The quarter-finals of this season's Champions League have come and gone with barely a flicker of recognition on the Euroballs interest-o-meter. Is this a one-off or something more serious?
There's no doubt that the modern structure of Europe's premier cup competition lends itself to this, set up as it seems to be in order to ensure the passage of the same few big clubs. The revenues clubs generate from participation also helps ensure that the same clubs are more likely to be back time after time. Michel Platini's tinkering with the qualifying rounds has helped us see more national champions in the group stages and that's been slightly more refreshing - APOEL's progress has been this season's highlight - but once we get to the knockout rounds, the gulf between the have-a-bits and the have-bloody-loads is horribly exposed.
But for that sense of familiarity with the regular appearances of a small number of clubs in the last eight, this year has felt even duller. While we cheered APOEL through their last-16 tie against Lyon, Real Madrid were always going to be a step too far and the other ties lacked any sense of jeopardy. Milan playing for a 0-0 at home was never a good idea with the return at the Nou Camp and Barcelona duly got the expected result. FC Bayern eased Marseille aside home and away without either side looking particularly bothered and Chelsea did likewise against Benfica. Broadcasters here in the UK tried their best to engage viewers in Chelsea's games, but we were still too busy wishing it was Napoli and lamenting their inability to finish the job at Stamford Bridge after giving them a touch at the San Paolo. We tried watching, but as soon as Chelsea scored in Lisbon, the game was pretty much up. In the return, an early penalty all but sealed the deal and we flicked over to re-runs of Man vs Food on Dave*.
There is intrigue left. The British press are trying to whip up something about a Chelsea/Barcelona rivalry after a semi-final between the two a few years ago that featured a poor refereeing performance. We're not buying it and presume that Barcelona couldn't really give a flying one. Moreover, if form in the quarter-finals suggests anything, it's that the Catalans will be in the final in Munich after a comfortable victory. That would mean that they either face their old rivals or Bayern get to play a final on their own ground.
The Bavarians have made much of the fact that they're hosting the final and why not? They have it all to do to beat Real Madrid to get there, but let's hope they do and save us from two weeks of the usual bollocks that accompanies el clasico that, frankly, is getting tiresome coming as it does just half a dozen times a year. The Mourinho 'mind games', the hunt for new Lionel Messi-related superlatives, the endless wittering oh merciful god make it stop. So at least we will have a new thing to experience during the semi-finals: rooting for FC Hollywood to rescue the Champions League. Urgh.
* - Note for overseas readers. Yes, there is a TV channel in the UK called Dave. No, us neither.
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Showing posts with label Real Madrid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real Madrid. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Thursday, 28 July 2011
PSG join legion of Europe's biggest dick swingers
It's taken a while for the Qatari investment in Paris St Germain to really bear fruit, but today the club announced that with their new backers, they're finally ready to swing their dicks like the continents established big spenders.
The capture of Javier Pastore for a dick-swingingly large €45m puts PSG firmly in the big dick-swinging leagues and they look set to remain there for a while. "As the only club in Europe's sexiest capital", said PSG dick-swinging spokesman Richard Swingeur, "it's about time we started swinging our dicks with best from elsewhere. This move cements us as the biggest dick-swingers in La République and over the next few years, we aim to swing our dicks against the best the rest of the continent".
Of course, Qatari money is also helping Barcelona to continue swinging their dicks while investment from neighbouring Abu Dhabi has been the source of large amounts of dick swinging at Manchester City. Both those club showed their dick-swinging abilities remain undiminished in light of the new arrival on the dick-swinging scene with the big dick-swinging captures of Alexis Sanchez and Segio Agüero respectively.
But previous holders of the European dick-swinging record refuse to take the new arrival from France lightly. Real Madrid vowed to carry on swinging their dicks in a statement released to the press. "The world knows how prepared we are to swing our dicks and when it comes to dick-swinging competitions, we bow to no-one". Meanwhile in London, Chelsea seemed more reticent to rest on their laurels when a spokesman said "We've swung our dicks plenty since the current chairman arrived and everybody knows that if we wanted to swing our dicks we could do. We're just choosing not to."
A word of warning over excessive dick-swinging did come from UEFA through Dutch dick-swinging supremo Kok Waggler. "We warn clubs against excessive dick-swinging. It's shown to be unsustainable and that is why we have introduced our Dick-swinging Fair Play rules to prevent any club gaining an advantage by having a bigger dick and being willing to swing it harder and longer".
The capture of Javier Pastore for a dick-swingingly large €45m puts PSG firmly in the big dick-swinging leagues and they look set to remain there for a while. "As the only club in Europe's sexiest capital", said PSG dick-swinging spokesman Richard Swingeur, "it's about time we started swinging our dicks with best from elsewhere. This move cements us as the biggest dick-swingers in La République and over the next few years, we aim to swing our dicks against the best the rest of the continent".
