Two thumbs up for this game, one from Mesut and the other from Pepe!  We’re finally starting to play like a team, no?

One. Four goals, four goal celebrations.  Which one is your favorite?  The two person high-five & hug, the tousling of the hair, the little dance, or the traditional group hug?  I’m partial to Marcelo and Cristiano’s little dance.

(Post very image-heavy…)

Two. Whatever Cristiano and Gonzalo were scheming as they came out after the half, it worked, as Madrid scored two more goals in the second half!  I love Cristiano’s expressions.

Three. Like Iker said, his left glove is back to having five fingers.  Too bad, or this game would have counted as a manita if it had been based on Iker’s four-fingered glove.

Four. Expressions of frustration.

Related to that, the annoyed looks thrown at the ref upon receiving a yellow card.  Álvaro gets bonus points for the little head shake of disgust and disbelief.

Five. I love this picture because Marcelo looks like he’s on vacation here (he might even be whistling) in contrast to the intense looks worn by Iker and Pipita.

Six. The Spanish newspapers keep insisting that Peter Lion’s “sanction” is over.  I wish they would stop with that, because I really don’t believe there ever was a sanction, and because I choose to believe what the player said the other day, that there aren’t any problems between him and Mou, something he echoed after the game: “I’ve been okay this entire time, since I knew that the coach was counting on me… my relationship with him is very good.”

Seven. Moments like these remind me why I love these boys so much.

Eight. The only good thing about anyone getting injured on the field is when players lift up shirts/shorts to check the damage.

Nine. As I’ve said many times before, my favorite moments don’t usually occur during the game.  Here, as Madrid waited to come out onto the field after the descanso, is Iker being all “captainy” and Pepe playing with Iker’s ears.  He doesn’t do it as well as Higuaín though.  I wonder what Ángel dropped?  And Xabi looks like a watch guard.

Ten. Nice words all around!

Mou said after the game that Cristiano Ronaldo’s “astral chart has changed,” since Cris has now scored six in four games, including his two with Portugal.  His two tonight pushed him into first place on the pichichi list (however, the previous leader, Nilmar, has not yet played this weekend, since Villarreal’s game won’t take place until Monday).

Cris said after the game that “Özil played very well and he’s gaining confidence with each game.  We’ve very happy with him, Khedira, Pedro León, all the new signings.”

Eleven. This is why Xabi is the captain on the field.  He separated Pepe when it appeared that a fight was about to start…

… and when he got hit by the ball, he watched and waited until it was out of play before collapsing onto the field.  Even his little expressions are cute.

The Xabi Alonso pose section.™  Looks like Xabi’s got some new poses!  He also wanted the photographers to know where he was.

Twelve. Everyone and their mother warmed up, but in the end, it was only Pedro León, Canales and Benzema that got into the game.  It was great seeing Raúl Albiol back in uniform though.  Esteban Granero and Antonio Adán were the descartados for the game; this was the first time that that happened for El Pirata.

Speaking of the bench, the players on it celebrated Pablo Hernández’s goal against Barcelona, though not too exuberantly, while the starting line-up was in the locker room waiting to come out to warm up.  I love them all.

Thirteen. Some examples of brilliant journalism:

El Mundo talked about Canales’ hair in their summary of the game: “Canales, returning after the problem with his ankle, showed off a brand new hairstyle, perhaps the only thing out of place in a very positive night for Madrid.”

And according to El País, German philosopher Richard David Precht had described Mesut Özil in this way in the Süddeutsche Zeitung: “he has the face of a turtle.  I see his face and it brings to mind those turtles that we find illustrated in children’s books.  But what’s clear is that Özil will end up being an idol to kids.”

His stomach is still looking a bit like a turtle shell as well.

Fourteen. Pepe got into a little scuffle right after the first half with Málaga forward Albert Luque, who had been on the bench.  They had been jawing at each other, and as the teams walked off the field, Luque ran towards Pepe and grabbed his ears.  The other players separated them.  After the game, Luque said, “Pepe told us to look at the scoreboard and I didn’t like his lack of respect towards us.  We talked in the tunnel, cleared things up and I’d give each of us a yellow card… He’s a great central defender.  But to wear that shirt [of Real Madrid] you have to be a gentleman and in this I have some doubts” – ouch!

Fifteen. The Mou section.  The exact right number of sticks of gum?  Check.  No expression change when the goal was scored?  Check.  Notebook?  Check.  Sticking used gum under the chair?  Check.  Fun expressions caught on camera?  Check.  All in all, a good night for TSO.

In response to all the news this past week about how Mou and Málaga coach Jesualdo Ferreira didn’t get along, don’t respect each other, blah blah blah, the two were seen talking in the tunnel and shared a hug after the game.  So there.

Sixteen. Looking ahead to this week, there’s a training session today at 11h, which will be closed to the press.  There also will not be a post-training press conference.  On Tuesday, Madrid hosts Milan and that idiot Robinho in their third champions league game.  It’ll be a good one at the Bernabéu!