The fantastic game that Madrid played, especially in the first half, had everyone wondering – does Madrid actually play better without Cristiano Ronaldo?  Mesut Özil carried the team on his back (Marca’s cover said it well – ¡¡¡ÖOOHZIL!!! – and check out that bufanda they’re promoting too) and helped Madrid to to patch up the huge offensive hole left by Cris.

ONE. Anytime you cross little kids with football players, something adorable is bound to happen.  In this case, it was Emmanuel Adebayor and a little baby.  Look at them!  And if Marcelo were wearing white or green, I would have mistaken him for one of the kids.

TWO. Three is a pretty good number, no?

The first goal was my favorite of the night, as it came off a superb, seven-touch play: Xabi→Ozi→Benzema→Ozi→Adebayor→Ozi→Adebayor.  Of course, it was celebrated with the obligatory head rubbing and Benzema jumping.

Xabi, Ozi and Karim once again teamed up for the second goal, but this time it was Ricky Carvalho (!!! as he’s usually one of the more serious guys on the field) jumping on top.  I loved how Marcelo and Pepe held their arms open and even left a space for him!

And in the third, it was Ángel di María breaking down the Racing defense, and once again Karim Benzema had a big finish, which he celebrated with a kiss and a fist pump.

THREE. A couple of guys being boss.

And as much as I love Sergio, let’s leave the free kicks to Xabi and Mesut (and Cristiano, when’s he around), ok?

FOUR. Álex Fernández made his official Real Madrid first team debut, coming in for Mesut in the 88th minute.  What a lucky 18-year-old, no?  And debuting on the day of Madrid’s founding!  Álex is the sixth canterano to debut this season, after his teammates Juan Carlos (Deportivo), Pablo Sarabia (Auxerre), MFC (Zaragoza), and first teamers Antonio Adán (Auxerre) and David Mateos (Ajax).

After the game, he told “El Larguero” that he was a bit nervous at first, but seeing that everyone treated him as one more guy on the team, it quickly passed.  Álex has been with Madrid since he was 13, coming over from Alcalá to join the Infantil A team.  His brother older Nacho is his teammate on Castilla, although he hasn’t debuted with the first team yet.  Álex kept the shirt from his debut for his family.  Fun fact: he wants to study physical education and journalism.

I love how he kept fooling around with his hair!  He fits in well with this team in that sense, no?

FIVE. Seriously, how cute are our canteranos?  I’m happy for Álex, but a bit sad that we didn’t get to see MFC in action.  And once again, I am surprised by how tall he is.  He looks like he had to bend over in half just fit in the bench area.

SIX. Meanwhile, the only man who can rival MFC Álvaro Borja Morata Martín in terms of big Bambi eyes, Mesut Özil, spent the minutes prior to the second half chatting with his former Werder Bremen teammate Markus Rosenberg.  Ozi was probably thinking, “finally, someone who understands me!” as Sami is injured (I assume Rosenberg picked up some German during his time there).

SEVEN. If I were Samanta from “Conexión Samanta,” I would be saying, “¡por fa-vor, Xabi A-lon-so!” right now.  And I’m sorry Raúl, but that jacket does not go with your suit.

EIGHT. Iker was quite boss at one point in the game, literally, as he was screaming directions.

He once again showed that he’s one of the best stoppers in the game, with the penalty save (although to be fair, it was a very weak effort).  I love the manly hug and chest/back slap that Pepe gave Iker in celebration of the save.

The last time Iker made a penalty save in a Liga game was all the way back in the 2008-09 season, when he denied Casquero of Getafe in jornada 32.

By the way, didn’t Iker look like he was sort of playing for Racing, as his green kit matched them better than it did Madrid?  And what happened to the green socks?

NINE. Speaking of Iker, did you notice that he took off his shorts and tossed them into the crowd as he made his way into the tunnel at the half?  I did.  But that’s not a surprise, is it.  Stupid biker shorts.  Remember that one time several years ago when he did the same thing, and was only wearing briefs underneath?  The good old days…

Also, how cute is Racing’s mascot Tula?  She’s a cow (don’t get the connection to the club, pero bueno) who walks on two feet.  I still like Mallorca’s Dimonió, because he always manages to “interact” with the opposition players.