Of course, Qatari money is also helping Barcelona to continue swinging their dicks while investment from neighbouring Abu Dhabi has been the source of large amounts of dick swinging at Manchester City. Both those club showed their dick-swinging abilities remain undiminished in light of the new arrival on the dick-swinging scene with the big dick-swinging captures of Alexis Sanchez and Segio Agüero respectively.
But previous holders of the European dick-swinging record refuse to take the new arrival from France lightly. Real Madrid vowed to carry on swinging their dicks in a statement released to the press. "The world knows how prepared we are to swing our dicks and when it comes to dick-swinging competitions, we bow to no-one". Meanwhile in London, Chelsea seemed more reticent to rest on their laurels when a spokesman said "We've swung our dicks plenty since the current chairman arrived and everybody knows that if we wanted to swing our dicks we could do. We're just choosing not to."
A word of warning over excessive dick-swinging did come from UEFA through Dutch dick-swinging supremo Kok Waggler. "We warn clubs against excessive dick-swinging. It's shown to be unsustainable and that is why we have introduced our Dick-swinging Fair Play rules to prevent any club gaining an advantage by having a bigger dick and being willing to swing it harder and longer".
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Kaka joins Real Madrid
Kaka has completed his £56m move to Real Madrid from AC Milan, signing a six-year contract, marking Florentino Perez's first player signing since taking over as President last month.
This is a huge signing for El Real, a real marquee player and proven international superstar. It harks back, of course, to Perez's previous tenure of Galacticos but it says more about the state of Italian football. Serie A has lost arguably its best player and most marketable asset, a player without whom, as this season proved, AC Milan struggle. Ronaldinho is fat and past it, and as such is no replacement. It marks what many knew already - the official seperation of Serie A from the top echelon now occupied solely by La Liga and the Premiership. If Zlatan Ibrahimovic leaves Inter, which is being rumoured, the gap could widen.
AC Milan could yet find themselves more troubled in the transfer market as Chelsea make eyes at their other Brazilian genius, Alexandre Pato. Personally I think Pato would be mad to join, mainly because Chelsea are a basket case club who will sack Ancelotti within the year, but also because he is clearly not ready for the physicality of the premiership. If Pato does go, however, it leaves the AC Milan squad looking decidedly thin and ever more ageing, with the likes of Inzaghi, Shevchenko, Seedorf, Gattuso and Ambrosini still the heartbeat of the team.
Serie A clubs, with the possible exception of Inter, can no longer compete either on or off the pitch with their Spanish and English counterparts. We can put this down in part to more lucrative TV deals elsewhere, some eccentric team ownership, the fact that many Italian clubs do not own their own stadia, and the worsening image of Italian football and crowds in the media. It seems a long way off that Italy will solve these issues, despite a new TV deal being forthcoming.
This is a huge signing for El Real, a real marquee player and proven international superstar. It harks back, of course, to Perez's previous tenure of Galacticos but it says more about the state of Italian football. Serie A has lost arguably its best player and most marketable asset, a player without whom, as this season proved, AC Milan struggle. Ronaldinho is fat and past it, and as such is no replacement. It marks what many knew already - the official seperation of Serie A from the top echelon now occupied solely by La Liga and the Premiership. If Zlatan Ibrahimovic leaves Inter, which is being rumoured, the gap could widen.
AC Milan could yet find themselves more troubled in the transfer market as Chelsea make eyes at their other Brazilian genius, Alexandre Pato. Personally I think Pato would be mad to join, mainly because Chelsea are a basket case club who will sack Ancelotti within the year, but also because he is clearly not ready for the physicality of the premiership. If Pato does go, however, it leaves the AC Milan squad looking decidedly thin and ever more ageing, with the likes of Inzaghi, Shevchenko, Seedorf, Gattuso and Ambrosini still the heartbeat of the team.
Serie A clubs, with the possible exception of Inter, can no longer compete either on or off the pitch with their Spanish and English counterparts. We can put this down in part to more lucrative TV deals elsewhere, some eccentric team ownership, the fact that many Italian clubs do not own their own stadia, and the worsening image of Italian football and crowds in the media. It seems a long way off that Italy will solve these issues, despite a new TV deal being forthcoming.
Monday, 16 March 2009
La Liga Round 27: Huntelaar helps himself
Almeria 0 Barcelona 2
Atletico Madrid 3 Villarreal 2
Espanyol 3 Mallorca 3
Malaga 2 Sevilla 2
Racing Santander 5 Numancia 0
Real Betis 0 Osasuna 0
Sporting Gijon 3 Deportivo La Coruna 2
Valladolid 1 Getafe 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 Real Madrid 5
Valencia 1 Recreativo Huelva 1
Barcelona remain top by six points following a 2-0 win at Almeria. The Andalucian club were not the first and won’t be the last to milk an encounter with the Catalans – reports say seats were being sold for as much as £270, which is quite simply criminal behaviour – and as a result only 9,000 turned up. Guardiola’s men dominated the game but only found their way to goal late on, Bojan Krkic scoring a quick-fire double to secure the blaugrauna 3 points and silence some of his own doubters. The talented youngster has endured a tough season but this match has hopefully given him some confidence.
