Real Madrid came away with an awful performance today as they draw 1-1 against a much better  team on the day , Almeria . Bernd Schuster will have so much to explain after how Real performed , bad off the ball movement , lack of creativity and really questionable substitutions from Bernd . Lets get into the details . Raul scored a diving header after an excellent cross by flamboyant Gonzalo 

 1-1 :

I was so afraid coming to watch the game having in mind the awful form the team showed of late . I just knew deep inside something bad is coming and it did. 

Bernd started with Iker Casillas at the post and Pepe , Sergio Ramos , Cannavaro , Hienze in the back and Gago , Diarra , Robben and Wesley Snijeder in the midfield while Raul and Gonzalo Higuein upfront. I came to wonder why the hell did he start with Diarra and Gago in the Midfield , I know that they provide so much depth to the defense but god damn it's a team that we should have bombarded with goals and creativity instead Bernd decided to kill the creativity in the match by starting with two anchormen . Second of all , Saviola should have started , I know Raul scored an believe me I love the lad but I just believe in Saviola's talent so much that I know he will be awesome if given the chance . 

From the beginning of the first half you could see the excellent of the ball movement and positioning of Almeria's players , they worked well together and the first 5 min of the game has Almeria written all over it .  Within the course of the first 15 min , shy chances for both teams with the dangerous bits going Almeria's way as Robben and Snjeder being too selfish . I must point to the fact that Gonzalo was impressive I mean his assist on the 38th min Raul goal was sublime and really surprised the hell out of me , he dribbled the ball so well that I just knew it was a goal , the cross was inch perfect and our Capitano was on hand with the text book diving header . 

The second half started and the worst was yet to come , Real Madrid are seen overshadowed in the park in this half with impressive one -two's on both side of the pitch by Almeria and crosses to the six yard box . Now the mistake that Bernd made was taking Pepe out for Metzelder who I think is a waste of a player . From the Point Pepe was changed everything turned for the worse , while putting Guti on for Higuein is just plain dump . Almeria as the match progressed pushed forward and in the last few min of the game pulled one back .. to end two of the most awful moments of my footballing life .. 

 I'm really frustrated and I hope that Real will wake up someday and win something .. Please tell me what you think of the game and what would you have done if your were in Bernd's place ? 

 Update  : 

Goals and Highlights 

End Of Match:

Ok, that is the final whistle. Thank you for joining me here and Real walk away with one point. Bernd will be having quite the interesting post match speech with his players. Thank you for joining me and good night! :) HALA MADRID!

90': A flurry of stoppage-time cautions are shown by the referee, working serious over-time. Iker Casillas for time-wasting, and Alvaro Negredo for a clumsy challenge.

90':  Three minutes have been signalled as remaining by the fourth official, this match could go any way.

90': Arjen Robben is blatantly obstructed by substitute Soriano, to whom referee Vazquez brandishes a yellow card.

90': To compound his error, Heinze concedes a free-kick on the edge of the Real box after great play from Piatti. The set-piece is wasted, however.

87': A glorious chance for a Real winner is wasted by Gabriel Heinze of all people! The full-back found himself at the back-post with a free header from six-yards out, but inexplicably failed to even hit the target.

86': Sergio Ramos continues to provide a potent attacking threat from the back and is scythed down by Mosquera Alvarez in a dangerous position.

86': Diarra, after looking bright at the start of the second half, now looks very sluggish and the midfielder nonchalantly misplaces a pass, leaving Bernd Schuster fuming on the sideline.

84': As Real press forward, desperately seeking the winner, Almeria break purposefully, but Piatti curls his shot wide from the edge of the box.

82': Real appear shell-shocked as Raul is completely oblivious to Guti's threaded pass which would have created a decent chance.

81': GOAL!!! Almeria have a deserved equaliser! Pablo Piatti volleys home emphatically inside the Real area from Albert Crusat's cross. Iker Casillas had no chance.