Thoughts on what a good mascot for Madrid would be?  And don’t say Sergio Canales.

TEN. I loved those moments when Mou called his players over to confer with them, especially how he put his arm behind Marcelo’s neck and pulled him in, and then El Pirata did the same to him.  Mou was upset with Marcelo, because it was his lost ball that led to the penalty in favor of Racing.

ELEVEN. Karim Benzema spoke with the press in the mixed zone.  I’ve listened to him speak several times now, and no matter what is asked of him, he always says something along the lines of “I’m feeling good and I hope to score more goals” (he only gets interviewed when he scores).  I wonder if this is down to him not understanding the question, or those being the only words he can say in Spanish?

Anyway, this time around he also told the press that “Mourinho has worked a lot with me, including in the mental area.  I’m feeling good, both physically and mentally.”  And when asked whether he feels comfortable with Adebayor, his partner in this game, he said yes, but quickly added quite diplomatically, since he knows what the press is like, that he also feels good playing with Cristiano.

TWELVE. For the Sergio Ramos peñistas.  Look at the bulging eyes and hand language!

THIRTEEN. Do the assistants imitate Mou to get on his good side?

FOURTEEN. How to fall 101.  Don’t get tangled up in the net.  Do ride it out.

FIFTEEN. Well at least El Chori has a backup career as a dancer if the football doesn’t work out.

SIXTEEN. Sergio Canales made his somewhat triumphant return to Santander, in that he got some minutes.  As this was his first game in El Sardinero in a shirt other than that of Racing, I wonder if he felt a bit strange sitting on the opposition bench?  He got some boos and a few cheers when he started warming up (the camera panned to show that the cheers mostly came from teenage girls) and also when he checked in.  Sergio C. said after the game, “I’m content, it was incredible here.  This is the club that helped me to get to where I am now and I will always be grateful to them.”

His poor little culito got hurt.

SEVENTEEN. MFC did finally get onto the field, but unfortunately the game was already over by then.  I loved the hug Pepe – once again proving he’s the canteranos’ biggest cheerleader – gave to Álex!  ¡Muy adorable!

ABMM shouldn’t tower over Iker, it just looks strange!

EIGHTEEN. The Xabi Alonso pose section.™

I think he deliberately provokes yellow cards just to so he can pose (and get all of us to go, oooooh, Xabi!).

NINETEEN. The Mou corner.

Mou was happy with the way his teamed played and expressed this at his postgame press conference.  He also complimented various players.  With regards to Esteban Granero, Mou said, “I get along very well with him, which is not usual with players that don’t get a lot of playing time.  I talk a lot with him… he has the physical and technical qualities.  Today he played very well.  He’s intelligent, learns quickly, wants to be useful and has a big heart.”

Mou also explained why Álex played instead of Pedro León: “Pedro León was also on the bench, but with the result, I thought playing four minutes would have meant more for Álex, as it would have been for Casado.  For Pedro, it would have meant nothing.  I wanted to give this joy to Álex, who had a marvelous day.”

TWENTY. Sergio tweeted after the game, and this time he was correct – this game was worth three points.

He also gave us this cute – minus his thumb – picture with Mesut on the plane.  I wonder how Sergio chooses who to take a photo with?  And what happened to The Four Musketeers?

TWENTY ONE. I guess Castilla was missing MFC and co. because they tied with Conquense 2-2, ending their winning streak.  Mandi and Joselu scored for the boys, and Castilla played with 10 for a good part of the game after Daniel Carvajal received two yellow cards.  As the game went on, Alberto Toril would also be ejected.

TWENTY TWO. Looking ahead: Mou has given his team one and a half days off, and the big boys won’t be back in training until Tuesday afternoon.

And in case any of you are interested, former Madrid player, winner of the “más guapo de la Liga” award and unamadridista favorite Santi Solari has started writing a column for El País.  Read his thoughts here (in Spanish)!