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Real Madrid booked their flight to Cardiff beating Atlético Madrid (3-0) in the first leg of the semifinals of the Champions League. Los Blancos played a perfect game against a rival that couldn’t arrive to Navas’ goal. Cristiano Ronaldo, hungrier than ever, scored the three goals of the match.

Zinedine Zidane decided to introduce Isco in the place of Gareth Bale and the Spaniard was one of the best players of the game. He asked for the ball and he made the team played at his best. Varane was the other piece of news in the line-up, because he was Sergio Ramos’ pair. Again, the French coach showed his skills as a manager both in the tactical area and when the game kicked off.

The game couldn’t start better for Los Blancos. They have the ball and the first chance arrived very early but Oblak saved Carvajal and Benzema’s shot. He couldn’t save the second chance in the 10th minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo headed the ball into the net. Real Madrid continued arriving to the goal, but Oblak saved another header from Varane. Atlético only chance arrived in the 16th but Keylor touched the ball when Gameiro was facing the goal.

Zidane’s side kept playing really well. Marcelo and Carvajal arrived easily to the line and Modric could score in the 23rd minute with a shot from outside the box. In the 28th minute, Benzema missed a great chance with an amazing volley after a cross from Cristiano, who was looking for Lucas Hernández. The bad news in the second half arrived in the last minute, when Carvajal got injured and Nacho had to replace him in the half time.

Both teams studied themselves in the start of the second half. Cholo Simeone put in the field Fernando Torres and Nico Gaitán in the 55th minute to change something in the match. The script was the same and Zidane introduced Asensio, whereas Simeone put Correa on the pitch in the 69th minute. Nothing happened in the game until the best one showed up. Cristiano Ronaldo catched the ball and he sent it to the net. It was the second goal and the perfect result for the second leg.

There was time for much more. Zidane put Lucas Vázquez in the pitch and the former Espanyol player lead the counter-attack in the 85th minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his hat-trick. Again, the Portuguese highlighted in a very important game. Three goals against Bayern Munich at Bernabéu and another hat-trick against Atlético. Chapeau.

Now Real Madrid have to play the second leg next week but it will be very difficult that Atlético could recover from this huge punch. Los Blancos were much better and they have a killer. His name is Cristiano Ronaldo and he has already booked his ticket to Cardiff. The final is really close.

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British players were fearful to leave the islands and most of them stayed in the United Kingdom. In La Liga, we’ve seen few British players in comparison with other nationalities, however some of them left a impression in the Spanish supporters. Now we want to remember the five top British players who wore the Real Madrid t-shirt.

Laurie Cunningham

Laurie Cunningham joined Real Madrid in 1979 and he became the first British player to ever wear the white t-shirt in the modern era. At that time, he was breaking all the records in England as the first black footballer to ever play for the English national team -this was amended later- and enjoying his time at West Bromwich Albion, a great team in the 1980’. Actually, Los Blancos paid £950,000 for the transfer fee.

Cunningham scored 13 goals in La Liga and he was present in the European Cup final lost in Paris against Liverpool. He also witnessed the worst defeat in Real Madrid history in Europe, against Kaiserslautern. He left Real Madrid in 1984, when Ulie Stielike arrived to the club. Sadly, he died in 1989 in Madrid in a car accident.


Steve McManaman

Steve McManaman signed for Real Madrid in 1999, a rough time for Los Blancos. Guus Hidding was sacked after winning the Intercontinental Cup and John Toshack was the new manager. The former Liverpool winger impressed the fans at the beginning and he earned a spot in the team. The Welsh manager was sacked and Vicente del Bosque took over.

McManaman role’s continue to improve in the team and he was one of the leaders of the team that arrived to the final of the Champions League in 2000. The Englishman scored a great goal from a volley outside the box to secure the victory (it was the 2-0 and Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-0). He was the first English player to win the European Cup with a foreign team. Before, he also scored a very important goal in the semifinals against FC Barcelona.