Real Madrid remain in second after a controversial encounter at the San Mames which saw them finish 5-2 winners. They exorcised the week’s horror show at Anfield with a dominant display, Huntelaar (2), Robben, Heinze and Higuain all getting on the scoresheet. Heinze had earlier put through his own net and Llorente had drawn Athletic level only for the home side to implode after Fran Yeste was sent off. 13 cards were shown in all in the match.
Sevilla remain in third, but have now dropped off to 9 points behind Real following a draw at Malaga. Tapia’s men raced into a 2-goal lead through the veteran former Pichichi winner Salva Ballesta, only for Sevilla to storm back second half, first Kanoute converted Diego Perrotti’s through-ball then Luis Fabiano headed in Adriano’s cross. In between, Javier Calleja was sent off for the home side who are two points away from the Champions League spots.
Atletico Madrid bounced back from their midweek knock-out by beating Villarreal in an entertaining match at the Calderon. Mati Fernandez gave the visitors the lead against the run of play, before Cani doubled their lead just after half time. Diego Lopez had been in inspired form for the Yellow Submarine but he could do nothing to stop Kun Aguero cutting the arrears, or Forlan’s equalizer after Javi Venta had received his marching orders. Antonio Lopez headed in the winner with 7 minutes to go to send Atletico 5th on goal difference.
Elsewhere, Valencia were once again lacklustre as they were held at home by Recreativo, further increasing Unai Emery’s woes; Valladolid are now just a point behind Los Che as they condemned Getafe to their third straight defeat. Racing hit 5 past a woeful Numancia, with Oscar Serrano and Nikola Zigic helping themselves to braces; Mallorca played out their second 3-3 draw in a week, this time away at Espanyol, a result which means Manzano’s men are three points above the drop; Sporting Gijon turned over Deportivo in Asturias to jump 7 points clear of relegation.
Atletico Madrid 3 Villarreal 2
Espanyol 3 Mallorca 3
Malaga 2 Sevilla 2
Racing Santander 5 Numancia 0
Real Betis 0 Osasuna 0
Sporting Gijon 3 Deportivo La Coruna 2
Valladolid 1 Getafe 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 Real Madrid 5
Valencia 1 Recreativo Huelva 1
Barcelona remain top by six points following a 2-0 win at Almeria. The Andalucian club were not the first and won’t be the last to milk an encounter with the Catalans – reports say seats were being sold for as much as £270, which is quite simply criminal behaviour – and as a result only 9,000 turned up. Guardiola’s men dominated the game but only found their way to goal late on, Bojan Krkic scoring a quick-fire double to secure the blaugrauna 3 points and silence some of his own doubters. The talented youngster has endured a tough season but this match has hopefully given him some confidence.
Real Madrid remain in second after a controversial encounter at the San Mames which saw them finish 5-2 winners. They exorcised the week’s horror show at Anfield with a dominant display, Huntelaar (2), Robben, Heinze and Higuain all getting on the scoresheet. Heinze had earlier put through his own net and Llorente had drawn Athletic level only for the home side to implode after Fran Yeste was sent off. 13 cards were shown in all in the match.
Sevilla remain in third, but have now dropped off to 9 points behind Real following a draw at Malaga. Tapia’s men raced into a 2-goal lead through the veteran former Pichichi winner Salva Ballesta, only for Sevilla to storm back second half, first Kanoute converted Diego Perrotti’s through-ball then Luis Fabiano headed in Adriano’s cross. In between, Javier Calleja was sent off for the home side who are two points away from the Champions League spots.
Atletico Madrid bounced back from their midweek knock-out by beating Villarreal in an entertaining match at the Calderon. Mati Fernandez gave the visitors the lead against the run of play, before Cani doubled their lead just after half time. Diego Lopez had been in inspired form for the Yellow Submarine but he could do nothing to stop Kun Aguero cutting the arrears, or Forlan’s equalizer after Javi Venta had received his marching orders. Antonio Lopez headed in the winner with 7 minutes to go to send Atletico 5th on goal difference.
Elsewhere, Valencia were once again lacklustre as they were held at home by Recreativo, further increasing Unai Emery’s woes; Valladolid are now just a point behind Los Che as they condemned Getafe to their third straight defeat. Racing hit 5 past a woeful Numancia, with Oscar Serrano and Nikola Zigic helping themselves to braces; Mallorca played out their second 3-3 draw in a week, this time away at Espanyol, a result which means Manzano’s men are three points above the drop; Sporting Gijon turned over Deportivo in Asturias to jump 7 points clear of relegation.
