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Real Madrid defender Pepe said winning the league is still possible despite losing two games in the space of three days.

Los Blancos followed up their 4-3 defeat at home in the Clasico on Sunday with a 2-1 loss away at Sevilla last night, meaning they now lie three point behind leaders Atletico de Madrid, and two behind Barcelona.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men are fighting on three fronts still, with the Copa del Rey final on the horizon, and the quarter-finals of the Champions League to take place in April.

But speaking to reporters after the game, Portugal defender Pepe said the league was the bread and butter, and they need to get back to winning ways on Saturday.

“I’d like to congratulate Sevilla, we tried to win but couldn’t manage it. There are still matches left and it’s still possible. This has nothing to do with the Clásico. That’s football. We have to be ready to win Saturday’s match against Rayo,” he said.

And he added: “We are playing well, we applied pressure, but it’s the small things… We have to concentrate better at certain points and know how to read the game. Now we have no room for error. We have to fight knowing who is in the battle for the Liga, and knowing that there is no room for mistakes.”

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Real Madrid left-back Marcelo has apologised to the club’s fans after the 2-1 loss at Sevilla last night – the second in three days.

The defeat at the Sanchez Pizjuan leaves the nine-time European Cup winners playing a game of catch up in La Liga. Los Blancos now sit third in the table, two points behind Barcelona and three behind Atletico de Madrid with just seven games left of the campaign.

Speaking to journalists after the game, Marcelo said the team knows they have no room left for manoeuvre, but first, he wanted to say sorry for the performance in Andalucia.

He stated: “We created chances but we were unable to make the most of them, that’s football. But we would like to apologise to the Real Madrid fans, who always support us. We knew the end of the season is very difficult, with very important matches and we will keep on fighting.”

He went on to add that the players will continue to fight for the title and they are looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

“Now there are several matches that are like finals. Of course we players suffer psychologically but we cannot stop working hard and we are going to keep doing so to get Real Madrid to where it should be. It is difficult to win several matches in a row like we have. We have lost two matches and now everything is more difficult,” he commented.

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Up until their home defeat to Barcelona on Sunday night, Real Madrid hadn’t lost a match in any competition for five months.

Last night, they made it two defeats in three days after falling to a 2-1 loss away at Sevilla, putting a huge dent in their title aspirations. On a night when the Los Blancos defence was blown apart by Colombian striker Carlos Bacca, who scored both goals, Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid were busy ensuring wins for themselves, moving two and three points clear of Real respectively.

And the Madrid press this morning says Los Blancos have given away the title and handed over their privileged position at the top of the table. Both Marca and AS say the loss was down to the Real player’s ill-discipline and carelessness.

The papers pick up on many negative aspects of the evening, including Cristiano Ronaldo clearly venting his anger at summer signing Gareth Bale towards the end of the match for blasting a free kick over the bar.

Marca looks back at the last time Los Merengues’ lost two in a row. And you have to go as far back as the 2008/09 season for that. Following a 6-2 loss at home to Barcelona that all but ended their hopes of winning the league, the went on to lose four more on the spin – Valencia (3-0), Villarreal (3-2), Mallorca (1-3) and Osasuna (2-1).

Ancelotti has his work cut out now, and the players know that they can not afford to lose a single point more if they are to maintain their hopes of winning the league in May.

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Real Madrid took another step back in the title race as they lost their second consecutive match in La Liga for the first time since 2009. Sevilla were solid in defence and punished their rivals through Carlos Bacca’s fast counter-attacks.

The visitors lacked effectiveness in attack and they sit now third in the table, three points behind Atletico Madrid and two points behind Barcelona.

Los Blancos took the lead after 15 minutes as a free kick from Ronaldo deflected off the arm of Carlos Bacca and into the back of the net.

However, Sevilla took advantage from a mistake by Los Merengues to equalise five minutes later. Real were sloppy with the ball and the hosts broke with Jose Antonio Reyes sending a pass to Bacca. The Colombian was faster than Madrid’s defenders and poked a shot past Diego Lopez.

