Real Madrid vs Arsenal, 2005/06 UEFA Champions League, Round of 16

· 1st Leg

Real Madrid

FT
0 - 1
1st Leg

Arsenal

47': Thierry Henry

About

Real Madrid are hosting Arsenal at Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain, starting on . The match is a part of the UEFA Champions League.

Match Commentary

0': Real Madrid: Casillas, Cicinho, Sergio, Woodgate, Carlos, Gravesen, Beckham, Guti, Zidane, Robinho, Ronaldo. Subs: Cobeno, Salgado, Raul, Julio Baptista, Cassano, Diogo, Mejia.
0': Arsenal: Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini, Ljungberg, Hleb, Silva, Fabregas, Reyes, Henry. Subs: Almunia, Diaby, Pires, Song Billong, Walcott, Djourou, Lupoli.
0': Henry looks like playing a lone strike role tonight. But with attack-minded Cicinho and youngster Ramos on the left side of the Real defence, Henry may well get some joy down that flank.
1': Real get the game underway. Kicking from left to right and wearing all white. Arsenal are in yellow and black.
2': Henry gets his first chance to run at the defence. He passes to Reyes who shoots straight at Casillas. He should have scored there - to give the Gnners a dream stat.
3': Zidane carves through midfield. Beckham spreads it wide. Hleb brings down Robinho with a soft foul.
4': Ljungberg splits the defence with a great ball from midfield. Reyes latches onto it but can't beat Gravesen in the box.
5': The Gunners are looking the better side in the early stages.
6': Toure goes sprawling under a very slight shove from tiny Robinho but the ref awards the foul. I would hate to see what Toure would do if pie-eating Ronaldo barges into him.
7': Ljungberg latches onto a through ball from Henry. The Swede should have shot first time but a heavy first touch allows Woodgate to tackle.
8': Looks like Woodgate is going off injured. Mejia is on as a replacement.
10': Real can't cope with Arsenal's slick passing. They are ripped open again and Henry heads into the side netting. Arsenal could be 4-0 up.
11': Real's stars can't keep possession. Hleb runs into acres of space and then allows himself to be tackled by being indecisive.
12': Eboue intercepts a great pass from Zidane for Robinho. The young defender needed to make that stop.
13': Real build some pressure but Cicinho's cross is eventually plucked out of the air by Lehmann.
14': Madrid are very slow in closing down when Arsenal have possession. Each Gunner has plenty of time to pick each pass.
16': Hleb gathers a stray pass from Beckham but then fails to find a team-mate with his own pass....already a feature of this match.
18': Eboue makes a great tackle on Robinho on the flank. Ljunberg slides the ball into the area for Reyes but the Spaniard expected the pass to go elsewhere.
19': Fabregas gets his foot to a cross from the right but can only steer the ball into the side netting.
20': Cicinho loses the ball on the edge of the Gunners' box but Hleb is too slow to play the ball into the space Cicinho vacated at right-back. Beckham gets back to cover.
22': Beckham crosses to the back post. Eboue beats Robinho to the header and Lehmann claims the ball to calm things down.....Real nearly got their first shot of the game there.
23': Hleb wins the ball cleanly from Zidane but the ref blows for a freekick. Another soft foul in Real's favour.
24': Zidane with a sloppy pass in midfield. Henry, Reyes and Flamini try to work it through the defence but Gravesen covers back to clear the danger.
25': Zidane whips in a cross from the left. Beckham beats Flamini to a header at the back post but directs the ball wide. Real's best chance.
26': Cicinho brings down Reyes and gets booked. Arsenal have a freekick to the left of the area.....
27': ...Henry shoots high and wide.
28': Beckham shoots from 40-yards out. Gilberto half blocks the strike and Lehmann collects the deflection.
29': Flamini's attempts to clear the ball keep coming straight back at the makeshift right-back. eventually Arsenal get the ball into Real's half of the pitch.
30': Ronaldo attempts to power through the heart of the Arsenal defence but his way is blocked by Senderos and Toure.
32': Ronaldo shoots from 25-yards, but his low shot doesn't trouble Lehmann.
33': Beckham digs the ball out from Senderos and is one on one with Lehmann. The England skipper shoots low and Lehmann blocks the shot over the bar.
34': Real are getting their game together. Lehamnn comes out to claim a cross, flaps at the ball, but Guti can't direct his header on target.
36': Flamini races across to tackle Cicinho before the defender can cross. He makes a strong tackle and Cicinho rolls around as if his leg is broken....it isn't and he gets back to his feet.
37': Robinho hits a half-volley from the edge of the box. Lehmann gets his body behind the ball and saves at his near post.
38': Arsenal aren't having much joy now. Reyes wastes possession on the edge of the Madrid box.
39': Henry runs at Ramos and gets around the outside of the defender. The striker's shot flashes across the face of goal but there is nobody there to poke it into the net.
40': Fabregas gets booked for a block on the marauding defender Cicinho.
41': Roberto Carlos smashes the resulting freekick at Lehmann, who fists the ball clear.
43': Henry races down the left flank. His cross/shot is too close to Casiillas, who claims the ball before the waiting Ljunberg can smash it into the net.
44': Reyes over runs the ball and dives in on Cicinho to try and win it back. Luckily the defender sees the challenge coming and gets out of the way.
45': Ronaldo attempts to get around the outside of Toure. The defender goes to ground and manages to toe-poke the ball out for a corner.
0': The ref blows for the break and I would suggest that the Gunners have had the better of the half.