Monday, 23 February 2009
La Liga Round 24 Review: Pericos shock Barca in derby
Saturday 21/02
Barcelona 1-2 Espanyol
Real Madrid 6-1 Real Betis
Villarreal 2-1 Sporting Gijon
Sevilla 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Sunday 22/02
Valladolid 1-3 Malaga
Recreativo 1-1 Almeria
Mallorca 1-0 Racing
Osasuna 2-0 Numancia
Getafe 1-1 Athletic
Deportivo 1-1 Valencia
Well. Any pretense I had about my predictive abilities has been well and truly blown away after this weekend’s results. On Saturday, two Ivan De La Pena goals led Espanyol to their first league win at the Camp Nou in 27 years – this, against supposedly the best Barcelona ever. After putting them in the lead with a 50th minute header, the former Camp Nou and Lazio star then pounced five minutes later on a dreadful Victor Valdes clearance to brilliantly chip in the far corner for two nil. This, incidentally, after the referee sent Seydou Keita off for an innocuous-looking tackle on Moises. Yaya Toure’s fine volley gave the home side hope but in the end they could not break down a stubborn Pericos defence for an equaliser. That is Guardiola’s side’s first league defeat since Matchday 1, and it could not come at a more crucial time for Espanyol as they have moved off the bottom yet remain three points from safety.
Real Madrid closed the gap on the leaders with an extraordinary first-half display at home to Real Betis. All of the match’s 7 goals were scored, incredibly, in the first 45 minutes as Juande Ramos’s side ran riot. Betis were, quite simply, catastrophically bad, as centre halves allowed easy goals. Huntelaar (2), Raul (2), Higuain, and Sergio Ramos all reached the scoresheet, giving Los Merengues perfect confidence-boosting preparation for what is sure to be a much tougher game midweek against Liverpool. Certainly, with 9 straight victories under their belts, it is the Bernabau side who go in with the better form. For Betis, it is the end of a little good patch where they took points off Sevilla and Barcelona and they are now just two points above the relegation places.
Sevilla remain in third after a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. It was an even contest throughout, a midfield battle with few chances although Abel Resino will be ruing Diego Forlan’s incredible miss from 2-yards out. The Uruguyan had the goal at his mercy from Maxi Rodriguez’s cross and somehow managed to strike the crossbar. Jesus Navas, by some margin Sevilla’s best player this season, made him pay for his profligacy by finishing well from close range with four minutes to go, and cue pandemonium in the arena. It’s a result that leaves them 3rd, on 44 points, three clear of Villarreal who came from a goal behind to beat Sporting 2-1. The visitors went ahead after just one minute courtesy of Sporting Gijon’s striker Mate Bilic (his 8th of the season, some time after his 7th). However, Manuel Preciado will be furious with the way his side lost their concentration as the Yellow Submarine went straight up the other end to equalize courtesy of Giuseppe Rossi’s 12th of the campaign. Joan Capdevilla headed his side ahead from Marcos Senna’s cross and Bilic was guilty of missing chances to level things up. It is Sporting’s 5th defeat in 6 and leaves them 3 points above the drop zone.
On Sunday Valencia missed out on the chance to jump into the top four after being held by Deportivo. David Villa had put Los Che ahead, capitalizing on a bizarre Julian De Guzman backpass to curl home in the first half only to get himself sent off later on, first feigning an injury for his first yellow card and then impeding goalkeeper Aranzubia. Lotina’s men took advantage of their numerical superiority as Piscu headed home Verdu’s free-kick. The Galicians remain in 8th, 3 points behind Malaga who coasted to victory away at Valladolid. Albert Luque gave Tapia’s men the lead, Apono doubling the advantage with a penalty just short of the half-hour mark. Pedro Oldoni gave Valladolid a lifeline with six minutes left, but Nacho sealed a fine win for Malaga when he lobbed home a third in the closing stages. Malaga are now 6th, level on points with Valencia, a brilliant run this from the newly promoted side.
Numancia are the new bottom team in La liga after Osasuna scored two first half goals, through Jaroslav Plasil and Masoud Shojaei, to inflict a sixth straight defeat on the struggling Sorians, who are now 4 points from safety – the managerial change not having an immediate effect. Real Mallorca did their survival prospects a good turn with a 1-0 home win over Racing. Ezequiel Garay was sent off for the visitors and Pedro Munitis struck the woodwork before Jose Manuel Jurado slotted home the rebound after his original effort was saved by Tono from the penalty spot. Getafe and Athletic drew 1-1, Roberto Soldado put the hosts ahead, Iraola had a penalty saved for the visitors before Fernando Llorente, returning to the Athletic ranks after injury, scored from Velez’s knock-down to notch up his 10th of the season. Recreativo and Almeria drew, leaving Huelva just two points above the bottom three.