Carlo Ancelotti men took control of the game, but they were denied by Beto. The goalkeeper saved two shots from Ronaldo and a brilliant effort from Gareth Bale. Asier Illarramendi was also about to score as he was given space to shoot from 30 metres, but he thumped the ball into the side netting.

Los Blancos knew a draw was a poor result for them after having lost to Barcelona, and they had a wonderful chance as Luka Modric slid a pass towards Marcelo, who drove a cross towards Ronaldo, but Federico Fazio cleared the ball at the crucial moment.

Real struggled in the last metres and Sevilla punish them in a counter-attack. Ivan Rakitic dribbled past Pepe with an exquisite first touch and slid a pass into Bacca, who was again faster than the defenders and guided his effort into the back of the net.

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Real Madrid will look to bounce back from the controversial 4-3 defeat at home to Barcelona when they take on Sevilla tonight.

It won’t be an easy trip for Carlo Ancelotti’s men though, with a number of players missing through injury and suspension. And the Sanchez Pizjuan is never an easy place to go and pick up three points – indeed Real Madrid lost 1-0 there last season.

The hosts go into the game inn a good run of form, inbeaten in the last seven games and still on a high after knocking out local rivals Real Betis in the last-16 stage of the Europa League. Unai Emery’s side are also the fouth highest scoring outfit in the country – only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico de Madrid have scored more this season, so Los Blancos should be prepared for a busy night at the back.

For the visitors, it is a chance to get back on track, and Cristiano Ronaldo will be taking on one of his favourite teams. He’s scored 11 goals against Sevilla in just five games against them.

Xabi Alonso has been training with the side again, and Raphael Varane should be fit despite a slight knee problem. Definitely missing will be Angel di Maria, who is suspended having picked up a yellow card at the weekend against Barcelona. Sergio Ramos will miss out against his former side having been sent off against the Catalans.

Gareth Bale has had a few quiet games recently, and Ancelotti will be looking for him, Ronaldo and Benzema to have their shooting boots on and reproduce the form that saw Los Blancos stick seven past Sevilla earlier this season.

Probable line-ups
Sevilla: Beto ; Moreno, Navarro , Fazio, Coke ; Mbia, Iborra ; Vitolo, Rakitic , Marin ; Gameiro

Real Madrid: Lopez ; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo ; Modric, Alonso ; Ronaldo, Isco , Bale ; Benzema.

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Real Madrid head to Andalucia tonight to take on Sevilla as they look to get their La Liga campaign back on track.

And while fans will be happy if they nick a 1-0 and return to the Spanish capital with three points, games between these two tend to be full of goals. Last time out, the teams shared 10 goals between them, with Los Blancos winning 7-3 at the Santiago Bernabeu back in October.

Indeed, in the last six meetings between Sevilla and Real Madrid, there have been 35 goals. Los Blancos will need to be on the guard though, as they lost 1-0 in this fixture last season.

Both teams to score tonight is priced by bookies at 4/9, while a Madrid win and both teams to score is available at 6/4. Those interested in placing some money on the game will be keen to learn that combination has paid out four times in the last six meetings.

The hosts, the fourth highest scoring team in La Liga, are priced at 9/2 to to pick up the win tonight, while Carlo Ancelotti’s men are backed at 4/7 to emerge victorious in the south of Spain.  For that to happen, the Italian manager will be keen to see his front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale strike up their deadly combination again.

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Real Madrid need to move on after their defeat in El Clasico against Barcelona, and they’ll try to do it at the Sanchez Pizjuan as they visit Sevilla. Los Blancos have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this match. Nevertheless, statistics show that the Andalucians are one of the teams that Cristiano Ronaldo performs better against.

The Portuguese has scored a spectacular 15 goals in eight games against Sevilla. Out of them, he scored eight in five matches played at the Santiago Bernabeu, and seven in three clashes away at Sevilla.

Not only is Ronaldo used to scoring at the Sanchez Pizjuan, he also knows well how to humiliate their rivals at their own stadium. In the 2010-2011 season, Cristiano made four goals in Real Madrid’s 6-2 victory against Sevilla. And they went on to obtain the same result one year later, with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick.

