Gareth Bale scored yesterday in Real Madrid's 4-2 victory over plucky Villareal. It capped a great week Los Blancos. They beat Atletico 3-0 in the Copa Del rey semi-final and have now overtaken their local rivals, to go top of La Liga. Bale returned from injury to replace the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo. It took just seven minutes for him to open the scoring, a delicate chip over Asenjo. Karim Benzema scored Madrid's second after 25 minutes, before Villareal full back Mario pulled a goal back before half time. It could have been so much more, Real Madrid are full of confidence. It's now 23 … [Read more...]
Ronaldo Loses His Appeal
Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Real Madrid's vital game against Villareal on Saturday, after losing his appeal against the red card he received last weekend against Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid sit just three points behind Atletico, but in a tight three way race they can't afford to drop any more points. Ronaldo will be a big miss, but Gareth Bale may well be back after the latest in a string of injuries. Ancelotti insists that Bale will play tomorrow, but Los Blancos fans have heard that all too often. The red card was a farcical one. Ronaldo brushed Iturraspe's forehead, and he promptly went … [Read more...]
Real And Barcelona Take Commanding Leads
Real Madrid and Barcelona both took commanding leads last night, in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-finals. Real Madrid won 3-0 at home to cross city rivals Atletico. This wasn't the flowing match that I'd expected. Ancelotti's side took a much more pragmatic approach. They marked Atletico's danger men closely. It was a rough and tumble match, with the home side in particular testing the referee's patience. Diego Costa was kicked at every opportunity. Finally losing his temper, he kicked back, and received a yellow card that will keep him out of the return. An injustice at every … [Read more...]
Pochettino Interesting Real Madrid
Surprising news is coming from the Bernabeu today. Reliable sources say that Real Madrid are considering replacing Carlo Ancelotti with Mauricio Pochettino. Managing Real Madrid is never the most stable of jobs. The manager receives huge financial support, and inherits a world class squad, but in return he has to deliver. The prize that the Real Madrid want, year after year, is not the La Liga title, but the Champions League. Ancelotti is likely to win some silverware this year. They are three points behind Atletico in the league, but in better current form despite a weekend defeat. They also … [Read more...]
Ronaldo Sees Red As Real Are Rocked
Cristiano Ronaldo received a farcical red card last night, as Real Madrid were held 1-1 by in form Athletic Bilbao. It was a cagey first half, Madrid had more attacking intent but lacked the killer touch in front of Iraizoz's goal. Benzema and Ronaldo both looked out of sorts. Gareth Bale was missing again, despite Ancelotti having indicated that he should be fit for the match. Bilbao seemed determined to hang on to their proud home record. They are yet to lose in the league at their new San Mames home. The match was becoming increasingly tetchy. Madrid knew that a win would take them into … [Read more...]
Record Breaking Real Into Copa Semi-Finals
Real Madrid continue to break club records as they progressed to the Copa Del Rey semi-finals. A hard fought 1-0 home victory over Espanyol was enough to see them progress 2-0 on aggregate. It was expected to be a comfortable win for Los Blancos, but Espanyol sensed an upset. They are a team full of inconsistencies, either good or awful, but they have saved some of their better performances for this competition. Espanyol defended with passion, goalkeeper Kiko was their star man keeping out Ronaldo time after time. They were undone early on, however. In only the seventh minute, Xabi Alonso … [Read more...]
Bale Injury Not As Bad As Feared
When Gareth Bale failed to re-appear for the second half of Real Madrid's game against Granada on Saturday, fans feared the worst. But there is good news on the injury front. Carlo Ancelotti has rushed to quell the rumours about the world's most expensive player: “Bale tried to train but had discomfort in his left leg. We prefer that he recovers and he will not play on Tuesday. He should be available on Sunday.” Bale suffered a heavy challenge from Granada's Murillo, and limped off the field at half time in some discomfort. It has been a stop start first season at the Bernabeu, he has spent as … [Read more...]
Modric leads the La Liga team of the week
It’s the second half of the La liga season now officially and it’s crunch time as the top three are closer than ever. After Real Madrid’s comfortable whitewash of Real Betis on Saturday, the top 2 could not keep up with the pace, thereby putting Los Blancos just one point away from first position. At the bottom it’s now or never for some teams as the scramble continues for the likes of Rayo Vallecano, Real Betis, Real Valladolid and Celta Vigo. For us at La liga blog, we take this time to bring to you the best eleven performers of Match Round 20 after carefully combing through the ten centres … [Read more...]
Manchester City Fail To Land Pepe
It has been a quiet transfer window for Manchester City, and now Manuel Pellegrini has failed to land his number one target – Real Madrid's Pepe. Pepe has established himself at the hear of the Madrid defence this season alongside Sergio Ramos. Indeed, the gifted Portuguese international has made more appearances for Los Blancos this season than any other player. Manchester City are desperate to strengthen their defence. Pellegrini's gung-ho approach is paying dividends in the English Premier League, but he knows that he needs to be more defence minded if he is to build towards European glory … [Read more...]
Real Madrid Keen On Muller
Real Madrid have made Thomas Muller their main transfer target alongside Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. Muller has been influential in Bayern Munich's rise to the top of European football. The perfect foil to Franck Ribery, he has picked up 52 goals in 150 appearances for them. This season has been Muller's best to date. Bayern have continued to dominate the Bundesliga and Muller has been a huge factor in their success, scoring 7 goals in 16 league outings. Carlo Ancelotti is already blessed with attacking flair at Madrid. Benzema, Ronaldo, Bale, Di Maria, Morata, and it is likely that … [Read more...]