La Liga Campaign

[zenden9]

The win counts.Even u got the best satistic is useless,remember Depor is a sick team too.Off-form at the moment,so Real is proved more sick than Depor! :silly:

[Highway Penguin]

I was shocked when they scored. I only got to read the play by play from eurosport, but we were controlling the game. Deportivo only got a few shots off, and I read we had something like 42 balls played into the box, to Deportivo's 10. :rolleyes: It just shows that we need to work on finishing the ball. Moro and Raul should stay upfront for a game. Owen should go to Numancia or Getafe on loan for the season. ;) Ronnie should stay hurt of a game to let Moro prove himself. Beckham should hurt his ankle so Guti and Celades can try it out. Woodgate should play in a friendly on Oct. 12th, and prove himself or fail. Then that will decide the rest of the season. Woodgates condition...
W/ Woody...
..................Raul............ Ronnie
..........Zidane...........................Figo
.....................Helguera
..................................Celades
Carlos...........Samuel..........Woody......Salgado
............................Casillas
W/out Woody..
..................Raul............ Ronnie
..........Zidane...........................Figo
.....................Guti
..................................Celades
Carlos...........Samuel..........Helguera......Salgado
.............................Casillas

Now if we get Mascherano and Woody
..................Raul............ Ronnie
..........Zidane...........................Figo
.....................Helguera
..................................Mascherano
Carlos...........Samuel..........Woody......Salgado
.............................Casillas
With Mascherano, but without Woody
..................Raul............ Ronnie
..........Zidane...........................Figo
.....................Celades
..................................Mascherano
Carlos...........Samuel..........Helguera......Salgado
.............................Casillas

What do you think?

[Leon of Silvren]

I think Becks is playing well and he should be in at least one of your teams. :)

And if Masherano is signed the most likely is that he'll play alongside with Beckham, which will leave a fight for the centre back position between Woodgate and Helguera...that will be interesting to see.

[Highway Penguin]

I know Becks is doing quite well lately, but I'm not a huge fan. :)
In the teams he is one of the first subs. ;)
Mascherano will though most likely play with Beckham just cause Perez will force it. And Helguera will fight with Woody to get the center position.

They should really just rotate positions, keep things fresh.

[Ify]

I think REAL played really well against Deportivo. They created many chances, and balls were being whipped into the box one after the other. Figo played brillantly, everytime he touched the ball, it felt like something was about to happen. Beckham also had a very good game, tackling when he had to and making many passes. Shame Owen couldn't convert the two closest chances he had. Raul also played really well, and I really feel like he is back on form. Samuel, good most of the ttime but disappointing on accasion. He was going to far ahead and made a few rough tackles. Morrientes couldn't quite change the match when he came on for Owen, but his best is still to come. Unlucky for Real to concede how they did, Luque was too fast for Salgado, but the attack started by a mistake from Samuel, who should have closed the Deportivo player down. A good performance on the whole, I just read that Woodgate will be back for the next match and he will play in the friendly along with Solari!

[Leon of Silvren]

I know Becks is doing quite well lately, but I'm not a huge fan. :)
In the teams he is one of the first subs. ;)
Mascherano will though most likely play with Beckham just cause Perez will force it. And Helguera will fight with Woody to get the center position.

They should really just rotate positions, keep things fresh.
I'm a huge fan of Becks, I know some people don't like him (yourself included) but he's very talented IMO, few people kick the ball the way he kick it (if you know what I mean :) )

And that's true, Perez will force Becks in the formation, even if he's playing bad, but I guess we're used to that kind of crap, and when someone tried to change that, he got his ass kicked, but I know you and me supported him.

Rotations are definitely the way to go, but Remon doesn't like that idea, he's like Queiroz, no changes, the same players are starters, even if they're tired and playing bad, but he also has something good, the mentality of Del Bosque, of supporting and motivating players, which is the thing Galacticos want.

I liked Camacho very much, he wanted to do things right, but the players didn't supported him, he also really liked the rotations, which IMO is good.

[btha]

the newspapers are really having a wonderfull time talknig about real's performance heh..
article today about how the average goal count in the first 7 games (or however many we've played in la liga now) has been 14 goals in the last 5 seasons (obviousl not counting this one) compared to our 4 goals now lol :(
in fact, our 4 goals are the fewest we've scored in the first 7 matches in the 104 history of real madrid... hey.. at least we're setting SOME records :)

[lallan]

the newspapers are really having a wonderfull time talknig about real's performance heh..
article today about how the average goal count in the first 7 games (or however many we've played in la liga now) has been 14 goals in the last 5 seasons (obviousl not counting this one) compared to our 4 goals now lol :(
in fact, our 4 goals are the fewest we've scored in the first 7 matches in the 104 history of real madrid... hey.. at least we're setting SOME records :)

Thats sad........................

I hope they recover soon, its the most entertaining club after all

[Leon of Silvren]

Hollywood FC some may say......sad but somewhat true.

[Becks]

I really hope Real can pick it up and soon.

[Sidecrawler]

i strongly think that Real are gonna bounce back as the compaign will progress, one must never forget the talent thay have, they are the most skilled palyers of the entire soccer world, what they lack these days is good fortune, they are in a drowning period which is a part of a career of any team, success can not be guarenteed always, but soon they will be out on their feet. the luck is proving very hard on them as they did a lot better in their last match (and also in the champions league) and tried to create lots of chances and had plenty of of possession, once luck coomes on their hands, nothing is gonna stop them. Besides they have problems in their attacking line up, they have four forwards, taking place of each other, i wonder, why did they invite Owen, as they already had Ronalda Morientes, Raul, How could that boy be fitted amongst them, so as a result, he remains most of the time on bench, having a doubtfull career, they needed a strong defender or a midfeilder to level up the team performance, Bad transfer but wish best of luck

[Leon of Silvren]

After some bad matches people always think a team like Madrid will bounce back, but it has been so many matches that people tend to lose hope....only true fans always think that the next match they'll play well, the next match they'll play well.....

It's kinda hard, when everyone else is picking on you, saying how shitty your team is, and you always expect they'll perform and finally shut that prick's mouths, but that moment is still very far seen....I, like all true fans hope and wish that Real bounce back, and I'll always expect that moment till actually it happens....Hala Madrid!!

[lallan]

After some bad matches people always think a team like Madrid will bounce back, but it has been so many matches that people tend to lose hope....only true fans always think that the next match they'll play well, the next match they'll play well.....

It's kinda hard, when everyone else is picking on you, saying how shitty your team is, and you always expect they'll perform and finally shut that prick's mouths, but that moment is still very far seen....I, like all true fans hope and wish that Real bounce back, and I'll always expect that moment till actually it happens....Hala Madrid!!

They will bounce back soon, what they desperately need is atleast 2-3 consecutive wins in La Liga matches, then they will pick it up

[Leon of Silvren]

Yeh a morale boost, something that can bring them back their confidence.

[nightwind]

I think Raul recovering his scoring touch was the first morale boost, now ronaldo is also back to form, I think most players are on a high after the international matches.

[Balmung]

Mmm ya, I heard Ronaldo scored twice at the internationals and Raul scored once too. Hope this is a great boost.

[Leon of Silvren]

Becks also scored but he's injured so the more likely is that he won't play against Betis. But generally and individually the players are playing great, wonder how Owen did.....

[btha]

Becks also scored but he's injured so the more likely is that he won't play against Betis. But generally and individually the players are playing great, wonder how Owen did.....

heard rumors that morientes will be starting cause ronaldo and raul both just returned from playing with their NT's.. hope that's true

[lallan]

heard rumors that morientes will be starting cause ronaldo and raul both just returned from playing with their NT's.. hope that's true

I read that he has back problems, plus even if he was fit, I dont think Remon will make Raul or Ronaldo sit on bench, since both scored at their internationals and seem 2 be in form.

I hope they win this game by a good margin, score 3-4 goals 2 boost up the morale of the players.

[btha]

1 Iker Casillas
3 Roberto Carlos
19 Walter Samuel
0 Alvaro Mejia
22 Francisco Pavón
6 Iván Helguera
10 Luis Figo
5 Zinedine Zidane
14 José MarÃ*a "Guti"
7 Raúl González Blanco
9 N. Lima Ronaldo


game is underway

[btha]

so far 2 good saves by cassillas.. live coverage at:

http://www.eurosport.com/home/pages/V4/L0/S22/E6875/live_Lng0_Spo22_Evt6875_Mtc87792.shtml

1-0 for betis :(

[Balmung]

Game ended with a draw.
Ronaldo scored the equaliser. It is good to see him scoring again.
Nonetheless, I couldn't expect much from the result. Several key players were missing and the pathetic Pavon was playing.

[lallan]

Game ended with a draw.
Ronaldo scored the equaliser. It is good to see him scoring again.
Nonetheless, I couldn't expect much from the result. Several key players were missing and the pathetic Pavon was playing.

its sad that a team that has so many superstars after having a draw still manages 2 make an excuse of some "key" players missing!!! Who didnt play? Just Becks, every1 else was there, raul, ronaldo, zidane, figo, and guti did play well!!!!!!!!!!!! I dont get it, they r not able 2 play at all.

[Balmung]

its sad that a team that has so many superstars after having a draw still manages 2 make an excuse of some "key" players missing!!! Who didnt play? Just Becks, every1 else was there, raul, ronaldo, zidane, figo, and guti did play well!!!!!!!!!!!! I dont get it, they r not able 2 play at all.

The defense were awful. We had Pavon playing as CB and Salgado was missing. Either way, the match was ugly. There were a lot of ugly scenes during the match with the Betis players and the Betis crowd. It left a bad taste on my mouth.

As for your post, you said there is still Raul, Ronnie, Zizou, Figo and etc playing despite missing Beckham, Woodgate or Salgado. This team would be enough to win a Betis side. Indeed it is...but we were held to a draw. Why? I do not know. Most prolly there is some coaching problems... *hint * hint

[btha]

i just wanna knwo why remon subbed SAMUEL for owen, not pavon or mejja(allthough mejja isn't central i think).. was samuel injured?

[valdanito]

realk madrid i think thise season will take nothing home

[lallan]

The defense were awful. We had Pavon playing as CB and Salgado was missing. Either way, the match was ugly. There were a lot of ugly scenes during the match with the Betis players and the Betis crowd. It left a bad taste on my mouth.

As for your post, you said there is still Raul, Ronnie, Zizou, Figo and etc playing despite missing Beckham, Woodgate or Salgado. This team would be enough to win a Betis side. Indeed it is...but we were held to a draw. Why? I do not know. Most prolly there is some coaching problems... *hint * hint

the way they were holding the ball 4 so many minutes, I wished the referree banned the match and gave 3 points 2 Real 4 that behavior because it happened more than 3 or 4 times!!!!!!!!!!!

[Balmung]

i just wanna knwo why remon subbed SAMUEL for owen, not pavon or mejja(allthough mejja isn't central i think).. was samuel injured?

Was he injured? If he wasn't, Remon is really really weird.

[Leon of Silvren]

Well I haven't read anything of Samuel's injury so I guess he's fine, that means Remon is really weird.....

About the match, the team played very bad in the first half but improved on the second, the goal was a great play by Ronaldo (the only one), a draw is definitely not a good enough result to make us happy. They have to improve a lot yet.

Something I liked was the debut of the youngster Arbeloa, he seems very talented and with a lot of future, anyone has thoughts about him??

[valdanito]

he played a descent match and i think that with some games played he can imprss a few

[Leon of Silvren]

There's the replacement for Salgado you guys.....

[Leon of Silvren]

Convocatory for Valencia's game

With hope and illusion we face one of the greatest team and champion, Valencia, I hopr to see changes in the team (tactical system and attitute), I think if we get a clear victory over them, there will be no doubts, we are finally bouncing back. Hope we came out from that match well. Hala Madrid!!


Goalkeepers: Casillas and César.

Defenders: Salgado, Helguera, Pavón, Samuel, Roberto Carlos, Raúl Bravo and Arbeloa.

Midfielders: Celades, Zidane, Guti, Solari and Figo.

Strikers: Morientes, Ronaldo, Owen and Raúl.

Out of the list: Beckham, Woodgate (injured), Diego López, MejÃ*a y Borja (all by coach's decision)

[lallan]

Convocatory for Valencia's game

With hope and illusion we face one of the greatest team and champion, Valencia, I hopr to see changes in the team (tactical system and attitute), I think if we get a clear victory over them, there will be no doubts, we are finally bouncing back. Hope we came out from that match well. Hala Madrid!!


Goalkeepers: Casillas and César.

Defenders: Salgado, Helguera, Pavón, Samuel, Roberto Carlos, Raúl Bravo and Arbeloa.

Midfielders: Celades, Zidane, Guti, Solari and Figo.