With the arrival of Florentino Pérez in 2000 and the start of Los Galácticos era, the role of McManaman became less important. He was even told to leave, but he was sure of succeeding in Spain. McManaman stayed in the club until 2003, so he also won the Champions League in 2002, even playing some minutes in the final in Glasgow by replacing Luis Figo. He left the club in 2003 heading to Manchester City.


David Beckham

Los Galácticos were a reality a Florentino Pérez made possible his dream: Raúl González, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario and David Beckham. Los Blancos were fighting to sign Ronaldinho, who finally joined FC Barcelona, and Beckham was signed in the summer of 2003 for €35M from Manchester United. Media, fashion, merchandising and football came to Madrid with the Englishman.

However, his time at Real Madrid weren’t the best. Los Galácticos policy failed and Carlos Queiroz or José Antonio Camacho couldn’t impose their character over the stars. In his four season with Los Blancos, Beckham scored 13 goals in La Liga and 28 in European competitions. He only won one La Liga title in 2006-07 and the Spanish Supercup.

Michael Owen

In the Galácticos Era, Michael Owen was also a key part of the team. In 2004 Florentino Pérez signed Owen from Liverpool and paid €12M for the Golden Ball winner. He had a very slow start and we couldn’t say he succeed with Los Blancos. However, he was able to score an important goal in El Clásico against Barcelona (4-2) and he managed to find the net 13 times in La Liga despite his lack of opportunities. Owen had the highest ratio of goals scored to number of minutes. He left the club in 2015 to Newcastle.

Gareth Bale

The fifth and the most successful British player to ever wear the Real Madrid t-shirt is Gareth Bale. This article is not complete, because the Welshman could put his signature in one of the most important eras of Real Madrid history.

At this time, Bale has scored more than 50 goals in La Liga. Together with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, they form the BBC, one of the best attacking lines in the football history. Bale scored crucial goals in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in 2014 and he was also a important player in the two Champions League won in 2014 and 2016.

Jonathan Woodgate also wore the Real Madrid t-shirt but the injuries didn’t allow him to shine with Los Blancos.

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Isco Alarcón

The journalists and the supporters are begging Zinedine Zidane to have more confidence in Isco. The Spanish playmaker is one of the best players in La Liga right now and he’s highlighting in every game he can play. For instance, he was the best against Sporting Gijón or Deportivo La Coruña. Now he has to show this quality in the Champions League.

Isco played the first derby against Atlético Madrid in the season. Back in November, Casemiro and Toni Kroos were injured, so Zidane had to make a lot of changes in the line-up. Lucas Vázquez played as a winger, whereas Kovacic and Isco occupied the midfield. Real Madrid won 0-3 with a hat-trick scored by Cristiano Ronaldo and Isco was one of the best players of the game.

The former Málaga player was in the midfield, far from the box, but he controlled the game and helped the team to stop the hard-worker Atlético Madrid midfielders. Today, Isco should play replacing Gareth Bale and Zidane will change the formation to a 4-4-2. With this formation, Isco has more opportunities to show off.

The French coach admitted that it was strange that Isco had played so little in the Champions League. He had only played 77 minutes in Europe before facing Bayern Munich at Bernabéu, a game that he started. Again, Isco replaced Bale and he did some good job in the first half, although he couldn’t highlight as much as in La Liga.

In the Champions League semi-finals is the right moment for Isco to step up and show Zinedine Zidane that he’s also able to play big games and help the team to achieve a good result in the first leg. It should be the main news in Zidane’s line-up, although James Rodríguez or Marco Asensio could also replace the Welshman. However, after resting against Valencia, no one would understand if Isco doesn’t finally play tonight’s clash.

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Perhaps, Nacho Fernández is one of the footballers of Real Madrid squad less known outside Spain. However, the great season of the defender and Zidane’s confidence on him are helping to improve his performances and now he’s one of the key pieces of the team. Will he start against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals?

