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...]
Arsenal Back In For Real Madrid Striker
With the transfer deadline looming, Arsenal look set to finally make a move for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata. Arsene Wenger has been monitoring the 21 year old since the start of the season, and always had him on his transfer window radar. Initial interest was rebuffed when Carlo Ancelotti insisted that the forward was not for sale, but news from the Bernabeu today should give Arsenal renewed hope. Morata is a hot prospect, he has scored 12 goals in 11 matches for Spain's under-21 side. His chances for Madrid this season, however, have been severely limited. Ancelotti sees Alvara as one … [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...]
Milan Join The Race For Coentrao
Fabio Coentrao is the most in demand defender in Europe this January. AC Milan have joined Manchester United in a three way battle for the services of the Real Madrid left back. It is well known that Coentrao is a long time target of United. Moyes thought he had his man on the final day of the last transfer window, only for the deal to collapse in farcical fashion. Having completed the signing of Juan Mata, the Manchester United manager has made a left back his next priority. Leighton Baines has signed a new deal at Everton and Southampton have issued a stern hands off warning over young … [Read more...]
Real Madrid’s Magnificent Seven
Normal service has been resumed at the top of La Liga, Real Madrid's 2-0 victory at home to Granada saw them open a two point gap over Barcelona and Atletico, both of whom have yet to play this weekend. It was a record breaking result, if not a pulse racing performance. The win marked a magnificent seven wins in a row without conceding a single goal – a Real Madrid record. Carlo Ancelotti's side have hit top gear now, an ominous sign for their title rivals. The party atmosphere was soured somewhat by an injury to record signing Gareth Bale, who had to be replaced by Jese at the start of the … [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...]
Real Madrid Make It Six In A Row At Espanyol
Real Madrid grabbed a one goal advantage over Espanyol last night, in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey quarter final. Madrid had smashed five past Real Betis at the weekend, a result that saw Juan Carlos Garrido lose his job, but they were made to work much harder by an improving Espanyol side Carlo Ancelotti's side also ran out one nil victors at the Cornella-El Prat in La Liga just nine days ago, but the fact of the matter is that Madrid have now won six games in a row and could yet win the domestic double this season. Cristiano Ronaldo went closest for Madrid in the earlier stages, a … [Read more...]