Strikers: Morientes, Ronaldo, Owen and Raúl.

Out of the list: Beckham, Woodgate (injured), Diego López, Mejêa y Borja (all by coach's decision)

Borja isnt that bad, why is he always kept outside the 4mation? Pavon should be in his place.

[Leon of Silvren]

He's still too young for playing in a so important match as the Valencia one. Pavon whether we like it or not is more experienced, and we'll have to deal with him till Woodgate recovers.

[Balmung]

Real Madrid 1 - 0 Valencia

We won by a single Owen goal again and it was a good goal. It is great to see Owen getting his touch back cause it will always benefit us. Well, it was an overall good match and it wasn't a lucky one like the one against Dynamo Kiev. Real played like the Galacticos' that they were and produced many chances. Too bad the finishing was bad but the Owen goal was enough.

Ronnie had a lot of good opportunities but picked the wrong time to release the shot. Good match overall for all the players. Zidane was good as well as Raul. Oh ya, Helguera was superb in that match at his centreback role. Remon should keep him there until Woodgate recovers.

[Lallou]

Great performance by Madrid. I agree with you, Helguera was great. Owen's goal was beeeeetiful! And in the 7th minute only. He did excellent today! Ronaldo's finishes were aweful, wasn't one of his matches today. Casillas was brillant - AS USUAL!
Thank God Vicente wasn't playing! This guy is amazing!

Anyways, Good performance by the one and only Madrid! Keep it up boys!
Hala Madrid

[lallan]

Great performance by Madrid. I agree with you, Helguera was great. Owen's goal was beeeeetiful! And in the 7th minute only. He did excellent today! Ronaldo's finishes were aweful, wasn't one of his matches today. Casillas was brillant - AS USUAL!
Thank God Vicente wasn't playing! This guy is amazing!

Anyways, Good performance by the one and only Madrid! Keep it up boys!
Hala Madrid

Helguera was definitely MAN OF THE MATCH, very well played, but he said he doesnt want 2 play in that position but he gave 1 classy performance.

Zidane is getting back 2 his form, very well played. Actually every1 played well, and they dominated the game, thats more like "galacticos" but still they have 2 work on the final touch they could have beaten them by 4-5 goals ez but they couldnt finish, Owen's goal was SUPERB.........

[Leon of Silvren]

It was some time now that I don't see the team playing so well, when Owen scored the goal at the 7th minute I thought we were gonna crush Valencia, and actually we could if not because we lacked of luck, Zidane, Figo, Raul and Solari made lots of chances for the strikers, who couldn't make the final shot.

Helguera played great, is true, but Salgado had a good match as well, R.Carlos too, but only in defense. Samuel was disoriented, unfocused, with a few of bad plays. Good to see Owen and Solari playing more, both are doing good, bad for Moro who only played 10 minutes. Also I liked the double-pivot, with Zidane and Guti, seems like Remon found the formation....

Anyway a great match, and 3 very valuable points. :)

[Highway Penguin]

Nice to see us on he up and up. Won both of our last matches.
Owen scored 2 times. Raul has scored. Ronnie is doing ok. Solari is getting time in. Zizou is still playing great, same as Figo, and then Becks is doing pretty well. Samuel isn't in it yet, and Woodgate has yet to appear.

Anyways, they are doing well. Good to see it.

[lallan]

It was some time now that I don't see the team playing so well, when Owen scored the goal at the 7th minute I thought we were gonna crush Valencia, and actually we could if not because we lacked of luck, Zidane, Figo, Raul and Solari made lots of chances for the strikers, who couldn't make the final shot.

Helguera played great, is true, but Salgado had a good match as well, R.Carlos too, but only in defense. Samuel was disoriented, unfocused, with a few of bad plays. Good to see Owen and Solari playing more, both are doing good, bad for Moro who only played 10 minutes. Also I liked the double-pivot, with Zidane and Guti, seems like Remon found the formation....

Anyway a great match, and 3 very valuable points. :)

zidane, roberto carlos, raul, and i think 1 or 2 other players got booked, does any1 know if any of those players picked up a yellow card last game against betis?

[Leon of Silvren]

Doesn't matter, is 5 yellow cards for a suspension.

[lallan]

Doesn't matter, is 5 yellow cards for a suspension.

what do u mena 5 yellow cards 4 a suspension? is it a new rule, i thought if a player gets booked twice he cant play the next game!! r u saying a player can get up2 5 consecutive yellow cards 4 him 2 get suspended?

[Balmung]

Doesn't matter, is 5 yellow cards for a suspension.

What the hell? New rule?

[Highway Penguin]

I've never heard that Leon.

I thought that yif you got 2 in the span of two games you got suspended. :confused:
Maybe that is for International, cause that is why Becks wanted to get booked, isn't it?

BUt I've never heard of 5, sounds logical though, just getting two seems way to easy with the amount of games a club plays and all.

[nightwind]

International & Champions League
2 yellow cards in 1 match = 1 red card
2 yellow cards spread over a few matches = one match suspension

Cards sometimes gets cleared at a certain stage, like after the group phase or after qualifying rounds etc.


Primera Liga
2 yellow cards in 1 match = 1 red card
5 yellow cards spread over a few matches = one match suspension


If you played CM you would know this :)

[btha]

only 1 point away from the 3rd place in la liga, but whole 9 points to barca, but if we stay at the top 3 i we should be able to overcome barca soon, the team is playing better every game now and played imo the best match yet under remon's control against valencia... Now we just need to be able to SCORE MORE THAN 1 GOAL PER GAME :P

[Leon of Silvren]

Thanks for clearing it for us nightwind. ;)

Yeh btha, our offense has to improve, but our defense is way much better than pasts seasons. And we must not let Barca let away too much, 9 points are many already, more than that will leave us too behind from the top.

[lallan]

Thanks for clearing it for us nightwind. ;)

Yeh btha, our offense has to improve, but our defense is way much better than pasts seasons. And we must not let Barca let away too much, 9 points are many already, more than that will leave us too behind from the top.

yes Madrid played their best game against Valencia but they need 2 finish better, they have to start scoring 3-4 goals which they can if they just concentrate on the final touch, their next la liga game may seem ez but Madrid have 2 win in order 2 keep chasing barca(who btw r not playing that good, I am surprised 2 read that they r 1 of the best teams in europe rt now, they r just winning but their performance is poor, even in the last game against ossasona they werent able 2 play, but they know how 2 score something which Madrid is not able 2 do).

[Balmung]

Who are we up against next?

[Lallou]

On the 31st (Sunday I think) we play Getafe in La Liga. And on Wednesday the 3rd of November we play Kiev again in the UFEA CL.

[Ify]

Sorry I'm a bit late with this, but I just wanted to add my thoughts.

Real played very well against Valencia. The first 10 mins were spectacular. After the goal however, Real didn't carry on the good play, but still played well.

I thought Raul stood out a lot in that match, he was excellent. He was playing with so much skill, I think the position just behind the front two suits him very well, and he worked very hard.

Zidane also played great. He had a few good plays with Ronaldo, who sadly didn't have his best night. One chance when he was in the box after Zidane passed the ball to him, stood out the most as he executed a very poor shot, without much power. Canizares was playing good though.

It was a brilliant goal by Owen, on the outside of his right foot, perfect placing of the ball.

It's good to see Real playing so well again, I think they will just keep improving now, and after BEckham and Woodgate return, who knows what will happen. I still don't think they are as good as Barcelona though, who have won all of their matches very comfortably. Looking forward to the next match!

By the way, I can't believe you didn't know about the yellow card thing, I thought it was common knowledge amongst football fans??

[Leon of Silvren]

LOL is never too late to share thoughts. :)

I think if Ronaldo was in a good shape we would've won like 3-0 easy.

[Balmung]

Getafe eh? The newly promoted team? Anything to be wary about ? Otherwise, it would be a good warm up match against Kiev.

[lallan]

Getafe eh? The newly promoted team? Anything to be wary about ? Otherwise, it would be a good warm up match against Kiev.

Never underestimate any team, remember how tough it was 4 Real 2 defeat Numancia?

I do believe atleast Raul should be rested 4 him 2 be completely ready 4 Kiev match but they should play with the regulalrs.

[Leon of Silvren]

I still think that the one that should be rested is Ronaldo, Raul is creating the game, he was the one who assisted Owen in the goal against Valencia, and Ronnie didn't do anything.

But something tells me if Moro and Owen have good performance today in the Copa del Rey they can bench Ronaldo and Raul, only problem is that Remon is too scared to make changes like those.

[btha]

Hopefully we'll be able to break more than 1 goal per game against getafe.. i've been playing the football manager 2005 demo and my avarage score count is 3.6 goals per game! owen scored 5 against ajax 7-0 victory! good sign! :)

if my ubar FM skills are anything to relate to real life here's what real should be playing like

-^------raul--owen-------^-
--|-----------------------|-
solari--------------------figo
--^----zidane--beckham---^-
--|-----------------------|-
carlos-elmuro-helguera-salgado

:D

[Leon of Silvren]

Agreed with you, the team must score more than once, then the confidence will pop up, and the offense will turn more productive in future games.

Agreed also with your formation, but I think Becks is not available, neither Samuel, so Guti and Pavon have to replace them.

[lallan]

Hopefully we'll be able to break more than 1 goal per game against getafe.. i've been playing the football manager 2005 demo and my avarage score count is 3.6 goals per game! owen scored 5 against ajax 7-0 victory! good sign! :)

if my ubar FM skills are anything to relate to real life here's what real should be playing like

-^------raul--owen-------^-
--|-----------------------|-
solari--------------------figo
--^----zidane--beckham---^-
--|-----------------------|-
carlos-elmuro-helguera-salgado

:D

ur 4mation is a killer 4 the team, no real defensive midfielder!!!! in real life real cant survive like that and instead of scoring more than 1 will receive more than 2 goals per game.

i play winning eleven 8 reloaded(with all recent trades etc, a great game) and also win like crazy with real but my 4mation is

-^------raul--ronaldo-------^-
--|-----------------------|-
zidane--------------------figo
--^----helguera--beckham---^-
--|-----------------------|-
carlos-elmuro-woodgate-salgado

[Leon of Silvren]

Well last game we played with Zidane and Guti in the double pivot, and they did fine, we didn't conceed any goal.

Becks, Samuel and Woodgate are injured.

[Highway Penguin]

Owen/Moro
Raul Zidane Figo
Guti
Carlos Pavon Helguera Salgado

Should be the line up.
I'd like to see Moro and Owen play half of the game each. As both are starting to look on the up and up. :)

[Leon of Silvren]

The formation looks good, but knowing Remon Moro won't be starter, put Ronnie instead and that'll be the formation for tomorrow. (I thought it was today, I was in panic!! :D )

[Leon of Silvren]

Barcelona and Valencia held to draws

Soccerway.com

BARCELONA/VALENCIA, Oct 30 (SW) - Both FC Barcelona and Valencia CF dropped points in the Primera Division on Saturday against respectively Athletic de Bilbao and Atletico de Madrid.

At San Mames stadium in Bilbao, Samuel Eto'o only needed eleven minutes to open the score for FC Barcelona, who were knocked out of the Copa del Rey this week, but after another three minutes, Yeste levelled for the Basque hosts, who ended the match with ten men as Curpegi was sent off in the 80th minute.

The final result of the match between Valencia CF and Atletico de Madrid was 1-1 as well. Miguel Angel Angulo had put the hosts ahead in the 64th minute, but despite having Paunovic sent off six minutes later, Atletico managed to equalise through Fernando Torres with twelve minutes left on the clock.

Numbers two in the Liga, Sevilla will travel to Cup holders Zaragoza on Sunday, while Real Madrid host relegation candidates Getafe at Santiago Bernabeu.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

In case we needed one more reason to beat Getafe, we've just found it, Barca and Valencia lost 2 points and this is our chance to shorten distances. Without the partial results Valencia is third and Barca first. Go Madrid!! :)

[Highway Penguin]

We'd better win.
Getafe are doing well, but we are Real. :)
Owen and Moro are on form, so they should each do well in the match. Raul is as well. Ronnie...anyways.
We are going to do fine. :)

[lallan]

We'd better win.
Getafe are doing well, but we are Real. :)
Owen and Moro are on form, so they should each do well in the match. Raul is as well. Ronnie...anyways.
We are going to do fine. :)

Ronaldo is a must *er and he might well score more than once 2day.

Moro did well last game but whom did Real play? Legans!!!!!!!!!! Thats no team 2 judge the form of a player by.

Starting line up should be(taking in2 account the absence of Samuel, Becks & Figo)



-^------owen--ronaldo-------^-
--|-----------------------|-
raul--------------------zidane
--^----guti--celades---^-
--|-----------------------|-
carlos-raul bravo-helguera-salgado

[Balmung]

Real won 2-0.