Barcelona 1-2 Espanyol
Real Madrid 6-1 Real Betis
Villarreal 2-1 Sporting Gijon
Sevilla 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Sunday 22/02
Valladolid 1-3 Malaga
Recreativo 1-1 Almeria
Mallorca 1-0 Racing
Osasuna 2-0 Numancia
Getafe 1-1 Athletic
Deportivo 1-1 Valencia
Well. Any pretense I had about my predictive abilities has been well and truly blown away after this weekend’s results. On Saturday, two Ivan De La Pena goals led Espanyol to their first league win at the Camp Nou in 27 years – this, against supposedly the best Barcelona ever. After putting them in the lead with a 50th minute header, the former Camp Nou and Lazio star then pounced five minutes later on a dreadful Victor Valdes clearance to brilliantly chip in the far corner for two nil. This, incidentally, after the referee sent Seydou Keita off for an innocuous-looking tackle on Moises. Yaya Toure’s fine volley gave the home side hope but in the end they could not break down a stubborn Pericos defence for an equaliser. That is Guardiola’s side’s first league defeat since Matchday 1, and it could not come at a more crucial time for Espanyol as they have moved off the bottom yet remain three points from safety.
Real Madrid closed the gap on the leaders with an extraordinary first-half display at home to Real Betis. All of the match’s 7 goals were scored, incredibly, in the first 45 minutes as Juande Ramos’s side ran riot. Betis were, quite simply, catastrophically bad, as centre halves allowed easy goals. Huntelaar (2), Raul (2), Higuain, and Sergio Ramos all reached the scoresheet, giving Los Merengues perfect confidence-boosting preparation for what is sure to be a much tougher game midweek against Liverpool. Certainly, with 9 straight victories under their belts, it is the Bernabau side who go in with the better form. For Betis, it is the end of a little good patch where they took points off Sevilla and Barcelona and they are now just two points above the relegation places.
Sevilla remain in third after a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. It was an even contest throughout, a midfield battle with few chances although Abel Resino will be ruing Diego Forlan’s incredible miss from 2-yards out. The Uruguyan had the goal at his mercy from Maxi Rodriguez’s cross and somehow managed to strike the crossbar. Jesus Navas, by some margin Sevilla’s best player this season, made him pay for his profligacy by finishing well from close range with four minutes to go, and cue pandemonium in the arena. It’s a result that leaves them 3rd, on 44 points, three clear of Villarreal who came from a goal behind to beat Sporting 2-1. The visitors went ahead after just one minute courtesy of Sporting Gijon’s striker Mate Bilic (his 8th of the season, some time after his 7th). However, Manuel Preciado will be furious with the way his side lost their concentration as the Yellow Submarine went straight up the other end to equalize courtesy of Giuseppe Rossi’s 12th of the campaign. Joan Capdevilla headed his side ahead from Marcos Senna’s cross and Bilic was guilty of missing chances to level things up. It is Sporting’s 5th defeat in 6 and leaves them 3 points above the drop zone.
On Sunday Valencia missed out on the chance to jump into the top four after being held by Deportivo. David Villa had put Los Che ahead, capitalizing on a bizarre Julian De Guzman backpass to curl home in the first half only to get himself sent off later on, first feigning an injury for his first yellow card and then impeding goalkeeper Aranzubia. Lotina’s men took advantage of their numerical superiority as Piscu headed home Verdu’s free-kick. The Galicians remain in 8th, 3 points behind Malaga who coasted to victory away at Valladolid. Albert Luque gave Tapia’s men the lead, Apono doubling the advantage with a penalty just short of the half-hour mark. Pedro Oldoni gave Valladolid a lifeline with six minutes left, but Nacho sealed a fine win for Malaga when he lobbed home a third in the closing stages. Malaga are now 6th, level on points with Valencia, a brilliant run this from the newly promoted side.
Numancia are the new bottom team in La liga after Osasuna scored two first half goals, through Jaroslav Plasil and Masoud Shojaei, to inflict a sixth straight defeat on the struggling Sorians, who are now 4 points from safety – the managerial change not having an immediate effect. Real Mallorca did their survival prospects a good turn with a 1-0 home win over Racing. Ezequiel Garay was sent off for the visitors and Pedro Munitis struck the woodwork before Jose Manuel Jurado slotted home the rebound after his original effort was saved by Tono from the penalty spot. Getafe and Athletic drew 1-1, Roberto Soldado put the hosts ahead, Iraola had a penalty saved for the visitors before Fernando Llorente, returning to the Athletic ranks after injury, scored from Velez’s knock-down to notch up his 10th of the season. Recreativo and Almeria drew, leaving Huelva just two points above the bottom three.
Monday, 16 February 2009
La Liga Round 23: Raul record helps to close gap
Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Getafe C.F
Deportivo La Coruna 0 - 0 Osasuna
Espanyol 0 - 2 Sevilla
Sporting de Gijón 0 - 4 Real Madrid
Athletic Bilbao 1 - 1 Recreativo Huelva
Almeria 3 - 2 Valladolid
C.D Numancia 0 - 1 Mallorca
Racing Santander 1 - 1 Villarreal
Real Betis Balompié 2 - 2 Barcelona
Valencia 1 - 1 Málaga
Real Madrid breezed past Sporting Gijon to close the gap at the top to a mere 10 points (snigger) and Raul also scored twice to break Di Stefano's league record for Real Madrid, a great achievement for the number seven. Sporting were outclassed, offering little resistance as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar also recorded his first Merengues goal. Juande Ramos once again scored a clean sheet, his 8th consecutive performance as such, and his side did not seem affected at all by the absence of Arjen Robben. In his place stepped Marcelo, who looked far more comfortable in a more advanced position than he ever did at left-back earlier in the season.
