Real Madrid continued their perfect start to the season with a 3-0 win over Tenerife at the Bernabeu, thanks to two goals from Karim Benzema, and one from Kaka.
Los Merengues welcomed Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Xabi Alonso back to the starting line-up, while Kaka and Gonzalo Higuain started from the bench.
Tenerife, meanwhile, lined up as expected, as they searched for their first away points of the season, having failed to even score a goal on their travels thus far.
The visitors acquitted themselves well in the opening stages, as Los Merengues struggled to find their rhythm. Indeed, Tenerife were finding plenty of space and dominating the possession, as Madrid struggled without the playmaking abilities of Kaka.
It took Real Madrid 27 minutes to even muster a shot on goal, and it took a point blank save from Sergio Aragoneses to deny Raul, after Cristiano Ronaldo's shot had deflected into his path. That chance came against the run of play, as the possession stats confirmed that Tenerife had enjoyed more of the ball. They were getting plenty of space on the wings, but a lack of numbers in the box consistently thwarted their attempts to score.
With ten minutes remaining in the first half, the impressive Marc Bertran had to be withdrawn, having failed to recover from a nasty challenge by Royston Drenthe. Still the visitors continued to press, and but for some poor final balls, they could easily have scored more than one goal.
The half ended goalless, as the Bernabeu crowd made their displeasure known, having witnessed one of the more uninspiring displays by Los Merengues in recent memory.
Manuel Pellegrini was clearly unimpressed by the first half fare, as he made two switches at half-time, bringing Kaka and Guti on for Sergio Ramos and Esteban Granero, with Lassana Diarra moving to right-back. The home side immediately looked more fluent, and it took just two minutes for them to take the lead, as Benzema rose to head a Xabi Alonso cross right into the bottom corner.
Tenerife, however, did not let the goal disappoint them, and came agonizingly close to scoring minutes later when Alfaro's header from a corner flashed just wide. Nino then had a great chance after being released by Mikel Alonso, but his lob also went wide of the mark.
While Madrid continued to look suspect at the back, their attack was far more threatening, and Ronaldo almost scored one for the ages when he ran past the Tenerife defense at blistering speed, only to see his shot well saved by the keeper. The pressure soon told, as Benzema scored a second following a horrendous mix-up in the visitor's box. A long ball over the top caused confusion for Manolo, and with Aragoneses well out of position, the Frenchman suddenly found himself with half a goal to aim at, and he duly converted to make it 2-0.
That goal appeared to flatten Tenerife, as Madrid threatened to add to their tally. Kaka was a constant threat, and Ronaldo also had a perfect chance, but was denied by the keeper once more, after being played through by Benzema. Meanwhile, Casillas made a mess of a routine cross at the other end, and was lucky to escape when Omar smashed his shot against the post.
Tenerife continued to threaten sporadically, and once again came close when Nino's header from a corner was tipped over by Casillas. He was denied again seconds later, after being set up brilliantly by the impressive Daniel Kome. However, they were soon dealt a cruel blow as the mercurial Kaka picked the ball up on the edge of the box and slammed it into the top left corner, leaving the keeper with absolutely no chance.
With ten minutes to go, Drenthe should have increased the lead, but he managed to smash the ball wide from about three yards out.
There would prove to be no further scoring, as Real Madrid continued the pattern that has defined their season thus far; a sketchy performance with plenty of defensive concern, but enough individual brilliance to seal a comfortable win.
Source: goal.com