Owen is on a scoring streak and Ronaldo provided the second goal after Raul's shot was bounced off by the keeper.

A lacksture performance by Real, maybe they are underestimating Getafe. But they were almost punished a few times...nonetheless, Getafe did not have enough quality to finish us off. In the end of the day, a below par performance by Real but we managed to win 2-0.

Perhaps, the result is underlining the difference of the quality of the 2 sides.

[Ify]

Yeh, an average performance from Real who were missing Samuel, Beckham and Figo.

Gestafe had the most shots by far, i think more than double that of Real Madrids. At the end of the first half I think Real only had 2 shots on target (one being a goal) That was the difference between the two sides, Real made more of their chances than the opposition.

Casillas was excellent yet again, though didn't get hold of the ball on numerous counts probably due to the wet pitch. The star man for me has to be Solari in this match, he was going forward at most opportunities and was atleast trying, while the other Real players were just laid back.

Zidane could have scored early in the match but his shot was saved, and he turned out to be offside anyway. Many wrong decisions were made and of the first 5 off-side decisions made against Real, only one was right! Raul played with a lot of skill and his first touch from a long throw was excellent, but it was a shame he couldn't convert his shot but luckily Ronaldo was there to pick up the pieces. There was some controversy over Real's first goal when Owen had been offside, and Gestafe took the free kick quickly which Ronaldo intercepted straight away, passed it to Owen who then scored.

An average performance, nothing special and they didn't even go up a gear and remained on Gear 1, but we won by 2 goals for the first time in La Liga which is promising!!

[Leon of Silvren]

Agreed, the performance was average, but we won by two goals, many defensives problems (but what can you expect with Bravo on it? :dontcare: ) Ronaldo was invisible, Owen was poor, the midfield looks strong however, maybe that's the only good thing of the game.....

Getafe could've scored, but they lacked precision (luckily for us), I think with Samuel and Becks on the team, it'll look much different.

[lallan]

Real won 2-0.

Owen is on a scoring streak and Ronaldo provided the second goal after Raul's shot was bounced off by the keeper.

A lacksture performance by Real, maybe they are underestimating Getafe. But they were almost punished a few times...nonetheless, Getafe did not have enough quality to finish us off. In the end of the day, a below par performance by Real but we managed to win 2-0.

Perhaps, the result is underlining the difference of the quality of the 2 sides.

I knew from the beginning they wont play that well, the 4mation was messed up, Raul on the right? COMEON he played on the left that was more than enough 4 him, celades should have started the game with Solari on the bench, still Figo's replacement is a must, 4 suspension, injury or resting reasons, juanfran is no good, the hard work figo does on the wing, not even Zidane does it as its not his job, and there is no 1 else who does it like Figo...

anyways we got the 3 points...

[Nikodemus]

I'll go along with that. An average class game from Real but I also see very good things. Owen scored once again. I think he might be starting to gain confidence and more support. Of course a game against a team like Getafe is a must win. (without dissing Getafe at all) Maybe two goals is not enough. But hey, third place in Liga! Not looking that bad anymore.

[lallan]

they got the 3 points against Malaga, defense seems 2 be improving(funny how they dont have the 2 new defenders samuel & woodgate) & Casillas was good as usual but it was Selgado who played so well 2day.

Ronaldo got 1 great chance and he should have taken some time but he shot it in a hurry...

Owen scored a beautiful goal.....

[Ify]

Well it was a good game for Real. They won 2-0 and are really starting to find their form.

Real started off quite well with a few scares coming in from Malaga. There were a few chances that fell to Paolo Wanchope who I think played really well. He was the stand out player in Malaga and displayed some good technique. Malaga, however, failed to test Casillas who hardly had any saves to make (I think it was 3). But the first half was all about Madrid. They passed very well and held on to possession nicely. They played good attractive football.

There was a controversial penalty given to Real where Zidane was fouled just outside of the box. Figo converted it easily, 1-0 to Real.

The second half was also all about Madrid. They attained most of the possession and didn’t give Malaga any chances. The 5 midfielders played very well and controlled the play nicely. They got forward well but failed to make enough shots on target to end the game quickly.

A good substitution was made, Owen for Ronaldo. Salgado made an excellent run from his own half, took on a few players, passed the ball perfectly to Owen, who had a great first touch as he chested it, took on a player and placed it near the botton right corner of the net. 2-0 to Real.

All Real players played very well especially Pavon who I think had his best game yet. The surprise star man for me was Michel Salgado. He defended very well, one instance in particular towards the end of the match where a Malaga player was sure to score after a good run only for the ball to be blocked by Salgado. He made some excellent runs and attacked Malaga very well, even better than Figo and Zidane dare I say. It was sad the ball didn’t go Salgado very much, he had his best game for me today.

If there is anything bad to take from the match it has to be Ronaldo’s poor form. He wasn’t his usual self and I think he lacked confidence which Owen is striving on at the moment. He failed to convert 2 glorious chances, one in particular from a set play, which saw Figo to whip in a brilliant free kick from the right side, it was a free header for Ronaldo who headed it straight to the ground and it went wide. I know one of Ronaldo’s strong points isn’t his heading ability, but that chance anybody could have scored. I hope he improves for the next games.

Anyway, a good, solid performance from Real, who controlled the game and it was an easy and deserved win, and there third consecutive clean sheet.

[Balmung]

Well it was a good game for Real. They won 2-0 and are really starting to find their form.

Real started off quite well with a few scares coming in from Malaga. There were a few chances that fell to Paolo Wanchope who I think played really well. He was the stand out player in Malaga and displayed some good technique. Malaga, however, failed to test Casillas who hardly had any saves to make (I think it was 3). But the first half was all about Madrid. They passed very well and held on to possession nicely. They played good attractive football.

There was a controversial penalty given to Real where Zidane was fouled just outside of the box. Figo converted it easily, 1-0 to Real.

The second half was also all about Madrid. They attained most of the possession and didn’t give Malaga any chances. The 5 midfielders played very well and controlled the play nicely. They got forward well but failed to make enough shots on target to end the game quickly.

A good substitution was made, Owen for Ronaldo. Salgado made an excellent run from his own half, took on a few players, passed the ball perfectly to Owen, who had a great first touch as he chested it, took on a player and placed it near the botton right corner of the net. 2-0 to Real.

All Real players played very well especially Pavon who I think had his best game yet. The surprise star man for me was Michel Salgado. He defended very well, one instance in particular towards the end of the match where a Malaga player was sure to score after a good run only for the ball to be blocked by Salgado. He made some excellent runs and attacked Malaga very well, even better than Figo and Zidane dare I say. It was sad the ball didn’t go Salgado very much, he had his best game for me today.

If there is anything bad to take from the match it has to be Ronaldo’s poor form. He wasn’t his usual self and I think he lacked confidence which Owen is striving on at the moment. He failed to convert 2 glorious chances, one in particular from a set play, which saw Figo to whip in a brilliant free kick from the right side, it was a free header for Ronaldo who headed it straight to the ground and it went wide. I know one of Ronaldo’s strong points isn’t his heading ability, but that chance anybody could have scored. I hope he improves for the next games.

Anyway, a good, solid performance from Real, who controlled the game and it was an easy and deserved win, and there third consecutive clean sheet.

Whoa...nice match coverage. Yeah, a convincing 2-0 victory over Malaga. The only down point was Ronaldo's dipping form. He had about 2-3 good chances, 1 with the head and 2 from open play, which of course, he failed to convert.

Ronnie was subbed early on the second half and his replacement, Owen stamped his mark on the team, by scoring a wonderful goal. There were changes for Raul and Figo as well. It is good that Garcia is finally rotating his players in an effective way. Good job to Real.

PS : I have a feeling sooner or later Ronnie is going to be benched from the starting 11. Let's hope he gains back his form.

[Leon of Silvren]

I also think and hope Ronaldo will get a rest soon, he should leave his spot to Owen, who's playing better than him, by far.

About the game, I liked what I saw, a more disciplined team, better synch, more organization, better touch, more control. Seems like Remon isn't doing a bad job after all!

There wasn't a player who outshine the others, they played as a team -thing that we wanted for long- the subs were fine, Owen scored a goal, Solari had an average performance, and Moro came too late, but he was invisble and touched the ball like 2 times.

Now, the question of the day, was it a fair called PK?? I think yes, the tackle was made ON the line, and as we all know, the line is part of the PK area. However IMO the PK didn't affected the match too much, Real's goal was gonna be scored soon, with or without the PK.

[Nikodemus]

Right now Owen seems like a really good investment. I'll have to take my small doubts back. Fantastic Michael!
Great match by Real. That is how they should play in every game. 2nd position in Liga. Looking better and better though the Catalans are having a 7 point gap.
And about the penalty kick. Always when Real's PK is on the line people are doubting it. I think it was fair.

[Balmung]

It does not matter much cause we dominated the match and was poist to win it.

[Leon of Silvren]

Yeh Barca is doing good, but they'll eventually fall.....

[Ronniestillgood]

Yeh Barca is doing good, but they'll eventually fall.....

Ronnie is getting worse bye the day just if he could return to his Picchini winning days Real would instopable.

[lallan]

Ronnie is getting worse bye the day just if he could return to his Picchini winning days Real would instopable.

true, if Ronaldo gets back his groove, there is no stopping 4 Real... I think thats the reason Remon starts with him because any moment he can get back his majical finish

[Leon of Silvren]

We have to face it, Ronaldo's time in the team has ended, Owen is the man now. I think at the end of the season Ronaldo will leave. I also think is the best for everybody, he isn't that old and he could be sucessful in another team less demanding.

[lallan]

We have to face it, Ronaldo's time in the team has ended, Owen is the man now. I think at the end of the season Ronaldo will leave. I also think is the best for everybody, he isn't that old and he could be sucessful in another team less demanding.

disagree, Ronaldo's time is not over yet, he can still give atleast 2 solid seasons 4 Real, he is having a bad time rt now, but almost the whole team is, even Raul is not scoring.....

[Balmung]

We have to face it, Ronaldo's time in the team has ended, Owen is the man now. I think at the end of the season Ronaldo will leave. I also think is the best for everybody, he isn't that old and he could be sucessful in another team less demanding.

Uurrrggh. No way. But this will happen, if he continues like that. As I said in another thread, Perez would be happy to get rid of Ronnie's weekly wages from his budget if Ronnie is not performing.

The only way to salvage this is all up to Ronnie. I have confidence he will find his form back and start scoring goals.

[lallan]

Uurrrggh. No way. But this will happen, if he continues like that. As I said in another thread, Perez would be happy to get rid of Ronnie's weekly wages from his budget if Ronnie is not performing.

The only way to salvage this is all up to Ronnie. I have confidence he will find his form back and start scoring goals.

Yes I am confident in him 2, he is still 1 of the best strikers in the world hopefully by the game gainst Barca he will be back 2 his form...

I know he is scaring the sh-it out of Valdes rt now.......

[Leon of Silvren]

I don't think he can recover his form again in Madrid, the same goes to Morientes....both of them are this close to leave Real. But I could be wrong though, Ronnie can start scoring again and Moro can play as before, let's hope they prove me wrong....

[Leon of Silvren]

Convocatory, Real-Albacete

http://www.realmadrid.com/web_realmadrid/mmedia/000/000/045/932.jpg

Porteros: Casillas y César.
Defensas: Salgado, Arbeloa, Samuel, Helguera, Roberto Carlos, MejÃ*a y Raúl Bravo.
Centrocampistas: Celades, Solari, Figo, Zidane, Beckham, Guti.
Delanteros: Raúl, Owen y Ronaldo.
Fuera de la lista: Woodgate, Pavón y Borja (todos ellos por lesión).

[Leon of Silvren]

I think the formation should be:


Casillas


Salgado - Samuel - Helguera - R.Carlos


Beckham - Zidane


Figo - Solari


Owen - Raul

[lallan]

6-1, WOWWWWWWWWWWWW

Never underestimate Ronaldo, I was 1 of the few who said that this player should always start the game & it payed off, he will be more hungry & ready 2 go against Barca(btw they lost 2 betis 2-1, YESSSSSSSSSS), Ronaldo was all over the field 2day, very well played, still missed few sure shot goals but he is getting back 2 his good form..

The whole team played well actually, Zidane was pure majic 2night showing us he still got it, 2 bad Figo who played really well missed a great chance…Owen still on fire scoring 6 goals in 8 matches….Samuel redeemed himself by scoring, hopefully he will be better against the hurt & wounded Barca……

[Ify]

One of the best Real Madrid matches I've seen. Real were pacey, technical and effective. The match finished 6-1 to the whites.