The gap is closed because on Saturday Barcelona recorded something of a surprise draw at Betis. Paco Chaparro's men, buoyed by their derby victory last week, raced into a two goal lead through Melli and ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez. Samuel Eto'o scored twice, including from the spot, two level things up but it showed that Barcelona are not infallible, especially when Messi and Henry don't start. Both sides had chances to win but Ricardo was in excellent form between the sticks for Betis and a draw was the least they deserved.
Sevilla left it late to record an important win at Espanyol which alleviates some of the pressure on Manolo Jiminez. Los Rojiblancos had lost their previous three games including last week's painful derby defeat, but they were able to somewhat exorcise those demons here. They were helped by an Espanyol side whose profligacy seems to know no bounds. Luis Garcia, the striker who hasn't scored since October, was the main offender missing a hatful of chances to leave Mauricio Pochettino exasperated and still looking for his first win in charge at the fifth time of asking. Two goals in the last six minutes from Fredi Kanoute had an air of inevitability about them and Los Pericos are winless in 14 and as a result, finish the weekend bottom of the table, 3 points adrift.
Valencia and Malaga played out a draw, David Villa gave the home side the lead before Raul Albiol put through his own net to equalise. Villarreal and Racing also drew, Zigic gave the verdiblancos the lead only for Santi Cazorla to equalise just before half time. Atletico Madrid were foiled at home to Getafe, Diego Forlan had given Atletico the lead (his third in two) only for Albin to level with two minutes to go. Its a result that means Valencia and Villarreal are level on points in 4th and 5th, Atletico and Malaga two points behind and Sevilla on 41 points in 3rd.
I did say in my preview that Hugo Sanchez can't keep relying on Uche and Negredo to bail his side out but it seems he can after all, so I apologise for wasting your time. Valladolid raced into a two goal lead in Andalucia only for Crusat, Uche and, yes, Negredo to capture three points that means Almeria jump to 13th. To the surprise of absolutely no-one, Deportivo and Osasuna played out a dour 0-0 draw and Mallorca's win in Numancia takes them to third bottom level with Osasuna with Recreativo on 25.
Deportivo La Coruna 0 - 0 Osasuna
Espanyol 0 - 2 Sevilla
Sporting de Gijón 0 - 4 Real Madrid
Athletic Bilbao 1 - 1 Recreativo Huelva
Almeria 3 - 2 Valladolid
C.D Numancia 0 - 1 Mallorca
Racing Santander 1 - 1 Villarreal
Real Betis Balompié 2 - 2 Barcelona
Valencia 1 - 1 Málaga
Real Madrid breezed past Sporting Gijon to close the gap at the top to a mere 10 points (snigger) and Raul also scored twice to break Di Stefano's league record for Real Madrid, a great achievement for the number seven. Sporting were outclassed, offering little resistance as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar also recorded his first Merengues goal. Juande Ramos once again scored a clean sheet, his 8th consecutive performance as such, and his side did not seem affected at all by the absence of Arjen Robben. In his place stepped Marcelo, who looked far more comfortable in a more advanced position than he ever did at left-back earlier in the season.
The gap is closed because on Saturday Barcelona recorded something of a surprise draw at Betis. Paco Chaparro's men, buoyed by their derby victory last week, raced into a two goal lead through Melli and ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez. Samuel Eto'o scored twice, including from the spot, two level things up but it showed that Barcelona are not infallible, especially when Messi and Henry don't start. Both sides had chances to win but Ricardo was in excellent form between the sticks for Betis and a draw was the least they deserved.
Sevilla left it late to record an important win at Espanyol which alleviates some of the pressure on Manolo Jiminez. Los Rojiblancos had lost their previous three games including last week's painful derby defeat, but they were able to somewhat exorcise those demons here. They were helped by an Espanyol side whose profligacy seems to know no bounds. Luis Garcia, the striker who hasn't scored since October, was the main offender missing a hatful of chances to leave Mauricio Pochettino exasperated and still looking for his first win in charge at the fifth time of asking. Two goals in the last six minutes from Fredi Kanoute had an air of inevitability about them and Los Pericos are winless in 14 and as a result, finish the weekend bottom of the table, 3 points adrift.
Valencia and Malaga played out a draw, David Villa gave the home side the lead before Raul Albiol put through his own net to equalise. Villarreal and Racing also drew, Zigic gave the verdiblancos the lead only for Santi Cazorla to equalise just before half time. Atletico Madrid were foiled at home to Getafe, Diego Forlan had given Atletico the lead (his third in two) only for Albin to level with two minutes to go. Its a result that means Valencia and Villarreal are level on points in 4th and 5th, Atletico and Malaga two points behind and Sevilla on 41 points in 3rd.