Nacho Fernández was the only player to be in the line-up in all nine games during the month of April. These were crucial weeks for Los Blancos, because they faced Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga. In all the games Nacho Fernández was available and he played really well.

In the last summer transfer window, Nacho Fernández had a lot of offers to leave Real Madrid. However, Zidane convinced him to stay because he was going to have many opportunities. It didn’t look like this at the beginning of the season, where he spent most of the time on the bench.

The situation changed because Marcelo got injured, so Nacho had to play as a left back, and he did it with great success. Then, Raphael Varane and Pepe went also to the nursery room, so Nacho was Sergio Ramos pair in the defence line. And he played great in all these clashes. He has even found the net in the game against Alavés in La Liga and he scored a great goal against Cultural Leonesa in Copa del Rey.

Therefore, Nacho has enjoyed a lot of minutes this season and he’s been also called by the Spanish national team. In La Liga he’s played 26 games and 2121 minutes, whereas in the Champions League he played only three games, both games against Bayern Munich and Legia Warsaw in Poland.

Now that Raphael Varane is recovered and he could enjoy some minutes at Riazor against Deportivo La Coruña, Zidane has to decide between the French defender or Nacho. In La Liga game, Nacho and Sergio Ramos played together, but we all know how important is Varane for Zinedine Zidane. Who should play as a full back, Varane or Nacho?

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The last two games to arrive to the Champions League final in Cardiff. Real Madrid fans are already nervous for the great semi-finals against the city rivals Atlético Madrid. It will be a derby, but especially a great game between the last two teams to play a final in this competition.

Zinedine Zidane is also looking forward to the game and he has spoken about the rivalry between these two teams: “Tomorrow is not a derby because this is a semi-final but the rivalry is the same. We know which team we are facing… Then we have to do the right things in the game. If we do it, we’ll see what happens”.

According to the French manager, Los Blancos have no advantage: “We are not favourites, this is a semi-final and it’s 50-50. We have to do the maximum to win the match and that’s it. We have to think only in tomorrow’s game and not in the second leg”.

The coach repeated the same idea about not thinking in the next week: “We know how important is this game. We have to think that there is no second leg. Play well from the 1st minute until the end. Our supporters will be with us, like during the weekend against Valencia. They helped the team a lot, it’s a plus and we need them. Beranbéu’s supporters are always a plus for the team”.

Obviously, Zidane didn’t want to give any clue about the line-up or whether Isco will play or not: “I speak with the team because it’s important, but also individually, especially with the people who will play and you tell them exactly what you want”.

Zizou spoke about the importance of keeping a clean sheet, something that it’s not happening recently: “I don’t think we concede goals easily, but it’s true that we concede goals. We don’t have clean sheets like the last year. We spoke about being together, so the rival doesn’t put us in difficulties. But at the same time you can’t avoid it, because the rivals also play. The most important thing for us it’s to do the same, score one goal more than the rival although in Champions League is different. We’ll try to get a clean sheet and score more goals”.

Zidane confirmed that Varane and James Rodríguez are available and he spoke about the difference between last year final: “For sure we’re not worse than last year. If you reach the semi-finals in the Champions League is because you’re doing great. Then, we’ll see what happens, if we arrive to the final or not”.

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jamesrodriguez_Deportivo

James Rodriguez is reportedly hell-bent on leaving the Bernabeu and has reportedly made an agreement to sign for Manchester United next season. Rodriguez has never really established himself in the Real Madrid team ever since his £57 million move from Monaco and this season has been no different. The 25-year-old has been restricted to just 28 appearances across all competitions, starting just ten in the league.

This isn’t the first time the Colombian has been linked with a move away from Madrid, previously stating he had “offers to leave the club” if he wanted to. Reports in Spain say that the attacking midfielder has made an agreement with his agent Jorge Mendes to fulfil his wish in moving to Manchester United. Given that Mendes is also an agent of Jose Mourinho, it seems very likely that the deal could go ahead.

