after 23 minutes.

The goal, although less spectacular, was similar to Giuseppe Rossi's brilliant winner here two weeks ago.

Then, at the other end of the pitch, Kameni was beaten at his near post from a seemingly impossible angle.

The African seemed even more culpable this time around and was almost forced to pick the ball out of his net for a second time shortly before half-time when Adebayor raced clear and scooped the ball over the keeper's head, only to see his effort land on the crossbar and bounce over.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who had hit a shot high into the stand and received ironic jeers in the first period, also saw a low effort saved by Kameni and was denied again from a free-kick early in the second half.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo's Portugal team-mate Pepe was making an impressive return to the Madrid line-up after injury. The centre-back made several important interventions as the visitors continued to frustrate Espanyol.

The game had lost some of its early intensity, with Madrid happy to soak up the pressure and barely bothering to attack when they had the ball.

Ronaldo almost set up Adebayor on one rare foray, while Callejon was crowded out at the other end and flashed a shot across the six-yard box when he should have at least tested Adan.

Adebayor should then have made the game safe in the final minutes, but the Togo striker twice shot straight at Kameni with only the Cameroon keeper to beat.

Marcelo's strike was enough to settle it, however, and Madrid are very much back in the title race with 15 games - including a home fixture against Barca - still to play.

Espanyol stay sixth following what was a third straight Primera Division defeat, but the Catalans are now eight points behind fourth-placed Valencia.