I did say in my preview that Hugo Sanchez can't keep relying on Uche and Negredo to bail his side out but it seems he can after all, so I apologise for wasting your time. Valladolid raced into a two goal lead in Andalucia only for Crusat, Uche and, yes, Negredo to capture three points that means Almeria jump to 13th. To the surprise of absolutely no-one, Deportivo and Osasuna played out a dour 0-0 draw and Mallorca's win in Numancia takes them to third bottom level with Osasuna with Recreativo on 25.
Friday, 30 January 2009
La Liga Round 21 Preview
Saturday January 31
19:00 Athletic Bilbao v Málaga
21:00 C.D Numancia v Real Madrid
Sunday February 1
16:00 Atletico Madrid v Valladolid
16:00 Espanyol v Recreativo Huelva
16:00 Real Betis Balompié v Getafe C.F
16:00 Racing Santander v Barcelona
16:00 Deportivo La Coruna v Villarreal
16:00 Osasuna v Mallorca
18:00 Valencia v Almeria
20:00 Sporting de Gijón v Sevilla
On Saturday Real Madrid, who have been winning of late without playing particularly well, visit Soria to play a Numancia side who are hanging precariously above the drop zone following recent results and are in the middle of the run of fixtures against the top sides. Nevertheless, Real have won six straight league fixtures under Ramos and you would expect this to be a fairly routine victory for Los Merengues.
The first game of the weekend comes from the San Mames where Athletic, fresh from Copa Del Rey success, will look to break down a stubborn Malaga outfit who are unbeaten in six matches and are breathing right down the neck of Atletico in the final European spot. On Sunday, the embattled Javier Aguirre will watch his team play Valladolid. It could not be a better time to play Zortilla’s side, who have taken just one point from a possible 15 in the league. However, with Aguero and Forlan struggling for goals and looking familiarly brittle in defence, it could be a struggle.
Espanyol, who fought valiantly at the Camp Nou on Thursday, welcome Recreativo to the Montjuic in what has all the makings of being an ugly relegation dogfight. Pochettino is unbeaten in his short tenure with Los Pericos and I fancy they’ll grab an important 3 points, even though Recre won last time out against Betis. Speaking of Betis, Paco Chaparro is under pressure there and a defeat at home to Getafe could be the last straw. Betis have the worst home record in the league (5 defeats from 9 – woeful) so Getafe, fresh from their shellacking of Sporting last week, will fancy their chances.
Barcelona make the trip to Santander to play a Racing side who have looked full of confidence since the return of Nikola Zigic up front. Racing’s home form is poor, so Pep Guardiola will still be fairly confident his team can cruise unstoppably on. For Racing, a win, however unlikely, will strengthen their fight for UEFA cup place that looked out of the question in December. Manuel Pellegrini’s Villarreal, who continue to stumble, visit the Riazor to play a Deportivo side wounded from three straight league defeats. Mallorca, who pulled off the result of the week last time with their win over Valencia, visit Osasuna and Gregorio Manzano will be praying the form lasts so they could jump out of the bottom 3. Unai Emery will look to bounce back following league and cup disappointment with a win over Almeria, who have picked up just one away win this season. Finally, Sevilla visit Sporting Gijon which is a simply must-win fixture for Manolo Jiminez’s men if they wish to remain in the top four.
19:00 Athletic Bilbao v Málaga
21:00 C.D Numancia v Real Madrid
Sunday February 1
16:00 Atletico Madrid v Valladolid
16:00 Espanyol v Recreativo Huelva
16:00 Real Betis Balompié v Getafe C.F
16:00 Racing Santander v Barcelona
16:00 Deportivo La Coruna v Villarreal
16:00 Osasuna v Mallorca
18:00 Valencia v Almeria
20:00 Sporting de Gijón v Sevilla
On Saturday Real Madrid, who have been winning of late without playing particularly well, visit Soria to play a Numancia side who are hanging precariously above the drop zone following recent results and are in the middle of the run of fixtures against the top sides. Nevertheless, Real have won six straight league fixtures under Ramos and you would expect this to be a fairly routine victory for Los Merengues.
The first game of the weekend comes from the San Mames where Athletic, fresh from Copa Del Rey success, will look to break down a stubborn Malaga outfit who are unbeaten in six matches and are breathing right down the neck of Atletico in the final European spot. On Sunday, the embattled Javier Aguirre will watch his team play Valladolid. It could not be a better time to play Zortilla’s side, who have taken just one point from a possible 15 in the league. However, with Aguero and Forlan struggling for goals and looking familiarly brittle in defence, it could be a struggle.
