A Real Madrid side missing Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, Danilo, James Rodriguez and Pepe -- who was ruled out with a muscle injury before the match -- were held 0-0 in the Bernabeu by Malaga on Saturday. Without either of his first-choice central defenders, manager Rafa Benitez was forced to field Nacho and Raphael Varane, the partnership that was torn to shreds by Atletico in the Calderon last season.
Javi Gracia's visiting Malaga have yet to score in six games, but they have been defensively solid and did enough to keep Real at bay -- although Carlos Kameni and La Liga's reluctance to employ goal-line technology played a large part. Gracia's game plan was simple but effective: a compact 4-4-2 with players dropping back in numbers and counter attacks through Nordin Amrabat and Adnane Tighadouini.
Real again suffered from a lack of width, despite Benitez handing Jese a second start of the season. The Spaniard opted to push Marcelo and Dani Carvajal up to get at their opposite numbers, but all too often Real's forward play broke down in the middle. The last attack of the half ended with Isco slamming the ball into a wall of players consisting of four teammates -- all within five metres of him -- and six blue shirts tracking them.
Real might have won the match late on when Luka Modric squared for Isco, but the Croatian was ruled offside. In all, the home side mustered 31 attempts and forced Kameni into nine saves but were unable to find the net for the first time in 56 competitive matches at the Bernabeu.
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