78': Juan Juanito is replaced by Fernando Soriano in Almeria coach Gonzalo Arconada's final throw of the dice.

78': A testing 20-yard strike from Negredo has Casillas stretching to save as Almeria continue to press in the Real half.

77': Guti is the final replacement for Schuster's side, with Sneijder coming off. The flamboyant forward should help Raul not to feel as isolated as he is at present.

73': Immediately after entering the fray, Van der Vaart pleads for an attempt at a 30-yard free-kick, but his Dutch team-mate Sneijder intervenes and blasts it high and wide.

72': Rafael van der Vaart has been introduced to the action by Bernd Schuster to add some invention to the already attacking Real midfield. Gonzalo Higuain is the man to depart.

69': A fizzing shot by Sneijder has Carriera floundering on his line, but the keeper parries it to safety, just about.

67': Talking of cynical challenges, Saltor Bruno blocks Fernando Gago appallingly as the midfielder advanced down the left wing.

65': Juan Juanito is the third man to enter the referee's black book after a cynical foul which certainly deserved a caution.

64': It really was unnecessary, and surprising to see Raul passing to a team-mate in that situation, as he was bearing down on goal himself in a dangerous position.

63': Real have a second goal disallowed as a delightful passing move between Diarra and Raul, results in the latter laying the ball back to the former, whose tap-in was adjudged to be offside.

61': Wesley Sneijder is shown a yellow card by referee Vazquez after a pretty non-descript challenge on Jose Mane. A dubious decision to say the least.

61': Diarra, who was very quiet in the first half has really come to life in the second. The big midfielder is getting on the ball as much as he can, dictating play

59': The vociferous appeals for a penalty by Almeria's players and coaching staff are waved away, as the retreating Fernando Gago makes a strong challenge in the Real box.

58': Oche is again guilty of a mis-timed intervention as Sergio Ramos charges into the Almeria half once more. The referee has a stern word with the substitute, who is very close to one of the fastest dismissals in La Liga history!

55': Kalu Oche is the first name in referee Vazquez's notebook after he clumsily upends Mahamadou Diarra as the midfielder surged forward.

53': A marauding run by Sergio Ramos is ended abruptly by substitute Kalu Oche on the half-way line.

51': Almeria have their opponents under the cosh, with Jose Mane and Mosquera Alvarez combining effectively down the left, but their good work amounts to little.

48': Christoph Metzelder replaces Kepler Pepe for Real. Perhaps Bernd Schuster regards the German to be a safer bet in defending the lead, but Pepe was doing nothing wrong.

47': Almeria coach Gonzalo Arconada makes a double change, with Kalu Uche and Albert Crusat, replacing Juan Ortiz and Miguel Corona, respectively.

47': Another delicate flick by Raul, dropping off Higuain, finds his strike partner, who is then tackled convincingly by Carlos Garcia.

47': The second-half begins with a spot of head tennis, culminating in an emphatic clearance by Gabriel Heinze to alleviate any potential danger.

46': Alright, we are back for the second half! :) Real lead 1-0 thanks to Raul. :) Lets see what happens this half. :)

Half Time: That's half-time and Fabio Cannavaro and co are walking towards the tunnel in subdued mood, but half of their job has been done.

45': Two minutes to be added as Real continue to press for a second goal which would make Bernd Schuster's team-talk a touch easier.

44': A sublime flick by Raul off the outside of his left boot puts Arjen Robben through on goal, but Carlos Garcia muscles him off the ball.

43': Juan Juanito produces a lightning burst of pace to beat Sergio Ramos on his left, but his foraging run comes to nothing.

40': It has been a scrappy opening, but Real have looked the more clinical in-front of goal and Raul, the typical opportunist.

38': GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!! Raul takes the lead with a guided header past Carriera from Gonzalo Higuain's whipped cross.

34': Kepler Pepe hits the ground from a terrific height after beating Carlos Garcia to a header, but the defender appears to be okay.