The match started off with a bang when Ronaldo scored a simple header. Zidane took a corner from the left, Raul headed it on towards the right far post to which only a simple tap in was required from a header we rarely see from Ronaldo. However, Samuel made a mess of things when he failed to clear an incoming ball in Real's box, Francisco controlled it, took a shot by which time Casillas was close enough to block it however Francisco kept ball possession and slotted the ball in from a tight angle which Samuel again failed to clear as he tried to cover for Casillas in the space of a few seconds, 1-1.

Despite the goal, Real were looking as confident as ever, the fire amongst the players continued, when Zinedine Zidane placed the ball into the bottom right corner of the net with a brilliant 30 yard strike which contained a lot of power and accuracy. I think it was Zizou's first goal in 20 games. Real kept the majority of possession in the 1st half and were highly effective in their passing. A strung of passes were put together, Zidane attained the ball on the left flank, who took on a player with a brilliant step over, he carried on running, pulled off another clever step over which confused the Albacete defender, and whipped in a perfect pass which Raul scored from a curling header, towards the top right corner. 3-1 to Real in the first half.

The second Half retained the fire and momentum which we had seen in the first half. A 4th goal came after David Beckham, who was back to match fitness, took a perfect free kick as he picked out Walter Samuel who was unmarked from the left side of Albacete's goal, which Samuel converted easily, his first goal in La Liga. This atleast made up for his mess up earlier in the game.

Real created loads of chances. All the players played well and Salgado kept up his excellent play from the last game. Ronaldo made numerous soaring runs which were very attacking and always looked dangerous when he touched the ball throughout the game. After 2 of these magnificent runs he passed the ball to Solari who had been sustituted with Raul which Solari failed to convert on both occassions which if Owen or Raul had got a hold of would have surely scored. But this was not to be Solari's day, and was possibly the least effective player today. My point about Owen was justified later as another of these Ronaldo runs ended with him passing it to Michael Owen, who slotted the ball undr the keeper to give Real a 5-1 lead.

Ronaldo looked extremely hungry this whole match. He may have wanted to make up from his poor performance in the last fixture. Ronaldo impressed the spectators everytime he touched the ball at the Bernabeau. He eventually got his 2nd goal after much hard work when he superbly took on a few defenders in Albacete's box and drilled the ball pass the keeper in the dieing minutes of the game.

On the whole, Real were magnificent. Nobody played bad, they worked as a team and resorted to all kinds of skills during the game which made for very attractive football. The star man for me was definately Ronaldo, who many claimed ws past his prime when in fact he is still very much on form, and hungry to score goals. Good to see Raul get his 2nd goal of the season, Owen getting his 6th in 5 games and Beckham being fit again.

I can't wait for El Derby next week, when we take on Barcelona!! REAL ARE ON FORM!!!

[Leon of Silvren]

First of all I would like to say I was wrong about Ronnie, I said he couldn't bounce back and he did, proving me wrong (fortunately), he was superb in today's game, he was eager to score and play well, maybe trying to make up for all the past crappy performances, I hope he can hold his form now that he has returned.

Now to the match, the team looked with good synch, dynamic and full of ideas. In short words, wonderful! Zidane is back on form too, he played like old times, making fancy plays and making his magic again. Figo played as always, great, and Becks showed that the team needs him. Maybe the only low point was Guti, who looks unfocused, like out of place, I say Remon should give a chance to Celades now that Becks is back.

[hezri]

Zidane , Ronaldo , and Raul always have my vote of confidence . If they are players of best quality , time will prevail .

To me , win or loose doesn't matter . As long long as they show high level of professionalism , attractive possession play .

[lallan]

[QUOTE=Leon of Silvren]First of all I would like to say I was wrong about Ronnie, I said he couldn't bounce back and he did, proving me wrong (fortunately), he was superb in today's game, he was eager to score and play well, maybe trying to make up for all the past crappy performances, I hope he can hold his form now that he has returned.

Now to the match, the team looked with good synch, dynamic and full of ideas. In short words, wonderful! Zidane is back on form too, he played like old times, making fancy plays and making his magic again. Figo played as always, great, and Becks showed that the team needs him. Maybe the only low point was Guti, who looks unfocused, like out of place, I say Remon should give a chance to Celades now that Becks is back.[/QUOTE

disagree, Guti was good and he should play rather than Celades, we might need Celades 4 the Spanish Cup and other not so important La Liga fixtures

[Leon of Silvren]

Figo ready for Levante, Moro doubt and Zizou K.O until Rome
11/26/04
Real Madrid Official Site

Figo trained with total normality with its companions. The Luso could complete the training without suffering itself of the overload that presented/displayed in the left abductor and that Thursday forced to him to make a specific work to the margin of the group. The midfield player made the physical circuit designed by the preinn Fernando Gaspar and participated in the games of seven against seven that Garci'a Remón organized. The madridista will be ready to play against Levante, whenever the coach thinks it opportune.

Those that they did not jump to the game land were Zidane and Morientes. The French is discarded to play against Levante and the Villarreal due to an acute lumbalgia that suffered after the shock against the Leverkusen. The objective, according to what confirmed the doctors, is to recover him for the game against Rome. On the other hand, the forward is doubt to be moderate to the team that trains Schuster, due to a disturb in the leg. It was all the morning shut in the gymnasium, Saturday he will try to train with the group and if the test is positive he will enter the citation.

On the other hand, Borja continues with its customized plan of rehabilitation, whereas Woodgate intensifies the work rate . The English, to the orders of the recuperator Jose Luis San MartÃ*n, made a combined work: he began and he closed the morning in the gymnasium, making exercise of involution with weights and resistance, but between averages he jumped to the game land where he completed series of continuous race, abdominal, lumbar and strechings .

[lallan]

now thats another bad news, Zidane is VITAL 4 the team.......

[Balmung]

Well, since we are playing against Levante, I think we should do well without Zidane. After all, we have Solari to take his place...unless Remon is playing Ronnie+Owen with Raul in Zidane's position again.

[Leon of Silvren]

I don't know, I like Owen in the starting XI, Solari is good too but....I think I have a solution, but it's a shame Remon won't listen to me.... :silly:


Casillas


Salgado - Samuel - Helguera - Carlos


Beckham - Solari


Figo - Raul


Ronaldo - Owen

What do you think the formation should be??

[lallan]

I don't know, I like Owen in the starting XI, Solari is good too but....I think I have a solution, but it's a shame Remon won't listen to me.... :silly:


Casillas


Salgado - Samuel - Helguera - Carlos


Beckham - Solari


Figo - Raul


Ronaldo - Owen

What do you think the formation should be??

no defensive midfield????????? the team will LOSE BADLY, Levante is a very good team, I think Remon will do the usual, put Raul on left & start with owen & ronaldo & put Guti & Becks in CM

[lallan]

ok Remon will try Becks on right, poor Owen, Becks comeback made him a regular sub:

"Morientes was united to the dynamics of the group and completed the session without suffering itself of the blow that tapeworm in the leg. Garci'a Remón tested with possible the eleven that she will be moderate to Levante: Helguera and Samuel, behind. Guti and Celades, in the pivot. Figo and Beckham, in the tracks. In addition, it insisted on the importance of the crease of joint way and on advancing the line of defense until medular when the equipment had the ball."

source:realmadrid.com

[owenismyman]

Real 1 - Levante 0 thanks to Ronaldo. I hate not being able to watch the game, but at least I have RealMadrid.Com. :)

[lallan]

Real 1 - Levante 0 thanks to Ronaldo. I hate not being able to watch the game, but at least I have RealMadrid.Com. :)

Real won 5-0, Ronaldo scored 2(missed an open chance), figo(beautiful goal), becks & owen......

Guti & Figo will miss next game due 2 suspension, i think helguera and celades will play in CM next game with raul(or solari) on left and becks on rt, owen(raul) & ronaldo in forward, its a tough game against villareal......

[Nikodemus]

5-0!! Fantastic. And against a team that was not in the bottom of the league table. That's what galácticos look like.
Now just need to hope FCB would lose a match or two...

[Balmung]

I expected a win against a team like Levante but we won with style all right.
But the first half was a bit disappointing and very lacksture performance, perhaps Real was undermining Levante.

Anyways, Ronnie got his groove on and started playing around and taking on defenders, something he doesn't do much during high profile matches. He seems more passive and cautious against big clubs but once in a while, he should get his groove started...he is Ronaldo after all.

It's good to see goals scored outside the box from both Figo and Beckham. We always got our goals inside the box, so it's very encouraging to see we have alternative ways to score, considering we have enough talents to score from long range.

Good results~~

[Ify]

I came away from the first half with a sour taste in my mouth. I came away from the second half feeling absolutely great. Real were not at all very good in the first half, and they didn't deserve that one goal lead. Levante had 7 shots and they were holding up Real pretty strongly. It was the only shot on target by real, the only chance they had and they scored it, from a pin point pass from Beckham which Ronaldo easily converted.

The second have started with a bang. Figo scored a magnificent goal, running from the half way line, and then just deciding to take a shot from 25-yards out, a beauty goal. Real gained confidence, and were on a high, when barely one minute passed and Ronaldo scored another goal. They were definately on fire now. Beckham then scored possibly an even better goal than Figo's where he ran from near the half way line, took on Ian Harte, and then shot from 25-yards out differently to how he normally kicks the ball as there was no curl on it and the ball went pretty straight, but a spectacular goal none the less.

However Real then slowed down, and controlled the play with much ball possession which was 50-50 in the first half. Figo and Guti both got booked for standing in front of a ball when Levante were going to take a free kick, on two seperate occasions which means both are suspended for the next match (a 10 day rest for them two then!) Solari was brought on as was Owen and the lesser known Javi Garcia late in the second half. Owen finished the score tally with a good finish from a brilliant lob from Guti (the then captain) and a perfectly weighted pass to Owen from under the legs of a Levante player. 5-0 to Real, and they were far from their best. The star man for me has to be Ronaldo for scoring two goals however he missed a right sitter when a defensive mistake lead the ball right to his feet which he drilled wide, which was quite rare, it could have been a hat-trick for big Ron'. Beckham played on the right, where he was terrific yeserday, I think he should always play there. Also good to see Real keep a clean sheet, a greta result, BRING ON ROMA!!

[lallan]

I expected a win against a team like Levante but we won with style all right.
But the first half was a bit disappointing and very lacksture performance, perhaps Real was undermining Levante.

Anyways, Ronnie got his groove on and started playing around and taking on defenders, something he doesn't do much during high profile matches. He seems more passive and cautious against big clubs but once in a while, he should get his groove started...he is Ronaldo after all.

It's good to see goals scored outside the box from both Figo and Beckham. We always got our goals inside the box, so it's very encouraging to see we have alternative ways to score, considering we have enough talents to score from long range.

Good results~~

couldnt agree more on scoring from outside the box issue.

as 4 1st half performance, thats something real has been consistent in & even Zidane pointed that out, that they need 2 play the entire game the way they play the 2nd half(against leverkusen also)........

anyways next game is a tough 1 & guti, zidane & figo wont play.....

[Leon of Silvren]

I only could catch the first half, very close match -until that time- and you can inmagine my surprise in seeing the final score.....btw very classy goals.

I can't go much deep into the game, but I think this is a huge boost, it represents a comeback after the 'crashes' of Barca and Leverkusen, and it comes perfect for the crucial game at Rome.

BTW who made the pass to Ronaldo in his second goal??

[owenismyman]

"the Brazilian taking advantage of an accurate pass from Celades that left him alone against Mora"

Source - realmadrid.com

I love the headline that they used for the spanish version of the article. "¡Qué pegada!" Sounds so much better in spanish than in english.

[Leon of Silvren]

Ok thanks! BTW it was a tricky goal because Figo was laying on the field, and Celades took avantage of that and made a great pass to Ronnie, who is always aware of everything....very clever from him.

[lallan]

possible 4mation 4 villareal game since Figo, Zidane & Guti wont be playing, I suggest:

-^------raul(Owen starts if Raul starts on left)--ronaldo-------^-
--|-----------------------|-
Solari(Raul)--------------------figo
--^----helguera--beckham---^-
--|-----------------------|-
carlos-elmuro-Mejia-salgado

What do u think?

[Leon of Silvren]

I think it should be:


Casillas


Salgado - Helguera - Samuel - Carlos


Celades - Beckham


Solari - Raul


Owen - Ronaldo

BTW lallan you put Figo on your squad hehe...... :p

[lallan]

I think against Villareal the coach has decided it 2 be

-^------raul(Owen)--ronaldo-------^-
--|-----------------------|-
Solari(Raul)--------------------Becks
--^----Javi Garcia--Celades---^-
--|-----------------------|-
carlos-elmuro-Helguera-salgado

I think its a very risky 4mation 2 put Javi Garcia in such a vital game where 2 key players(Zidane & Figo) + a very effective player(Guti) r missing...

he should play with Helguera & Celades in CM, bring back Pavon, Mejia or Raul Bravo in CB so that our defensive side remains intact...