The match that Sevilla and Real Madrid played at the Santiago Bernabeu in this season’s reverse fixture is also a good example of Ronaldo’s great aim when he faces the Andalucians. He added another hat-trick to his personal record, helping Los Merengues to earn an emphatic 7-3 victory.

However, Real Madrid shouldn’t relax tonight, since they have also been recently upset at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Last season, a 1-0 defeat there helped Barcelona increase their lead at the top of the table. That same thing could happen this time if both Barca and Atletico Madrid win their respective matches.

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Fabio Capello believes his former club, Real Madrid, will win the race for the La Liga title ahead of Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid.

The ex-Los Blancos manager, who himself guided the side to the league title in his time in charge of the club, said Madrid possess the greatest strength in depth of any of the three squads – something that will be crucial in ensuring they cross the line first.

Los Merengues lost 4-3 to reigning champions Barcelona at the weekend, a result that three the La Liga race wide open. Atletico lead based on their better head-to-head record against Carlo Ancelotti’s men, while Los Cules are just a point behind in third.

Speaking to the EFE press agency, Capello stated: “I watched El Clasico one day afterwards because I was flying while they were playing. It was a great match and a great advert for Spanish football throughout the world.

“Of course we will see a different league now, but we also need to see how it affects the Champions League. I think Madrid have the most possibilities, because they have the biggest squad and are playing very well.”

Assessing the other two sides, the Italian said we are now starting to see the Barcelona of old, after a run of slightly indifferent form by their high standards.

“Barca have gone back to being the team the whole world knows. Atletico have surprised me but I saw them play against Barca in Madrid,” he said.

“Atleti have a huge desire and strength, but they have a thin squad. When they play in the Champions League against Barca we need to see what will happen in the following league games.

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Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson may be a possible 8 million euro summer transfer target for Real Madrid say The Telegraph.

Johnson is currently England’s number one right back and has had an excellent season as Liverpool have unexpectedly stormed into the Premier League title race.

After this season Johnson has just one year remaining on his contract with the Merseyside club and it has been reported they may be looking to cash-in on the right-back, instead of losing him for free next year, if they do not intend to offer him a new contract.

Johnson is quoted as saying: “No-one has come to me from Liverpool at all. I’ve not been offered a new contract on any level. I don’t know the situation the club are in or if they want to renew it.”

The 29-year-old’s wages may be a factor in Liverpool’s willingness to let him go. Johnson reportedly earns an extremely steep £110,000 per week at Anfield and the club’s current owners, Fenway Sports Group – led by Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry – would only be willing to offer a new deal if Johnson reduces his wage demands.

If Los Blancos do make the move it is likely that Alvaro Arbeloa would be offloaded, leaving Johnson to compete with Dani Carvajal for the starting spot at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said his players need to forget the loss against Barcelona in the Clasico and get back on track by beating Sevilla.

Much of the talk in Spain has been on the fall out from the controversial 4-3 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu, in which Sergio Ramos got sent off and the visitors were awarded two penalties in the second half. Moreover, Sergio Busquets stamped on Pepe’s head right in front of the referee and didn’t get his marching orders.

But speaking to journalists, Ancelotti said the game is in the past and Los Blancos know what they need to do to win La Liga, starting with the tricky trip to the Sanchez Pizjuan.

“The side were fine before the Clásico and they still are. This is one of the best sides in the world and we will continue to show it until the end of the season. The game against Sevilla is important and dangerous because the opponents are playing well,” he stated.

And he added: “We are trying to forget the Clásico and prepare well for the game against Sevilla. The side trained well today and the mood is good. We have quality and we are conscious of the importance of this game. We are going to try and win because it’s more important to think in the game that you are going to play, rather than the one you just played.”

The Italian also was at a loss to explain his side’s form against their title rivals this season. Los Blancos picked up just one point from a possible 12 in the home and away fixtures against Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid.

“I’m not pleased because we have a very competitive side and we didn’t do well, but the league table speaks for itself. We are still at the top and no more. It is hard to explain what’s happened,” he stated.

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