32': The tackles continue to fly in all over the park and Fernando Gago is the chief culprit, but to referee Vazquez's credi, he has kept his cards in his pocket.

31': A powerful run by Sneijder almost creates a clear-cut opportunity as he cuts inside Bruno ominously, but his shot is scuffed and Diego Carreira collects comfortably

29': Higuain takes a tumble on the half-way line after a dubious tackle by Jose Mane. The striker is limping but appears to be shaking off any ill-effects.

27': Wesley Sneijder is his usual ebullient self, charging relentlessly around the pitch, but to little effect as yet.

24': A twisting, turning run from Arjen Robben in his newly-adopted role on the right wing ends with a pin-point cross to Gonzalo Higuain inside the Almeria area, but the striker snatches it poorly.

21': A niggly tackle from Fernando Gago on Miguel Corona concedes a free-kick in a dangerous position for Almeria, but the midfielder squanders it with a tame attempt.

18': Alvaro Negredo is looking dangerous for Almeria, floating behind his strike partner Piatti to good effect.

16': Julio Alvarez Mosquera takes a direct free-kick from the edge of the visitors' box and goes close with a viciously curling, but fractionally mis-placed effort which has Iker Casillas concerned.

14': The ever-sprightly Gabriel Heinze is galloping down the left for Real with relative ease. Robben is taking Bruno out of position and leaving a lot of space for the Argentinian.

11': Pablo Piatti shows some sublime skill to evade a tackle from Sergio Ramos, but the Spain full-back came back for seconds and conceded a needless free-kick.

9': As is so often the case in Arjen Robben's career, his marker - in this match, Salter Bruno - has decided to make his presence abundantly clear to him, scything him down in full flight. No booking awarded surprisingly.

7': Kepler Pepe has an ambitious drive from 35-yards which narrowly misses Diego Carriera's far post - good attempt from the defender.

4': Fernando Gago is attempting to get the ball down for Real and settle his side down with the ball pinballing around erratically thus far.

3': Alvaro Negredo is looking sharp early on for the home side. The striker gives Sergio Ramos, who is no slouch himself, a humbling by sprinting past the defender but his cross is poor.

2': Wesley Sneijder puts his mark on the game from the outset with a crunching challenge on Carlos Garcia.

1': Welcome all to this week's Real Madrid match! :) Real Madrid are coming off a loss in the Copa Del Rey. Lets see what happens this weekend. :)

La liga Champions Real Madrid will travel to Andalusea to face UD Almeria .  3rd placed Real Madrid will go into this match after losing 3-2 to second league team Real Union in the King's Cup while Almeria who is 9th  lost 0-5 to Barcelona in the League .   Estadio Mediterráneo will host the match with its 50,000 spectator capacity .

History of the team's encounters :

Real Madrid won 4 out of 6 , losing 1 game and drawn  1, scored 16 goals and conceded 6

Almeria won 1 out of 6 , lost 4 and drawn 1 , scoring 6 and conceding 16

Real Madrid:

 This game is so important to the whites as to recover from the bad loss in the King's cup and to maintain the form which would allow them to challenge for the title this year . I think Schuster will  depend on Iker Casillas to guard the goal , having Ramos , Pepe, Cannavaro and Heinze in defense while depending on Diarra , V.D.Vaart , Robben and Guti  in Midfield and Saviola , Higuein in the front . This would allow Van. Nisterlooy who hasn't been called up and Raul to recover for Juventus match which is by far the most important . I predict a very entertaining match with both teams throwing everything up front , I'd Saviola scores first followed by Higuein and then Almeria will pull one back 2-1 to Real Madrid

Almeria : Real Madrid's player negrado who is on loan at Almeria will sure be the most significant threat to the Real Madrid's defenses as he showed impressive form of late . Almeria is a sneaky team and specially that they lost 5-0 to Barcelona so they will up their game . 

My prediction : 2-1 Real Madrid for the win

So , how do you think will win this match and how will they approach the game ?