[lallan]

a FACT: Real STINKS without Zidane, Figo & Roberto Carlos

U may wonder why did I mention roberto carlos but the fact is, he(despite his not so good form this season) still is 1 of the best left backs in the world and raul bravo is probably 1 of the worst left backs in the world(the only sub 4 roberto carlos un4tunately), the guy cant pass the ball 4ward, I think about 100 wrong passes up front, he cant cross the ball also, things that r most important 4 a left back, that’s why I say he is better than pavon in the CB position but not as a left back…

As 4 zidane & figo its obvious why I mentioned them, the team didn’t have 1 single player who can effectively take the ball 4ward, solari is very good as a sub not a *er IMO……

That’s why the team needs a Robinho very soon or some1 like him 2 be ready when such vital players r missing 4 any reason…….

[Becks]

The match was very pitiful. No real excitement until the 2nd half. The closest Real Madrid came to goal was Beckham's free kick that hit the wood. 0-0. 9 points behind FCB. I think I am going to pretend that the match never happened. The best part was the officials.

[Leon of Silvren]

The match was boring, and looked like an amateur game, yes, it was THAT lame.

Villareal had lots of chances, but they blew them, one by one, and Real was unable to create any. Without Zidane -the main playmaker-, Figo -the playmaker back-up- and Guti -the second playmaker back-up- the role was given to Solari, who is ver talented, but today it was proved that is a too heavy duty for him, he falled short.

The defense looked strong -considering Pavon and Bravo were there- the midfield were null, and the attack even more. But what really concerns me is this: Why Raul and Carlos got benched??

[lallan]

The match was boring, and looked like an amateur game, yes, it was THAT lame.

Villareal had lots of chances, but they blew them, one by one, and Real was unable to create any. Without Zidane -the main playmaker-, Figo -the playmaker back-up- and Guti -the second playmaker back-up- the role was given to Solari, who is ver talented, but today it was proved that is a too heavy duty for him, he falled short.

The defense looked strong -considering Pavon and Bravo were there- the midfield were null, and the attack even more. But what really concerns me is this: Why Raul and Carlos got benched??

raul and carlos got benched 4 the vital roma game on wed...

atleast carlos should have played, they r lucky they didnt lose the match, they r still 9 points behind barca....

[Leon of Silvren]

I don't share that mentality, La Liga is also important, maybe these points will make the difference at the end of the season......

[Leon of Silvren]

Match against Real Sociedad is tomorrow, and for the first time in much time Remon has the whole squad avaliable (except for the injured of course). Sociedad was a strong team two seasons ago (ended runner up), but since then they started going down, now they're just an average team, should be an easy match, but we don't have too be overconfident, Barca won today 2-1 (lucky bastards!) and that means we must win too in order to keep chasing them.

Convocatory list:

Porteros: Casillas y César.
Defensas: M�*chel Salgado, Pavón, Samuel, Helguera, Raúl Bravo y Roberto Carlos.
Centrocampistas: Beckham, Figo, Celades, Solari, Guti y Zidane.
Delanteros: Raúl, Ronaldo, Owen y Morientes.
No convocados: Mej�*a (decisión técnica), Borja y Woodgate (lesionado)

[lallan]

Barca indeed r very LUCKY these days, even if they play badly they end up winning even the road games, WHAT THE HELL?

Real Sociedad has improved and they played well in their last few games so i dont think it will be an ez matchup, but yes Real has 2 keep winning because barca is not stopping and hopefully valencia will do some damage next week.

[Leon of Silvren]

Yeh both Barca's goals were mistakes of the defense of Albacete, and they were very lucky for the lack of precision of Albacete, that had 2-3 clear chances.....

[Ify]

Well I saw the match today and I gotta say Real although not at their best played quite well. They put their strongest team out there and so it should really have been a victory. There was offcourse a bomb scare on the 87th minute which really spoiled things.

Real started very well. They look determined and didn't at all look tired from the 3-0 win against Roma on Wednesday. But it was only to last a mere 10 minutes or so. Sociedad had loads of shots by the end of the first half, but didn't have anything to show for it. Real on the other hand did, with a magnificent goal from Ronaldo, which started with a superb play from Real, Beckham made an excellent curling-chip pass to Salgado, who then crossed the ball in which Ronaldo controlled brilliantly with his chest, turned around and spectacularly half-voleyed it into the net. 1-0 to real in 41 minutes.

The second half was also dominated by Real, and this time they had made the majority of chances. The defence was looking sound and Casillas did well in net. There was an instance where Nihat broke through and took a magnificent shot from almost 20 yards out which Casillas failed to save but luckily it was disallowed for outside. Ronaldo could have had a hat-trick in this game. He missed a sitter where the Sociedad keeper came too far out, Ronaldo controlled the ball to the side of him and had virtually the whole net to shoot in with space in front of him T-up his shot, but he took it too early and it wasn't even on target, a good chance wasted. Another instance, Real counter attacked, Ronaldo made a surging run from the half way line, with 4 Sociedad players in front of him and Beckham to his right where he was in so much space, but Ronaldo used Becks as a decoy and continued running into the defence, he went passed 3 defenders and was 5 yards away from goal, only to pull of a very disappointing shot which was no where near on target. Maybe he should have passed it to Beckham who could have used the space to score.

The Sociedad goal came on the 72nd minuted which was similar to that of Ronaldo's but was even more spectacular, he hit it with such power and precision, the ball hit the left post and zoomed to the other side of the net to finally go in the net. A terrific goal. Real had to score and Figo who had a disappointing game was substituted for Owen. Unfortunately, Owen could not make a difference. A security person called the referee on the 87th minuted, told him there was a bomb scare who then told all the players to get off the pitch and out of the stadium. There was quite some panic and the fans all went for the nearest exit and the whole pitch was full of shocked fans.

Anyway, a really good game for the team, especially for Beckham and Guti who made some good attacking plays. Zidane and Figo were not as their regular selves, and Ronaldo had as many highs as he did lows. 1-1, a disappointing scoreline, made worse with the stupid hoax of a bomb scare.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40623000/jpg/_40623571_bernabeu203.jpg


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40623000/jpg/_40623575_crowdbernabeu203.jpg

[icy55]

hey! why did the coach substituted figo! i thought he was at least doing better than the rest!

[Leon of Silvren]

Nah Figo was playing very badly, it was a good substitution, Becks played a great match, and along with Guti were the bests of the match. Good goal by Ronnie but he wasted a few clear chances.

In general terms it was an average to good game, maybe a 7.5

[lallan]

Nah Figo was playing very badly, it was a good substitution, Becks played a great match, and along with Guti were the bests of the match. Good goal by Ronnie but he wasted a few clear chances.

In general terms it was an average to good game, maybe a 7.5

it was 1 FRUSTRATING game, if we were winning by 3 or even 2 goals then the last minutes would have made a difference now on January 5th, only 7 minutes(the time remaining was 3 + stoppage time) will be played, it will be so difficult 2 come in & rt away try 2 score withing 7 or at most 10 minutes & 2 vital points would be lost and all because of our own mistakes, Ronaldo missed an open chance where the goalie wasnt even present!!!!!!!!! ITS FRUSTRATING :mad: :mad: :mad:

[lallan]

also whats with Garcia Remon saying they r aiming 4 9 points from their next 3 games and already they lost 2 points!!!!!!!!!!?????????

The team is very unstable, they score 5 & 6 then they cant score more than 1 at times..............

[Leon of Silvren]

Agreed, it was frustating seeing so many clear chances being wasted, and yes, we almost lost 2 points, and in home, because it'll be too damn hard to score within only 7 minutes.

[lallan]

Valencia has 2 stop Barca, this is it, if Barca wins 2day, they will go way ahead and wont face a good team 4 a while and I think we will lose the chance of winning the liga.......

[Leon of Silvren]

Well it wasn't a great match by our side, but we had something that has been haunting us from the beggining of this crisis: luck.

Racing had many chances to score and we had a few yet we were more accurate, all our goals came from crosses, which says a lot about the ground game: it was null. Figo and Zidane were invisible, I even give better score to Javi than to those two, Owen was good and Raul as always hard worker -yet without results-

Few things to point: Becks and R.Carlos were on the bench and stayed there even when the game was going ill for us. Morientes came at the 80' minute! That leaves me with two conclusions: Remon is an idiot, and Remon is a retard. And the last thing is we DO need Ronaldo upfront.

[Leon of Silvren]

Ah and almost forgot! Barca received their Christmas present early: a PK.

[lallan]

Ah and almost forgot! Barca received their Christmas present early: a PK.

yes a gift indeed.........still they lost 2 points, valencia ROCKS, they love 2 play at Nou Camp

[icy55]

is valencia ahead of real? i think so yeah?

[zenden9]

Real is EXTREMELY lucky to win against Racing! Owen who play so badly can also score a goal! Finally,lady luck has call upon on Real. Again Samuel is terrible in defence so as the other defender!

[Lance Knight]

Clash of giants ends in draw allowing Real to gain ground on 1st place Barca

Barca snatch point as Real win late


MADRID, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Real Madrid rekindled their hopes of challenging for the Primera Liga title with a 3-2 defeat of Santander on Saturday, before leaders Barcelona conceded home points in a 1-1 draw with Valencia.
Valencia came out strongly in the game, which brought four-match winning streaks to an end for both teams, but were soon hemmed back by Barcelona.


The hosts played their swiftest and most skilful football and Valencia spent much of the first half fending off attacks.

Barcelona were unable to convert their elegant football into goals however and Valencia, returning after the break with a far more aggressive game, were the first to find the net when Stefano Fiore powered in the ball in the 63rd minute.

An already nervous Barcelona were further undermined when Goalkeeper Victor Valdes was sent off 10 minutes later for handling outside the area.

But despite being a man down, Barcelona equalised with a controversial penalty from Ronaldinho in the 79th minute after the Brazilian went down in the area between two defenders.

Canizares dived left as Ronaldinho slotted the ball to his right.

Real also spent much of their match playing catch up, with goals from Michael Owen and Raul putting them back in the game when Racing twice pulled ahead before a last-gasp goal from Zidane in injury time clinched the win.

Creative Israel international Yossi Benayoun, linchpin of the Racing attack, set the pattern when he sent a header soaring over Iker Casillas in the 24th minute.

Michael Owen, relishing an unaccustomed place in the starting line-up, seized his chance to pull the two sides equal with a header after 35 minutes.

But six minutes after the break Javi Guerrero slotted in a pass from Benayoun that found him alone in the area, putting the visitors behind again.

Raul levelled the score 10 minutes later when he knocked a header from Walter Samuel over the line and the game looked to be ending in a draw as both sides struggled to find the net until Zidane sealed the victory.

Real moved to second place on 29 points but were still 10 points behind behind Barcelona, while Valencia moved to third also on 29.

[icy55]

hahaha! what say you? i say real madrid may just top the table after barca confidence may be shake... hahha how i wish this is happening now and real will win win and win!!! yay! (am i dreaming?)

[lallan]

Real is EXTREMELY lucky to win against Racing! Owen who play so badly can also score a goal! Finally,lady luck has call upon on Real. Again Samuel is terrible in defence so as the other defender!

Its about time we get some luck, Barca won so many games by "luck" alone, even their last game against Valencia the Ronaldinho penalty was a GIFT nothing else, they were lucky again, so whats wrong if Real gets some luck?

Ronaldo must be back against Sevilla or else it will be tough 2 win because Sevilla is not Racing.......

Becks & Roberto should start I think Remon wanted 2 give them rest 4 the Sevilla game because its this Wednesday

[lallan]

Guti & Raul r doubtul against Sevilla, unfortunately there is no replacement 4 Guti, Celades cant handle the defensive side well, thats why Winter signings r a MUST...

[Leon of Silvren]

Actually I don't worry that much about either, I consider Celades as a decent player, and Owen can replace Raul easily.

[lallan]

as usual Barca LUCKY again 2 win, they almost got out with a tie and boy it would have been great 4 Real, and now Real has 2 win against Sevilla & Real Sociedad(very tough this 1, only if they were as lucky as Barca I would have said they can win it easily).

Barca r lucky now the players will have a long rest, then they will be getting 2-3 players 2 boost their line up, so they might be back in form rt after the break...

