Kaka back to his best at Ajax
APKaka set up Karim Benzema to scores with a spectacular bicycle kick This is the Real Madrid we knew and loved from last season. A Madrid side cruising to victory. A Madrid side with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring hat tricks for fun. A Madrid side with the strength in depth to bring on Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria and Sami Khedira from the bench in a Champions League group game. A Madrid side with individual brilliance, yet playing tremendously as a team unit. It's a Madrid side that's steadily recapturing the form of last season's record-breaking campaign, and that form is returning just in time for you-know-what this weekend.
If the problems Los Blancos had endured in the early weeks of the season hadn't completely been put to bed with the 5-1 thrashing of Deportivo at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, then the emphatic 4-1 score line over Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena on Wednesday surely must have. Madrid kept the ball well, a must in Champions League away ties; they showcased plenty of quality in attack; and they limited the chances in front of goal for the Dutch champions. The only real blot on the Madrid copybook was another goal conceded from a set piece. More defensive work on the training ground this week, then.
The positives far outweighed the negatives, however. Ronaldo's match ball-winning performance aside, there was one man, one forgotten man, who probably would have taken the man-of-the-match honours if Madrid's Portuguese talisman had not secured his second hat trick in four days -- and his 158th goal in 154 games. Kaka. The Brazilian was magnificent, putting in arguably one of his best shifts since moving to the Bernabeu. A night of the Kaka of old, the former World Player of the Year, the player Madrid paid all that €65 million for.
I'll happily take the credit for his return to the fold. This time last week, I was predicting the former AC Milan man wouldn't feature prominently in manager Jose Mourinho's plans again. Talk of a move away from the Spanish capital had followed Kaka all summer. Nuri Sahin, on loan at Liverpool, told the British press he knew exactly where Kaka was going during the January transfer window. The 30-year-old failed to feature in any of Madrid's matches until the Santiago Bernabeu Cup. He was given a substitute outing against Deportivo, and he was trusted from the off in Amsterdam. That got me told then.
It's likely that this season will still be Kaka's last in Madrid. It's likely that he could depart as soon as January, as Sahin said. He has a point to prove, however, and prove it he certainly did against the Dutch champions. Many, myself included, believed Kaka to be way down the pecking order, behind Ozil and Luka Modric. Both started on the bench Wednesday night while Mourinho gave the nod to Kaka. He could well have rested the pair for El Clasico on Sunday, as he could have with Khedira, di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain. Whether Mourinho did or not, Kaka has handed the "Special One" a real selection headache thanks to his five-star performance.
Kaka was lively from the off. Some have said that while the Brazilian still has all the party tricks, his heart hasn't been in it this last year or so. In contrast, he was tracking back as much as anybody and creating more chances than anybody. Two pretty much on a plate for Ronaldo in the first half. Both missed. If Kaka wasn't carving out chances for others, he was doing so for himself. Quick feet saw him work the ball beyond two Ajax defenders on the edge of the box before he drilled a low shot that was pushed to safety.
His assist eventually came early in the second half. His crossing was superb throughout, and he took the ball out wide on the right, slowed the play down, looked up to pick his spot and then provided a pinpoint cross for Karim Benzema to smash an overhead kick straight down the throat of the goal. Brilliant stuff by the Brazilian and the Frenchman. The same pairing almost struck again just after the hour, after Ajax had hauled a goal back, but this time Benzema couldn't find the back of the net from another superb Kaka cross.
His passing was crisp and accurate, his crosses fast, curling and dangerous. When Ozil substituted for Kaka, he had a look of not wanting to leave the party, but of resignation that he probably knows, come Sunday, he'll be back behind the German and Modric in the pecking order. It's a shame it's come to that, but whether Kaka is playing for pride, a place in Mourinho's long-term plans at Madrid, or a move away in January or next summer, his performances are certainly of value to Madrid currently.
On the negative side, Los Merengues again showed their vulnerability from set pieces. I've lost count of how many goals Madrid have conceded from set pieces, but they must outweigh those conceded from open play. Although that aspect may not be a great worry for the trip to Catalonia on Sunday -- more so the usual Lionel Messi magic on the edge of the box. And Xavi. And Iniesta. And Villa. And Fabregas. The Barcelona side is a concern for the season as a whole, and one Mourinho must swiftly address.
Madridistas will sleep well tonight. Two games in four days. Two wins, nine goals, two Cristiano Ronaldo hat tricks, and heading back on track in both La Liga and the Champions League. That's more like it.
Follow me on Twitter @nicholasrigg
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