0': Arsenal could be made to regret not taking their early chances because I doubt if Real Madrid will start the second-half as badly as they did the first.
45': Arsenal get the second-half under way - kicking from left to right. No changes to either team.
46': Henry picks up the ball on the half-way line and goes past Ramos, Gravesen and Beckham. The striker drives into the box and slots the ball past a sprawling Casillas. GOAL!
47': Arsenal should have had the lead early in the first-half and they do have it early in the second.
49': Henry has been constantly linked with a move to Barcelona, and he has just highlighted his worth to Real.
50': Cicinho takes tumble in the box. The ref says no penalty but it did look a clumsy challenge by Reyes.
51': Ljunberg shoots from the left. Casillas saves easily. Arsenal look much sharper than Real.
52': Robinho cuts in from the right flank and fires a right foot shot wide of Lehmann's far post.
53': Raul is warming up on the touchline and the home crowd cheer wildly.
54': Ljunberg plays a perfect ball down the inside right channel for Henry. the Frenchman steadies himself for the shot a mis-hits his strike into the crowd.
55': The Gunners are cutting Real Madrid to pieces. They are really exploiting the spaces left by Cicinho's attacking runs.
56': Real probe the Arsenal defence but Toure and co stand firm under the pressure and eventually get the ball clear after a tackle on Robinho.
57': Guti turns in the centre-circle and plays the ball out to flank to nobody. Typical of Real so far this match.
58': Ramos flings out an arm after a tough challenge from Eboue. The Arsenal defender goes down clutching his face but no contact was made.
59': Ljunberg helps out at the back and sest hleb free down the right. The Belarus international centres the ball for Henry but it's a poor pass and Casillas claims it.
61': Guti brings the ball forward. Zidane crosses, Ronaldo spins on the edge of the box and falls down. No foul.
62': Real make a change. Robinho goes off and Raul comes on for his 100th game in the Champions League.
64': Gravesen spreads play and Carlos cuts it back from the left flank. Raul's first touch is a bit clumsy and Arsenal clear the danger.
65': Cicinho has given up defending altogether but such is the Real pressure at the moment that is doesn't matter.
67': Carlos bombs forward. Hleb has a little tug at his shirt and the foul is given. Beckham will take it.....
68': ..the England skipper's cross is met by the head of Raul, who can't hit the target. He should have at least worked Lehmann with that chance.
70': Reyes picks the ball up in defence, beats three players and is then hacked down in the Real half. The ref only awards a throw.....definately a homer.
71': Beckham crosses from the right and Senderos is forced to head clear over his own crossbar.
72': Reyes is hurt on the touchline but Real Madrid are playing on. Arsenal eventually put the ball out and in the meantime Reyes has rolled back onto the pitch.
73': Mejia attempts to pull Reyes to his feet. Casillas runs all the way from his goal to give his opinion and gets booked for his trouble. Reyes gets booked too.
74': Arsenal make a change. The wasteful Hleb is replaced by Pires.
75': Real Madrid make an attacking change. Gravesen goes off and Baptista comes on.
76': Beckham beats the tiring Flamini but Lehmann rushes off his line to make the save. The Real fans want a penalty but it never is one.
77': Pires spots Ljungberg's forward run and sweeps the ball into his path. Casillas rushes out his area to nick the ball off Ljungberg's toes.
78': Eboue holds off Raul, who doesn't like his phsyical style and complains to the ref. It's all legal says the man in black.
79': Arsenal make another change. Reyes goes off to much booing and Diaby replaces him.
80': The ball squirms to Diaby on the edge of the box, he tries to steer it past Casillas with his first touch but is thwarted.
81': The Gunners look a little tired but they only have ten minutes to hang on.
82': Zidane drives down the flank but can't get past young Fabregas, who has had an excellent game.
83': Ramos lofts the ball into the box as Real run out of ideas. Lehmann collects and a few more seconds tick away.
84': Pires breaks down the right. He cuts inside but has no support so attempts a shot from a tight angle. Casillas has it covered.
85': Baptista wins a freekick off Diaby.....a good chance for Beckham to deliver a cross from this.
86': Beckham's freekick is perfect but Ramos can't decide whether to head it or kick it and in the end it bounces off his stomach and into Lehmann's grasp.
87': The Arsenal keeper took a few blows as he claimed the ball and needs some treatment. More valuable time slips away....
88': The game restarts and now Eboue is rolling around injured. The ref hasn't given a foul for the challenge from Zidane however.
89': Flamini blocks a Beckham cross from the right with his hand. Beckham takes the freekick himself and Lehmann punches clear.
90': Fabregas fools Baptista with a drop of the shoulder and buys some valuable space and time for his team.
90': Toure heads Zidane's cross as far as the half-way line. Henry picks up the ball and heads to the corner flag. More time ticks away.....
90': Beckham crosses from the right. Arsenal are caught short in defence but luckily Ronaldo can't make contact with the cross at the far post.
0': That's it! The final whistle blows and Arsenal become the first English team to beat Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
0': Arsenal have struggled against aggressive teams this season but Real Madrid gave them too much time and space and the Gunners obligingly tore them apart tonight. A fully deserved 1-0 win...it could have been more.

