Valencia were arguably the biggest winners of the round as they held on bravely for all three points in Saturday’s big La liga game against the champions, Atletico Madrid at Mestalla. Goalkeeper Diego Alves was surely responsible for keeping Los Che in contention for maximum points. The Brazilian time and again rose to the occasion to make crucial saves, including a penalty just before half-time that stopped Atleti from going into the break trailing by just a single goal (they were trailing by 3 goals after 13 minutes). … [Read more...]
Can Madrid’s strikeforce fire them to the La Liga title?
Real Madrid have been on a scoring spree having notched 13 times in their previous two outings! The club has reinforced heavily throughout Carlo Ancelotti's reign as manager, having brought in James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale for a combined £145 million. That's not to mention the £80 million spent on Cristiano Ronaldo when he moved from Manchester United. The club also has Karim Benzema, Javier Hernandez and Jese Rodriguez (once he recovers from injury) to make up a frightening front line. Madrid have already lost two games in La Liga this season, but with their attack beginning to click, can … [Read more...]
Real Madrid v Atletico match preview
The 2014 Champions League season comes to an end this Saturday, with an all Madrid final. Real Madrid overcame the title holders, Bayern Munich, overwhelmingly in the semi-finals, while Diego Simeone’s men beat Chelsea in the other semi-final to set up the first City derby final in the history of the competition. … [Read more...]
Champions League Final Preview
On the back of a historic week, Atletico Madrid must mount one final surge to cap off a season which has defied all expectations. Having won the La Liga title just seven days ago, Diego Simeone will lead his side out in a Champions League final against city rivals Real Madrid, who are gunning for their tenth European Cup. … [Read more...]
Bale Caps Great Week For Real Madrid
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...]
Real Betis 0-0 Real Madrid
Real Madrid moved joint top of La Liga yesterday after a 5-0 demolition of rock bottom Real Betis. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will see an ominous shadow looming as they prepare for their matches today. Cristiano Ronaldo rounded off his magnificent week with the opener, a fantastic power strike, but the greatest smile of the night was on the face of Gareth Bale. On 25 minutes he curled a perfect free kick past an unmoving Stephan Anderson in the Betis goal – his first goal in two months and his tenth for Madrid. The best is yet to come from Bale but he is showing signs of improvement. Madrid … [Read more...]
Madrid eye a new striker
It may be a consequence of the stiflingly dull international break but media reports have gathered over the past week suggesting that Real Madrid will look to spend big again on a central striker. Reports from Marca today claim that Porto's Jackson Martinez is being lined up for a move at the end of the summer to provide competition for Karim Benzema, who has come under scrutiny recently with The Mirror, The Daily Star and Yahoo Sports all claiming the striker is now available for just £20m. … [Read more...]
Franco-Hispanic Battle Crucial In World Cup War
The current World and European Champions, Spain, will face France in the Stade de France (Saint Denis) in Paris tonight knowing only a win will do to guarantee them qualification for next year’s World Cup in Brazil. La Roja go into the titanic clash having dropped 2 vital home points, in a 1-1 draw at el Molinón in Gijón, against an un-fancied Finland on Friday evening conceding the leadership of Group I to France, who have a two point advantage after their 3-1 win over Georgia. … [Read more...]
Real Madrid Season Preview
Before we begin lets make one thing clear. Whether or not Real Madrid retain the title depends greatly on how well Barcelona will perform. It is as simple as that. Barcelona can only take back their La Liga crown based on how well Madrid play. The bafflingly simple logic of the situation mocks the overwhelming importance of the La Liga title yet it proves stunningly elementary. However strong the challenge is from one, the other must match and surpass it. … [Read more...]
Away-day syndrome: Why Barcelona have struggled on the road this season
A 1-1 draw meant Barcelona surrendered yet another valuable two points at the hands of their local rivals Espanyol on Monday night making it already their fifth draw of the domestic season with four of them being away from home. The gap between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the table has now stretched to a worrying five points for Pepe Guardiola's men and with games coming thick and fast and time seemingly running out for the Catalonians, we ask the much debated question; exactly why have Barcelona struggled to break teams down on the road this season? … [Read more...]