Espanyol, who fought valiantly at the Camp Nou on Thursday, welcome Recreativo to the Montjuic in what has all the makings of being an ugly relegation dogfight. Pochettino is unbeaten in his short tenure with Los Pericos and I fancy they’ll grab an important 3 points, even though Recre won last time out against Betis. Speaking of Betis, Paco Chaparro is under pressure there and a defeat at home to Getafe could be the last straw. Betis have the worst home record in the league (5 defeats from 9 – woeful) so Getafe, fresh from their shellacking of Sporting last week, will fancy their chances.
Barcelona make the trip to Santander to play a Racing side who have looked full of confidence since the return of Nikola Zigic up front. Racing’s home form is poor, so Pep Guardiola will still be fairly confident his team can cruise unstoppably on. For Racing, a win, however unlikely, will strengthen their fight for UEFA cup place that looked out of the question in December. Manuel Pellegrini’s Villarreal, who continue to stumble, visit the Riazor to play a Deportivo side wounded from three straight league defeats. Mallorca, who pulled off the result of the week last time with their win over Valencia, visit Osasuna and Gregorio Manzano will be praying the form lasts so they could jump out of the bottom 3. Unai Emery will look to bounce back following league and cup disappointment with a win over Almeria, who have picked up just one away win this season. Finally, Sevilla visit Sporting Gijon which is a simply must-win fixture for Manolo Jiminez’s men if they wish to remain in the top four.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
La Liga Preview
Saturday January 17
19:00 Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna
21:00 Sevilla v C.D Numancia
Sunday January 18
16:00 Villarreal v Mallorca
16:00 Real Madrid v Osasuna
16:00 Getafe C.F v Racing Santander
16:00 Recreativo Huelva v Sporting de Gijón
16:00 Valladolid v Real Betis Balompié
16:00 Málaga v Espanyol
18:00 Athletic Bilbao v Valencia
20:00 Almeria v Atletico Madrid
For the first time in a while there are no stand-out games in this weekend’s round. Top of the pile I suppose is Barcelona hosting Deportivo on Saturday evening. Deportivo have had a wretched last week or so, losing both in the league and cup to Sevilla but Miguel Angel Lotina’s men are still in position for a European spot. However, Barcelona are the runaway leaders and have scored 31 goals in 9 games at home – the visitors will be up against it. Saturday’s other live game comes from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as Numancia visit Sevilla. Sevilla’s demanding fans will expect nothing less than a convincing victory against a team desperate to pull away from the relegation places.
Sunday sees Real Madrid welcome Osasuna to the Bernabau. Camacho’s men gave Barcelona an almighty fright last week – can they go one better and get a result here? It looks unlikely but never say never. Villarreal and Mallorca, two teams in bad nick, meet at El Madrigal with the hosts looking for their first win since the end of November. Getafe and Racing, two sides looking over their shoulder, meet in Madrid while Valencia face the not entirely straightforward trip to the San Mames - Joaquin Caparros’s men are unbeaten in six. Real Betis and Valladolid are another duo in bad form clashing, while Sporting visit Andalucia’s struggling Recreativo. Espanyol will do well to get anything out of a trip to Malaga, while the final game of the weekend seems embattled Javier Aguirre take his Atletico outfit to Almeria for a game that promises to see one thing – goals, since both sides are crap at the back.
19:00 Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna
21:00 Sevilla v C.D Numancia
Sunday January 18
16:00 Villarreal v Mallorca
16:00 Real Madrid v Osasuna
16:00 Getafe C.F v Racing Santander
16:00 Recreativo Huelva v Sporting de Gijón
16:00 Valladolid v Real Betis Balompié
16:00 Málaga v Espanyol
18:00 Athletic Bilbao v Valencia
20:00 Almeria v Atletico Madrid
For the first time in a while there are no stand-out games in this weekend’s round. Top of the pile I suppose is Barcelona hosting Deportivo on Saturday evening. Deportivo have had a wretched last week or so, losing both in the league and cup to Sevilla but Miguel Angel Lotina’s men are still in position for a European spot. However, Barcelona are the runaway leaders and have scored 31 goals in 9 games at home – the visitors will be up against it. Saturday’s other live game comes from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as Numancia visit Sevilla. Sevilla’s demanding fans will expect nothing less than a convincing victory against a team desperate to pull away from the relegation places.
Sunday sees Real Madrid welcome Osasuna to the Bernabau. Camacho’s men gave Barcelona an almighty fright last week – can they go one better and get a result here? It looks unlikely but never say never. Villarreal and Mallorca, two teams in bad nick, meet at El Madrigal with the hosts looking for their first win since the end of November. Getafe and Racing, two sides looking over their shoulder, meet in Madrid while Valencia face the not entirely straightforward trip to the San Mames - Joaquin Caparros’s men are unbeaten in six. Real Betis and Valladolid are another duo in bad form clashing, while Sporting visit Andalucia’s struggling Recreativo. Espanyol will do well to get anything out of a trip to Malaga, while the final game of the weekend seems embattled Javier Aguirre take his Atletico outfit to Almeria for a game that promises to see one thing – goals, since both sides are crap at the back.
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