[shado]

Ronaldo is not playing in this match.. Owen is taking his place

[icy55]

man!!! real madrid was playing sooo badly in this match.. i can only say that the only 3 people who were good or at least acceptable were casillas,owen and figo.. as for raul i hardly felt his presence

[ForcaMadrid]

man!!! real madrid was playing sooo badly in this match.. i can only say that the only 3 people who were good or at least acceptable were casillas,owen and figo.. as for raul i hardly felt his presence
As a matter of fact it was only Casillas and Owen. I don't think Figo played that well.

they tore us apart with very fast strikers. i have said in a thread about woody that we need a very fast CB. If you have noticed, REAL's main problem in defense is when they are faced with fast players, like Eto, Baptista, etc

[Rickster]

i felt that the main problem was they were ball watchin and not watchin their man. especially in those occasions when sevilla attacked down that right flank. real madrid juz ball watched. if they actually followed their man it would be harder for sevilla to get the ball in those good positions. i tink that happened mainly with guti n helguera. helguera i tink play horrible. when he wanted to go for a challenge he dint get there n he left his man, therefore samuel cudnt get there cos he was slow. helguera has bad decision making.
i tink the commentator was right, real madrid dunt play as a team. salgado is always dribblin too much aswell as figo. they had chances when they cud cross the ball but they wanted to dribble it further. i tink real madrid is gettin too arrogant. they tink juz cos they hav a team of galacticos they dunt hav to try. but if they relly tried they can win tings. juz like tat CL game against roma. the last game tat determines whether they go through. i tink they relly tried in tat game cos it was CL.

[shado]

Time to change the Coach and coaching staff......

Real need for a change in defence......

Really disappointed with the way Real is playing these days..... :mad:

[Ify]

What a disappointing match. Real were awful. They had so much possession but couldn't do anything with it. Sevilla usd their possession wisely. The score could have been 5-0 but Casillas for like the millionth time was the Real Madrid saviour. Thank God for Casillas, the true Gallactico. Everyone in Real were awful except Casillas and Owen. So what a nice move it was from Remon to substitute Owen for Solari, now I knew the match was surely lost. Ronaldo came on for Beckham who despite making 3-4 good plays played very poorly, giving away ball possession very easily. Figo wasn't his normal self, but that's because everytime he touched the ball there were 3 Sevilla men on him. It was like this for most of the Real players. It was a tactic Sevilla used which worked well, given how much possession Rela had, they couldn't do anything with it because of the tight marking by Sevilla.

Guti played some great football in the first half, but had his fair share of mis placed passes and poor mistakes. Zidane, who is known for his excellent first touch, didn't show it on the pitch. He miscontrolled almost every ball that came to him, which was VERY unusual. Sevilla's goal came when Baptista ran straight through the centre of defence, Samuel couldn't catch up with him and he cooly finished it. The goal came from nothing really, a goal kick, the ball was then headed on and then Baptista made it history. Solari didn't make a difference when he came on despite a couple of soaring runs on the left flank. Everyones crossing was atrocious (except Beckham's). Real harldy ever took a shot, and then when a chance came for Owen from a defensive error during the first half, he just lightly tapped it in and it went straight to the keeper, a very poor shot. Figo had a chance to equalise when the ball came to him from about 22 yards out but it was such a terrible kick the ball went off not even for a corner but a throw in, it was ridiculous. Casillas made one mistake which almost cost him but it was due to the very poor condition of the pitch. The ball came rolling to him, he tried to kick it but missed the ball and it almost went in his own net. Apart from that blunder, Casillas was our best man.

I hope to God Real change after Christmas, I hope they buy a DF or just do something because they are going downhill

[Lance Knight]

i am gettin fed up with thier lossing all the time. also ronaldo goal wasnt F#%$ing offside

[Leon of Silvren]

The match was badly played, and Ronaldo wasn't in offside, the referee called the offside to Raul, which is stupid, because he didn't take part on the play.

Figo was fine, Owen was very eager to show he should be starter -and he should be- hence he played very well, I can say he was the man of the match for our side, Casillas, as always was superb -except for a couple of mistakes- and the rest of the team played horible.

I think that the defense has two problems: 1-R.Carlos is the only fast player, so the defense lacks speed, that's why fast players beats it so easily. 2-They don't watch each other's backs, they don't make covers, they don't play the offside trap...it looks like an amateur defense!

Anyway, Sevilla played far better than us and they deserved the 3 points, now Barca is getting away and we're keeping sliping, I just hope that these 2 weeks of rest can change certain things.

[Ify]

A Zinedine Zidane penalty gave Real Madrid an incredible 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad in a frantic seven-minute mini-match at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

The French midfielder scored the crucial goal after Ronaldo had been brought down in the area four minutes into a game that had to be completed 24 days after the original fixture was abandoned because of a bomb scare.

The result means that Real Madrid move up into third place in the table, level on points with second-placed Valencia and 10 adrift of league leaders Barcelona.

The game marked a wonderful debut for Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who was appointed as Real coach after the club unexpectedly sacked his predecessor Mariano Garcia Remon last week.

Brazilian Luxemburgo must be one of the few coaches in footballing history to take charge of a team mid-way through a match and guide them to a morale-boosting victory.

The second round of the game began with a goal kick for Sociedad but they quickly lost control of the ball and it was Real, roared on by 15,000 fans who had been given free access to the stadium, who piled on the pressure.

Striker Fernando Morientes, given a rare start ahead of England's Michael Owen, had a couple of half chances in the first two minutes, but it was a hopeful hoof forward from midfielder Guti that helped decide the game.

Ronaldo managed to control the ball, raced into the area, produced two quickfire step-overs and was brought down by full back Mikel Labaka.

Referee Vicente Lizondo Cortes had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Zidane sent keeper Asier Riesgo the wrong way to score the winner.

Source: http://www.realmadrid.dk/news/article/default.asp?newsid=5795

[7becks7]

I think this win could be a tremendous boost to their morale, with the new coach, and the new year, hopefully they can start playing like the great real madrid that we know

[Leon of Silvren]

It certainly is a huge morale boost, they scored within 2 minutes and didn't let Sociedad breath, it was a very clever match planned by Luxemburgo, and a great interpretation by the players on the field.

Now we're looking forward to 'El Clasico', there has been plenty of controversy for the game, but I'm confident we're gonna come out with a good result from El Calderon.

[Rickster]

i tink rite now real madrid shudnt be over expecting victories. they need to concentrate and play hard. try their best n play their best. not play average becos you have superstars surrounded by u.

they should concentrate on gettin 2nd place in the la liga
try their best in the CL even if they dont get very far
win the spanish cup

[lallan]

The matchup is going 2 be tough but I have a feeling Real will come out with a win...........

[lallan]

What a risky 4mation by luxembergo??????? And was he talking 2 sacchi over the phone? He put becks & solari as cm!!!!!!!!!!!!!! something I didn’t even think about, but I didn’t know guti wasn’t going 2 play……

They didn’t play that well but oh well, 3 points r more important 4 now..

Ronaldo's "extensive" training is doing him good, he is getting back into shape and played really well........

Casillas as usual was THE MAN 4 the team, so many 100% sure goals he saved & 1 Torres missed by himself.........

[lallan]

not 2 4get Ronaldo was actually defending & did a good job, and he defended more than Raul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ify]

It was an interesting match with Athletico dominating in terms of chances. They had loads of chances but couldn't capitalise and it was costly for them. Real on the other hand had 3 shots on target and 3 goals, the difference clearly shows who the quality side were. The first few minutes were full of Real Madrid errors and it could easily have been 3-0 to Athletico after 5 minutes. Ronaldo scored a great 2nd goal, putting it through the keepers legs. Solari also scored a good goal from what seemed like a tight angle. Casillas was the star man making some of the greatest saves I've ever seen, I have no doubt now he is the best keeper in Europe and possibly the world. Zidane had an off day and his only good contribution was for Ronaldo's second goal. He also completely mis-qued his hit when Roberto Carlos crossed the ball in but lucky for Real, Ronaldo was there to blast in the first goal. Beckham also played horribly, and gave the ball away on a couple of occasions. I don't know whether to be happy about Real's performance though as they played very badly but still got 3 goals and the 3 points.

[Highway Penguin]

What did you think about Arbeloa?

[Rickster]

dissapointing game i tink. at. madrid had full of youngsters and they managed to control the game. eventhough we won it had no sense of ball possession. can any1 show me the formation they played? i didnt see the start of it.

we juz showed quality finishing thats all. but i tink its the midfield thats having problems. maybe not the attacking mids but defensive mids. y i say that is because at. madrid managed to control the game. arbeloa, what position did he play? i dunt tink he did that bad.

great passes from zidane and raul to create all the goals. for some reason i tink raul is gettin slower than he used to be. he needs sprinting training.

first game with luxemburgo especially in a derby was pretty good. but needs improving in the defensive mids.


i wonder what he was saying to sacchi

[lallan]

yep alot of work still needs 2 be done, just by winning 2 games in a row doesnt mean they dont need a DM a sub LB & a winger.......

surprisingly I must say Pavon played well some shots were going right in2 the goal but he deflected them right on time, but ofcourse they still need a CB(if woodgate doesnt return by feb then its a must).......

7 points is not a huge gap but I hope the 1st round ends with them closer, i hope barca atleast gets a draw against sociedad & real beats zaragoza(tough tough game believe me) then the gap would be 5 points.

[icy55]

real madrid is getting lucky, while barca not so.. so hope that we would catch up with barca.

[Rickster]

alot to do with the defensive mids. cos they are the ones to cover for the CB and to bring the ball to attack 3rd. i tink even though solari plays DMC he moves into left wing and zidane has a more central role, so does becks. he moves to the right wing. juz wat i saw.

gues luxemburgo brought in his brazilian tactics. attack... attack attack attack.. attack blizt

[Balmung]

Solari has defensive qualities as he played left back before and he is a good attacker.

We will see if Luxemburg's tactics really works in the next few matches. It's still too early to tell. The Atlelico match was quite unconvincing possession wise.

[Rickster]

*applause*
very good game from madrid. the formation proved well. im very proud of the new formation. luxemburgo has a good mind. when he first came in he dint want to tamper wif the formation n let it run until the break cos he was unfamiliar with the system the squad n the players. n now hes changed it and it has proved wat i sed earlier.

now wif the new formation, look, raul scored bcos he is pushed further up. the whole squad looked great. only the first half the madrid players were bit ball greedy n needed to pass. but afta that they were great. helguera let in a sloppy goal.

everyone was happy, especially luxemburgo who kept explaining his tactics to atleast 5 other players. LOL.

i think the main man was beckham. he has taken alot of critism but he played very good. he spread out the play very well and made many great tackles fro,m the attacking 3rd which made opportunities. he was by far the man of the match. he showed alot of commitment to chase balls. and his passing was fantastic. becks keep up the good work.

everyone played well, all the strikers the midfield, zidane n figo, figo shudnt have looked so unhappy when he was brought off, cos he played well.

very good game. i think by far the best this season eventhough they dint score 6 goals or anything.

BTW rauls goals was very good as well as owen

[lallan]

Figo was man of the match IMO.

Figo has to learn that the season is 2 long and he is not that young, if the team is winning and there r good players on the bench, him coming out isnt a bad thing, infact its good 4 him 2 perform on the same level till the end of the season, then there is also champions league and the glas of the king.

Zidane is getting his game back, throughout the game he was all over the pitch...The whole team is playing better and as usual Casillas saved 1 sure shot goal

[Balmung]

I don't think Figo was unhappy. He congratulated Gravesen for his debut instead. Figo is a professional and he knows how to handle his emotions.

As for the game, it is a good result. Although one of our goals was contraversial (the one which Ronaldo headed in), it is a good result performance-wised.
It is good to see Raul score...not that he can't score, it's just that he plays deep in his own half but now he is more forward.

Good job for Owen as well. :thumbsup:

[Ify]

Well I gotta say, Real played very well indeed. But I hope it actually lasts this time. They always have like a 3-game role where they play brilliantly and the rest of the time they don't play as well.

Real started with some good attacking play. There was a chance early on where Zidane dribbled along the left flank, he lost his footing, fell down, but got up again and whipped in an excellent ball into the box which was heading straight towards Ronaldo who was only like a foot away from the goal line, who headed the ball in a totally different direction. A dissapointing finish, but it was sign for better things to come. Casillas hardly had to do anything which meant Real's defence was working. Real had most of the posession in the first half and that goal from a Helguera mistake was quite shocking. Fortunately, Real recovered with a goal just before half time from Raul, it was a beautiful goal nonetheless.

