Dubai: Real Madrid boys proved their pedigree with a clinical 2-0 win over Dubai’s Al Nasr to push their way to the top of Group B after two rounds of the Eighth Hamdan Bin Mohammad U16 International Football Championships at the Dubai Police Officers Club ground, on Friday.
Pushed on the back foot in defending swift counters by the local club, Real Madrid managed to open their account only in the 47th minute when Pablo Suarez Contioso found the back of the net. With skipper Mohammad Abdul Rahim Ebrahim acting as the main pivot in the defence, Al Nasr managed to hold their superior opponents at bay after that, till substitute Carles Llario Mascardo came and sealed the three points with a superb effort in the 85th minute.
With Zinedine Zidane’s third son Theo sitting out of this match till coming in as substitute in the last ten minutes, Real Madrid lacked cohesion upfront. But they did well to gather all three points and be the only team so far not to let in a single goal.
With a place in the semi-finals already assured, coach Tristan Celador was tempted to see how far his young squad can advance in this tournament. “Al Nasr did well while defending in numbers. They were quick and physical on the ball and that made a lot of difference tonight,” Celador told Gulf News.
“I told my players to stick to the basics and move the ball around. Then came the first goal early in the second half and the game changed and we were able to control after that. I am happy with the six points from two matches, and now we have to pay attention to the next match against another very strong side [Borussia Dortmund],” he added.
The young coach did not want to look too far ahead despite putting the favourites’ tag on Brazilian side Flamengo. “I still say they [Flamengo] are the favourites here. But at the same time it is important for a young team like ours to play various styles from across the world and better their experience in football,” Celador said.
“But for the time-being we are totally focused on what we need to do in our last group match against Borussia Dortmund, and we wouldn’t like to look too far ahead,” he added.
Earlier, Borussia Dortmund got their first victory with a 4-1 result against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai to be placed second behind Real Madrid in Group B. The two teams will play each other on Sunday to decide the group leaders, while Al Nasr will have to first beat Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and then await the outcome of the last match to see if they can sneak in from the group.
In Group A, Flamengo continued to improve with a smashing 8-0 win against Egypt’s Al Ahli, while PSV Eindhoven brushed aside Al Wasl 7-2.