Statistics

ARS		RMA
23	Fouls	14
2	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
4	Offsides	1
2	Corner Kicks	5
0	Saves	0
0	Possession	0
9	SHOTS	22
5	ON GOAL	7
0.6	On Target %	0.3
0	Penalty Goals	0
0	Penalty Kicks Taken	0
0	Accurate Passes	0
0	Passes	0
0.0	Pass Completion %	0.0
0	Accurate Crosses	0
0	Crosses	0
0.0	Cross %	0.0
0	Long Balls	0
0	Accurate Long Balls	0
0.0	Long Balls %	0.0
0	Blocked Shots	0
0	Effective Tackles	0
0	Tackles	0
0.0	Tackle %	0.0
0	Interceptions	0
0	Effective Clearances	0
0	Clearances	0

Game Information

Competition: UEFA Champions League

Venue: Santiago Bernabéu
Location: Madrid, Spain

Line-Ups

Real Madrid

No.	Name
1	Iker Casillas (GK)
3	Roberto Carlos
18	Jonathan Woodgate
11	Cicinho
4	Sergio Ramos
16	Thomas Gravesen
23	David Beckham
5	Zinedine Zidane
10	Robinho
9	Ronaldo
14	Gutí

Real Madrid Substitutes:

Júlio Baptista, Alvaro Mejia, Míchel Salgado, Antonio Cassano, David Cobeño, Raúl, Carlos Diogo.

Arsenal

No.	Name
1	Jens Lehmann (GK)
27	Emmanuel Eboué
28	Kolo Touré
20	Philippe Senderos
15	Cesc Fàbregas
8	Freddie Ljungberg
13	Aleksandr Hleb
19	Gilberto Silva
9	José Antonio Reyes
16	Mathieu Flamini
14	Thierry Henry

Arsenal Substitutes:

Abou Diaby, Johan Djourou, Alex Song, Theo Walcott, Robert Pires, Arturo Lupoli, Manuel Almunia.

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