Match Report: Real Madrid Vs Villarreal

Real Madrid haven't lost a La Liga debut in 23 years. However, the draw against Villarreal leaves a sour taste in the mouths of Madridistas after their team played a solid first half. The Raúl-Cassano-Van Nistelrooy connection worked well, but the team couldn't find the back of the net. Villarreal came out strong in the second half and Madrid had trouble keeping up. Although the Whites had several chances to take the lead, the team lacked accuracy in front of their rival's goal.


MATCH REPORT:
0 REAL MADRID: Iker Casillas; Salgado, Cannavaro, Raúl Bravo, Roberto Carlos; Emerson, Diarra; Beckham (Robinho, min. 75), Raúl, Cassano (Guti, min.56) and Van Nistelrooy.
0 VILLARREAL: Viera; Javi Venta, Quique Alvarez, Peña, Arruabarrena; Somoza, Senna, Riquelme, Cani (Josemi, min. 90); Nihat (Guille Franco, min. 59) and Forlán (José Mari, min. 75).
REFEREE: Fernández Borbalán. Yellow cards to Real Madrid's Michel Salgado (15') and Roberto Carlos (22'), and Villarreal's Peña (20'), Nihat (38') and Quique Alvarez (89').

65,000 spectators attended the match at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Real Madrid 0-0 Villareal.

Capello earns first point at helm of Real Madrid in 0-0 draw with Villarreal.

Real Madrid was held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Villarreal in its first match of the Spanish league season.

The Madrid powerhouse, playing under new coach Fabio Capello and presenting all four of its new signings, struggled to create goal chances in a poor start to its bid to win its first league title since 2003.

In charge of Madrid for his first league match since 1997, Capello selected all four new signings - Fabio Cannavaro, Emerson, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mahamadou Diarra.

But Madrid, watched from the stands by the club's recently elected president Ramon Calderon, disappointed its crowd with a low-key display in which Villarreal came close to taking the lead several times.

Van Nistelrooy twice missed opportunities in the second half before his former Manchester United teammate David Beckham was replaced by Robinho in the 75th minute - when Madrid was whistled off the field by sections of its supporters.

Real		Villarreal
0		0
YELLOW CARDS
Michel Salgado 15 Roberto Carlos 22		Juan Manuel Pena 20 Nihat Kahveci 38

Real Madrid 0-1 Villarreal - Riquelme seals Real Madrid's first pre-season defeat

Villarreal beat Real Madrid 1-0 on Saturday in a high profile friendly played down south in Cadiz.

The only goal of a tight match was put away by Juan Roman Riquelme four minutes from time with one of his trademark free-kicks.

New Real coach Fabio Capello admitted he was "quite disappointed afterwards, because we still have many things that need to be corrected."

The late win will give Villarreal encouragement for their visit next Sunday to Madrid to face Real on the their "Liga" debut.

THE ROBINHO SPIRIT
Throughout the match, Robinho was the only player that brought the crowd to their feet, demonstrating that he feels very comfortable playing on Andalusian soil. Cadiz has adopted the player as one of its own. Madrid's number '10' constantly tried to get by the Villarreal defense, was victim to many fouls, counterattacked frequently and participated in his team's most eye-catching plays without skimping out on his trademark step-overs and magical feints. Nevertheless, Robinho was unable to score on the same field that saw him make his Real Madrid debut.

MATCH REPORT:

1 – Villarreal C.F:Viera; Gonzalo (Quique Rodríguez, min.58), José Enrique, Peña, Josemi; Nihat (Marcos, min.90), Somoza (Bruno, min.62), Senna, Cani (Jose Mari, min. 80); Forlán (Arruabarrena, min.89) and Riquelme .
0 – Real Madrid: Diego López; Míchel Salgado (Cicinho, min.45), Cannavaro (Woodgate, min.35), Sergio Ramos, Roberto Carlos; Beckham, Emerson (Helguera, min. 80), Javi García (Mejía, min.60), Raúl (Juanfran, min.60); Robinho and Van Nistelrooy (Baptista, min.45).

Goals
0-1 Riquelme scores off a free kick.
Referee: Perdigones Pacheco. Booked Riquelme (min.23), Cani (min.25), Josemi (min.27), Javi García (min.37), Mejía (min.89) .

Highlights: 3rd and 4th place match of the 52nd edition of the Ramón de Carranza Trophy. Attendance: 13,000.