The second half was much like the first. A lot of attacking play. Beckham was really on the offensive and he made some great tackles afterwhich Real could break. Beckham also made some pin point long range passes and fed the forwards well. Zidane wasn't having a good game, apart from a few plays his only major contribution was a goal that never was. The freekick was taken quickly, the ball came to Zidane who then fired it but it was wrongly disallowed for offside. Real would get later get their worth when a goal was given to them which was actually offside, A Ronaldo header nonetheless. Casillas made a world class save, when the Zaragoza player shot toward goal, which saw the ball curl from left to right and dip, there was so much movement and power on the ball, I couldn't believe Casillas saved it. Owen came on for Ronaldo who looked very lively. One instance, Beckham headed a ball towards owen, who then ran towards the keeper, when in the box, there was a defender either side of him and a keeper in the middle, but somehow he managed to get a shot in, it curled along the groundand went in the bottom right corner, a breathtaking goal. Gravesen came on for Figo who didn't seem too pleased, and eager to impress he went in for any tackles he could. He was a bit rough and conceeded a freekick just after he came on. He played well though and showed some good defensive as well as offensive midfield qualities. Real were 3-1 up and they were on form and they knew it. Their body language said everything, they were more confident and kept the ball so well with some very accurate passing. I would say Raul was the man on the match but it was a tough decision to make with Beckham and Roberto Carlos playing brilliantly. He got his 4th goal and made some good passes in the game, good for him!

[Rickster]

Figo looked unhappy.

As for Becks, he should have een man of match. he truly deserves it after so much critism. his passing was sensational and his tackling in the midfiled was good. truly commited

the only thing that was wrong about the tactics were the whole midfiled looked like they were playing a very free role. solari zidane figo becks were everywhere on the pitch. but other than that luxemburgo n the whole team were happy with the tacitcs. but i hope with harder oppositions they shouldn't be so "free role".

[Ify]

Well Real Madrid played brilliantly again against Athletico Madrid, 3-1 the score.

The first half was all about Real from kick off. They dominated, and had the majority of possession. Everybody played well. Graveson is really adapting to the team and he did a good job as the anchor-man. Beckham was playing on the right, and he whipped in cross after cross after cross. Figo and Carlos kept putting in crosses, but the only thing Real lacked was an end product as neither Raul or Ronaldo were good in the air. The first goal came when Roberto Carlos was kicked above his waist inside the box. Figo converted the penalty with an excellent placement in the top right corner. Athletico only had once shot in the first half which came right before half time, from a freekick. Unfortunately Casillas failed to set up the wall correctly, Campano saw the mistake and aimed his freekick to the right of the wall whizzing past the left of Casillas who ended up just diving into his own net. 1-1 at half time.

The second half was also all about Real. Again they had most of the possession and almost all of the chances. There were crosses after crosses, and corners after corners. But again, they failed to capitalise. Iuliano was sent off on the 65th minute for 2 yellows. The second goal came when after like 15 corners, Beckham decided to do something different, he passed to Figo, who then passed it forward to Beckham who was in the box, he picked out Zidane, who failed to take the shot in his stride, the ball fell kindly to Samuel who then toe-poked it in, in the 79th minute. Guti came on for Salgado and Owen came on for Graveson. Guti played brilliantly and did his defensive duty very well. Ronaldo was subsituted for Solari, and he wasn't very happy about it. He said a few words before he went into the tunnel, and inside the tunnel it showed him throw the jacket he was given across the tunnel. There were a few more chances, but the 3rd goal came when Solari spectacularly hit the ball from just inside the box after taking it on his favourite left foot, it curled all the way into the top left corner. 3-1 to Real and they had surely won.

A brilliant performance from everyone, despite the very poor condition of the pitch. Beckham is back on form, Graveson was quite Makelele-type, Figo was mesmerising, Zidane had a few slip ups but had a good game, and Carlos and Salgado did good at coming forward. Raul was a bit iffy today, a few chances came to him but he wasn't very confident in his finishes. I hope Real can carry on playing as they are.

[lallan]

They played brilliantly indeed but need 2 score more easily, they almost had a draw with mallorca and werent able 2 score but their game changed 2 the better and becks is playing so well, figo was great and zidane had some mesmerizing moments, gravesen is a good newcomer, the coach started with a good way, not a typical formation but becks was more in2 the right, figo was left 2 roam around and zidane also was not playing on the left 4 the entire game........

lets hope barca slips up next week and we must win

[RonaldoD08]

I didn't see the came but I checked the stats online and it seams like everyone is getting to their best form. Ronaldo played better too. He worked hard. He had so many shots on goal and assists. Maybe because he was playing against Cuper or maybe because Luxemburgo is really doing a good job.

[Rickster]

another brilliant game. becks yet again should be man of the match. he fully deserves it. he still does good tackles in the attackign third and his passing is sensational. he switches play back and forth and side to side. i dont see why we should sell him

this formation looks brilliant. even solari should stay. he scored a cracking goal.when we played the last time with soalri in the middle it wasnt too bad too.

mallroca just defended alot thats why eventhough we played relly well we dint score as early and as many as we should have been able too.

basically the 2 players that played the show was becks and zidane.

raul had another stinker. he is so inconsistent. he scores and has a great game then he doesnt do it again. mayb he needs the bench to get rejuvenated and so that he can work his ass off to get a place, which will reap rewards for him. he definately has talent. but theres sumtin not rite at the moment. he was like owen in liverpool, cos owen wud get first team eventhough he was partially injured. and he dint play at his best.. raul needs to get some bench and work out his form. then come on 2 games later.


i have to repeat beckham was sensational

ronaldo looked unhappy... isit bcos he dint get to finish the game? i think luxemburgo has to go n tok to ronaldo and tell him y he made that move. in person. mayb luxemburgo should have taken raul off n rest him.

[lallan]

Becks & Zidane were the men of the match 4 sure.

I think Raul should be rested & Owen should be given a chance 2 play alongside Ronaldo in the next game, Raul is not playing well & Owen is rightfully pissed off 4 not *ing being so consistent in scoring.

Luxembergo did the right think pulling out Ronaldo because they were winning and Ronaldo was being thrashed by defenders, he didnt want 2 risk Ronaldo's injury because he is after all the main striker of the team.....

I think the next game wont be ez, Numancia at home will give Real some trouble & just like the game against Atletico Madrid, scoring from rare chances is VITAL because numancia will be closed up in defense.

[lallan]

How About A Round Of Applause 4 Samuel Who Played The Entire Match With A Fractured Nose And Not Only That He Went Up Front And Scored The Goal When No One Was Able To And That Goal Gave Us Victory.........

[Rickster]

btw the commentator was saying sumtin bout luliano n ronaldo n ronaldo had his revenge. wat r they goin on about? did luliano break his knee or sumtin in the serie A?

[Balmung]

And what is this about Ronaldo throwing jacklets at the tunnel. It's very unlike him.

[ForcaMadrid]

btw the commentator was saying sumtin bout luliano n ronaldo n ronaldo had his revenge. wat r they goin on about? did luliano break his knee or sumtin in the serie A?
i think the story is like this:
Juliano tackled Ronaldo inside the penallty area but it was not given. while inter players were protesting to the referee, Juve kept playing and in the same action the penalty was given to Juve. Juve won and that win determined the championship title in italy.

Maybe i am wrong, and btw, really who broke Ronaldo's knee?

[RonaldoD08]

i
Maybe i am wrong, and btw, really who broke Ronaldo's knee?

I thought he was injured before going to italy once.

[Ify]

And what is this about Ronaldo throwing jacklets at the tunnel. It's very unlike him.

Well believe it. It showed it on TV, after he got substituted, he got really angry. Someone handed him a jacket, and before he went into the tunnel (to go to the changing room I presume) he said a few (probably unkindly) words to Luxemburgo. It then showed him inside the actual tunnel (they had previously showed the player that got sent off walking through the tunnel) and he just flung the jacket across the tunnel and walked off into the distance.

[Rickster]

yea so is there any news about why he did that?

no ronaldo got injured during intermilan stay... but i relly duno who did it

[Leon of Silvren]

I think he wanted to perform right, and score at least one goal, after the whole thing with Coper.....

[Rickster]

whoes coper? and what whole thing wit coper?

[Leon of Silvren]

Coper, the ex-coach of Inter. The whole thing was that Coper said Ronaldo used him to quit Inter and land in Real, silly thing but they were into controversy for over a week.

[ForcaMadrid]

no ronaldo got injured during intermilan stay... but i relly duno who did it[/QUOTE]

It is not completely correct. That was for the second time, which was very serious indeed. but before that he was already injured, had an operation in the knee, and Inter - Milan game was his first debut after a very long time. In that game he broke the knee by himself, trying to do one of his usual plays with his legs and the knee "cup" (if english is correct) got broken. I was watching the game, and beleive me it broke m heart seeing Ronaldo under that terrible pain.The media accused the Inter doctors for trying to bring him to fast back into palying.

Someone had already broken his knee before that. I don't know who and how though

[Rickster]

ohh rite

[Leon of Silvren]

Ok lads, to the game!

I think the match will be easy, in the way Real is playing the last few days we will be able to ran over Numancia -despite of the low temperature-, but the team must not be overconfident.

The official convocatory has not been published, so is there any absents?? I think no....

[Lance Knight]

ronnie can up his count hopefully in this game scoring 4 or 5 goals,lol

[Rickster]

i hope raul scores 2 or 3 goals. jus to build up his confidence. this kinda game, lux shud put raul in the starting lineup to build up his confidence. plus i hope ronaldo scores too jus to beat eto in the goalscorer tb.

i heard solari signed a new contract,,, or it was in talks to sign a new contract wit madrid

this game hopefully they put solari zidane becks n figo in midfield so they can keep attacking...

n i bet numancia will heavily defend in the middle and leave the wings open just like malorca did.. cos madrid first of all, dunt have people who can finish in the air in open play, second their crosses werent superb

[Boko]

ronaldo will be on his way to brazil due to "familly illness" and he'll miss the match

[Rickster]

time for owen n raul.... i dunt tink owen likes raul for some reason

comeon raul!

[lallan]

It wont be ez 2 win at all, especially if the weather is 2 cold, they need 2 score from any chance they get 2 be on the safe side, and if Ronaldo doesnt play it wont be ez 2 score at all..........

[Balmung]

time for owen n raul.... i dunt tink owen likes raul for some reason

comeon raul!

Doesn't matter. Hate or love, both of them are proffesionals and will perform as proffesionals in the field. I have seen Raul feeding Owen with goals a couple of times.

[Leon of Silvren]

Yeah true, they're professionals.....

Recently Lux said he'll 'change the tactic' due to the chilling temperatures and the condition of the field. I really am glad that Ronaldo will miss this match, not because of the reason because I'm really sorry for what happened to his uncle (I think is his uncle), but because Ronnie won't play at 100% on that field, he's always afraid of getting injured again -I don't really blame him, he had 2 terrible experiences, and that fear will be increased because of the condition of the field.

Also I'm glad Ronnie missing the match because we'll have the chance to see Owen as starter on a real match -not dissing the cup matches.....and I'm sure Portillo will also see action.

[Leon of Silvren]

The game will be on Sunday 1255 eastern time.

Convocatory:
# Porteros: Casillas y César.
# Defensas: Salgado, Roberto Carlos, Helguera, Raúl Bravo, Samuel, Pavón y MejÃ*a.
# Centrocampistas: Zidane, Figo, Guti, Gravesen, Celades, Solari y Beckham.
# Delanteros: Raúl, Owen y Portillo.
# Fuera de la lista: Ronaldo (con permiso del Club por motivos familiares), Woodgate (lesionado) y Borja

Posibble formation:

--------------Casillas

Salgado---Samuel---Helguera---Carlos

---------------Gravesen
----Beckham---------------Figo
---------------Zidane

--------Owen----------Raul

[Highway Penguin]

I'd like to see..


Casillas
Salgado - Helguera - Samuel - Carlos
Gravesen
Figo - Zizou - Solari
Raul - Owen

[Leon of Silvren]

Yeh I would also like to see Solari on the starter XI, but I have to keep it real while making the posibble formation.

[Highway Penguin]

Ya, I suppose that you are right.
And it is logical that Becks would get the start.

[Leon of Silvren]

Well actually is logical that Solari would get the start, but because this is Real Madrid Becks will probably get the spot.

[Highway Penguin]

It's logical that Perez would pick Becks over Solari, his shirt seller over his great left-winger. :)

[Leon of Silvren]

Don't get me wrong, I think Becks is a great player, but currently Solari and Figo are in better shape, so it's logical that they get the spot instead of him.

[Highway Penguin]

Does Figo play as well on the Right as the Left?

[Lance Knight]

yea in fact figo could play anywhere i supposed, well 4 sure not as a GK lol

[lallan]

the referee(s) handed barca the victory over sevilla when sevilla were denied 2 100% sure penalties in the 1st half..............talk about luck, now barca is getting closer & closer 2 winning the liga and Real must not lose any points against numancia 2day, a very tough match, i cant believe any1 would say its an ez game, without ronaldo with a very bad weather + an away game + against a team desperate not 2 go in the 2nd division, its a TOUGH game

[Rickster]

in this game i would rather have solari n becks n zidane in the attackin mids... cos i heard the ground was hard n frosty, so the main thing to do is pass the ball around... figo dribbles loads, which he might slip

i wonder y you put samuel as RCB leon of silvren. hes left footed. only reason i can tink is, roberto carlos runs up too much n samuel cant cover that spot when roby has gone up cos samuel is slow n hes tall which he shud stick too the middle.

[RonaldoD08]

I guess Becks proved all you wrong today...

[RonaldoD08]

And sorry I forgot to mention the other man of the match:Gravesen.

[Highway Penguin]

I heard that Becks played horribly.
Man Of The Match had to have been Salgado or Ikerman as always.

Becks lost possesion and couldn't pass today, from what I heard.

[Rickster]

i tink it wud have been iker

becks played awite. he lost the ball couple times. then wif the cracking goal

[Highway Penguin]

M, that's what I heard.
Becks; Goal:
http://www.as.com/futbol/imagenes/capturas/2005/enero/30/40.jpg

Salgado's Goal:
http://www.as.com/futbol/imagenes/capturas/2005/enero/30/42.jpg

Miguel's Goal:
http://www.as.com/futbol/imagenes/capturas/2005/enero/30/44.jpg

[Rickster]

omg,,, im so pissed off. i dint even get to see the whole game... some ppl juz came in n they turned the channel to watch 24, dint even ask me. i only saw the becks goal which was gud... i tink after salgado scored hes prob man of match, he defended properly n he attacked relly well. to moved forward nicely


becks is definately doing relly well, i relly want him to stay at the santiago. he practiced relly hard, n they sed in his own time he practiced for an hr jus freekicks. no pain no gain

its relly lucky we won. i tink samuel n helguera is just relly bad defenders, i tought highly of samuel aty first but after seeing him for half a season, hes no that good. it cud be the whole defense as a unit but samuel isnt worldclass as i thought


raul yet again... dissapointing. he had chances to put the ball in the net, but now hes outa form. there were balls delivered to him in the penalty box, but he dint convert. hes very inconsistent.

[lallan]

referee(s) were hell bent on making numancia win or atleast real not score, they gave a controvertial penalty, they didnt give almost 3-4 clear cut corner kicks 4 real, etc etc but still we won..........

i wouldnt blame becks 4 losing posession as every1 did because of the weather and pitch conditions, still they controlled the entire game something they were not able 2 do in the beginning of the season, infact against numancia at home they didnt have as much posession as they did yesterday.

[Balmung]

Casilas the man. He's without a doubt one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He saved that penalty with 1 hand and with style. You don't see that at all. Usually goalkeepers punches or pushes the ball away. That save actually was a major factor in the game as well.

[Lance Knight]

yea lookout barca we coming

[RonaldoD08]

yea lookout barca we coming

Yeah we should hope for someone to stop them at least twice and then take matter in our hands. Villareal and Valencia would be two good choices.

[Rickster]

real betis too... they beat them the last game

[Leon of Silvren]

Match against Numancia was very interesting to watch, first Raul is going too behind to pick up balls, he needs to leave that to Zizou or Figo or Becks.
Owen can't play without someone by his side.
Beckham is improving his game.
Figo and Zidane are having troubles.
Helguera was terrible, making the PK (IMO fair) and loosing the jump to Miguel in the goal.
Guti is recovered, I saw him eager to show he's worth of a minutes.
Gravesen is slowly adapting, but he still needs more time.
The team has to improve the finishing. Two clear chances were blew away, one by Guti and the other by Portillo, it would've ended the game without the worries at the end. (thanks again Iker!!)
Salgado was awesome, the goal was a great and there was one play where he passed through 3-4 defenders....who knows what he eated early....:silly:

From 1 to 10 I'll rate the team as 7.5.
Man of the match: Salgado or Casillas.

[Leon of Silvren]

referee(s) were hell bent on making numancia win or atleast real not score, they gave a controvertial penalty, they didnt give almost 3-4 clear cut corner kicks 4 real, etc etc but still we won..........

i wouldnt blame becks 4 losing posession as every1 did because of the weather and pitch conditions, still they controlled the entire game something they were not able 2 do in the beginning of the season, infact against numancia at home they didnt have as much posession as they did yesterday.
True, the pitch was in a very poor condition, maybe for tv it couldn't be seen, but all players said so, and Casillas even said that 'those games can't be played like in a field like that....you can hurt yourself'

And I forgot to mention Casillas' great saves, the PK and the last two plays of the game....

How about from now on everyone posts a rating for the team and the player of the game, then we could extract a common opinion.

[lallan]

Espanyol a stubborn team, I hope Real dominates the game and wins, and hoping Atletico will manage a draw at Nou Camp which is very tough..

Ronaldo will be there hopefully

[Lance Knight]

conspiracy they say to mak barca go clear by cheating against sevilla and real, what u say?

[lallan]

conspiracy they say to mak barca go clear by cheating against sevilla and real, what u say?

it might be, even in the replay of belletti clearly touching the ball with his hand the ref was standing right infront, he saw the whole thing so clearly yet he ignored, then later antonito was clearly pushed by deco(ronaldinho against valencia managed 2 get a penalty from a similar situation, infact ronaldinho dived there yet he was given a penalty), that just crushed sevilla who dominated the 1st half, later when barca scored they just couldnt keep up.

then in real vs numancia, the ref was clearly against real, the penalty was so weird and on top of it he gave helguera a yellow card, which i think was clearly undeserved. then later so many corner kicks were given goal kicks against real, the ref made one mistake when he gave real the only free kick and becks scored or else it was destined 2 be a draw or numancia winning by a late goal........

no matter what though, if the team scores from clear chances(like owen missing when the ball came back hitting the woodword) no ref can stop a team from winning, real has to score from the open chances they get.......

[lallan]

disagree leon about figo & zidane having troubles, the pitch doesnt favor skillful players and thats why figo & zidane couldnt do that well but still Figo had 2 very good shots at goal 1 touched the woodword & the other was deflected from the goalie & was given a goal kick(as was the case throughout the match).

[RonaldoD08]

Owen can't play without someone by his side.


Well at least you now know what he can really do.

[RonaldoD08]

better keep him for the last 5 mins or maybe none at all.

[RonaldoD08]

let's hope this time that our madrid neighbors help us a little bit.

Ronaldo is back training and on wednesday he will join the team.

[RonaldoD08]

let's also hope that he got some inspiration in Brazil...

[Rickster]

ya from the tv the pitch luked so green!! lol i thought wow numancia has got a pretty good pitch. betta than ours

helguera has made so many mistakes, doesnt seem worthy of a spot. samuel has been playing bad too.
n ya raulk has been goin back to pick up balls which is bad for a striker

[lallan]

Disagree, Samuel is improving & Helguera is needed, ofcourse he is not the best but is doing good, Real's defense this year has been good....

[Rickster]

itonly started improving after luxemburgo came in. when woodgate gets fit, n plays 4 or 5 matches , where is helguera gona go? as a sub?

[Leon of Silvren]

I don't know if Helguera is the right guy to play by Samuel's side, first of all that's not his natural position, and he's good, but he commits many mistakes, so I think that when Woodgate comes back he'll be the starter and Helguera will be relagated to the bench.

Everyone's dissing Samuel, but is very hard to play with a not-so-good defender by his side, specially when Samuel is not very pacey and was accustomed to be surrounded for quality defensive players (Zebina, Candela, Emerson, etc)

[Becks]

I think Samuel has done well this season. Not great, but well.

[RonaldoD08]

well the whole team has been having some problems. no one did great.

[Highway Penguin]

Predictions For Sunday?
Real 3-1 Espanyol
Owen, Zizou, Figo - Maxi

[Leon of Silvren]

Zidane is still in doubt, no one knows yet if he's gonna play. Lux practiced the following formation in today's training, and it will probably will be the formation of this saturday too if Zizou is not available by then.

------------Casillas

Salgado-Samuel-Helguera-R.Carlos

------------Gravesen
Beckham------------------Guti
--------------Figo

-------Raul--------Ronaldo

[Leon of Silvren]

Predictions For Sunday?
Real 3-1 Espanyol
Owen, Zizou, Figo - Maxi
I predict 3-0 for us, is about time we win clearly. Ronaldo, Raul, Owen.

[MADRIDCF8]

I think it'll be 2-0 and we'll dominate kinda like the mallorca game
Ronaldo Figo

[Rickster]

kinda weird figo in the middle

[MADRIDCF8]

lol what? uve never seen a midfielder score a goal?
look at our last 5 goals
Beckham, Salgado, Figo, Samuel, and Solari

[Highway Penguin]

Guti gets the start?
Wierd.
Why not Solari? Damn it.
I'd like to see this formation, what do you think?


Casillas
Salgado - Helguera - Samuel - Carlos
Gravesen
Figo - Guti - Solari
Owen - Ronnie
Do you think Guti could handle that?

[Leon of Silvren]

Solari has some problems with his knee, that means he can't play a full match, that's why Guti is considered to start.

And in your formation is missing Becks, very unlikely if you ask me.

[Highway Penguin]

Solari hurt his knee. For some reason I didn't know that. Hm.

Anyways. It all makes sense now. ;)

I'm not sure how confident I feel with Becks on the Right. He is out of his slump, atleast that's what I've heard, so maybe he should get the start.

PS, knowing that Solari is out your formation is quite logical. :)

[Leon of Silvren]

Yeh Becks is not on top form, but I think that's because he played so much as centremid that somewhat he forgot what it was like to play as right wing, but he'll get used to it again and hopefully he'll recover the game he had in Manchester.

[RonaldoD08]

well he started in the right way I should say. hopefully his ex-typical goals become typical once more.

[ForcaMadrid]

well the whole team has been having some problems. no one did great.
WRONG
Casillas did GREAT

[Rickster]

lol i know i see midfileders score goals, but normally figo plays down the flanks cos of his crossing pace n dribblin

abit weird to see guti on the flank, i thought guti wud play in the middle

beckham cud have easily been man of match 2 out of 4 consecutive games times hes played... hes playing good now... no reason to complain

[lallan]

4-0, what a win, and again Casillas saved some guaranteed goals, only if Ronaldo scored we would have won 6 or 7-0........

Zidane played wonderfully and its good the coach rested him because we need this player to be in this shape till the end of the season and its a long way there.......

next game is crucial as we visit osasuna who r hard to beat at home, and Figo is suspended(what an amazing game he had against espanyol)

[Nikodemus]

Beautiful!! 4 goals and not a single one to the own end. Great job Iker! Two for Raúl. Wheyhey!!
What makes his even better is that Espanyol is one of the top teams.

Now if Atlético could kick Barça... *fingers crossed*

[Rickster]

ohhh man i missed the game

[lallan]

[QUOTE=

Now if Atlético could kick Barça... *fingers crossed*[/QUOTE]

Well even a draw would be a huge favor 2 Real

[btha]

excelent game, casillas did great as always, game would've gone much diffrently if he hadn't saved very well in the first half

ronaldo was my only disapointment, he had 3 very good chances he should have scored from, or AT LEAST hit the damn goal! :o

i also think solari might be in for a place in the starting 11 soon if he keeps up playing this well when he's subbed in (but didn't we all think the same about owen though?)

[MADRIDCF8]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Barcelona jus lost 2-0 Fernando Torres scored both goals and now were only 4 points away

[Leon of Silvren]

I didn't see the match, I couldn't, but I saw the goals, Zidane's and Gravesen's were incredible, and Raul very opportunist, being there in the right time, in the right place, like a great striker.

How much do you guys rate the team and who's your man of the match??

[Leon of Silvren]

Oh and unlucky cule bastards.....they dominated the whole match, played a lot better but they just couldn't score the goal....(not even in a PK, pathetic....)

Now we are just 4 points away and getting closer and closer....I told you guys that Barca had to slip one of these days...they aren't unbeatable!

[Rickster]

man i missed it.... must been a gud ganme

[RonaldoD08]

We are back on track and Barca is getting off track. How can it be better than this?

[Boko]

And another penalty for Barca how meny they get in the season so far? Happy for us Ronaldinho missed it :) But they were accusing us of help from the refs :redeyes:

[lallan]

yes Barca slipped but they still r 4 points ahead, and as Luxemurgo said Real should focus more on winning than anything else because if Barca slips and we dont win, whats the use? As long as we keep winning it will definitely be good....

Next game is what we can call a real TEST 4 Real playing against Osasuna who r very tough 2 beat at home + the pressure of coming closer to Barca + winning the 7th game in a row!!!!!!!!! We will be without Figo, that is definitely a concern, I am guessing Guti will start the match.........

[icy55]

yeah.. i thnk solari will start in place of figo.. damn. the game without figo would be rather hard. i rather be without becks.. haha! figo is always the one who puts the opposition's defence at risk.. hmm.. guess i hope to have others playing at their 110%..