Rodriguez has played well this season but with such a huge squad of brilliant players, the playmaker has found it hard to establish a consistent role in Zinedine Zidane’s side. Zidane has rotated his squad all season and Rodriguez has fallen down in the pecking order because of it. Los Blancos are now through to the Champions League semi-finals and will be relying on their huge number of talented players towards the business end of the season.

Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric have all started more games than him in the Champions League but in terms of attacking midfielders, Rodriguez appears to be the main man, starting more games in Europe than the likes of Isco and Marco Asensio. Real Madrid are currently 13/8 joint-favourites in the uefa competitions betting to win the tournament and will be relying on Rodriguez to help them to the final.

Zidane clearly feels Rodriguez is his best option for the big European games and will need to replace him next season. Real have always been the best at taking Europe’s biggest names for themselves and they will need to that again if they lose the Colombian skipper.

Eden Hazard / Эден Азар

Eden Hazard is reportedly Madrid’s main target for this summer and could certainly fill the boots of Rodriguez. Hazard has been linked with a move to Spain before and the Belgian is having one of his best seasons to date in the Premier League. Reports in Belgium claim that Hazard has already agreed a deal with Los Blancos, with a number of news outlets claiming Hazard told a close friend he wants to finish this season at Chelsea and then win the Ballon d’Or with Real Madrid.

Chelsea team-mate Cesc Fabregas stirred the pot when he said: “Hazard could reach the level of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo if he was more selfish on the ball.”
Antonio Conte rejected the comments, saying: “In my team, I don’t want selfish players. I prefer to lose a game than to have a selfish player.”

However, Hazard agreed with Fabregas and told Sky Sports he is trying to “work on his game” to become as good as Ronaldo or Messi and that it would be “good for him to score more goals”. It appears there is a lack of communication between players and manager at Stamford Bridge and if Conte is unhappy with Hazard wanting to become more selfish, it could be very likely that Hazard will make a move to Madrid.

Author: Tom Wilson

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Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid Champions League

Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid meet again on Tuesday (19:45, UK Time) in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals at Santiago Bernabéu. A spot in the final in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff awaits to one of the Spanish teams.

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Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid Preview

Real Madrid beat Valencia in the last minutes of the game on Saturday at Santiago Bernabéu and they are still on the run for the two titles, La Liga and Champions League. Now they have a big clash on Tuesday against the city rivals, a team the knock-out in the last three years in the Champions League. Gareth Bale and Pepe are the two players unavailable for Zidane, whereas Isco should replace the Welshman in the midfield.

Atlético Madrid thrashed Las Palmas (0-5) in their last game in La Liga and they beat Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester to arrive to the semi-finals for the third time in only four years. Diego Pablo Simeone wants to make history and win the first Champions League for Atlético. Juanfran, Giménez and Augusto are not available, whereas Vrsaljko and Carrasco are doubtful.

Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid Predicted Line Ups


Real Madrid (4-3-3): Keylor; Carvajal, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Isco, Cristiano and Benzema
Atlético Madrid (4-4-2): Oblak; Vrsaljko, Savic, Godin, Filipe, Gabi, Saúl, Koke, Gaitán, Gameiro and Griezmann

Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid Betting Tips


Real Madrid have won 8, drawn 1 and lost 1 games out of the last 10.
Atlético Madrid have won 7, drawn 2 and lost 1 of the last 10 games.
In the last 10 games, Real Madrid have scored an average of 2,9 goals and have received an average of 1,5 goals.
In the last 10 games, Atlético Madrid have scored an average of 1,8 goals per game and have conceded 0,4 goals per game.
There have been over 2,5 goals in 9 of the last 10 Real Madrid games.
There have been 2,5 goals in 3 of the last 10 Atlético Madrid games.

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Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid Prediction

Real Madrid beat Atlético Madrid in the final of the Champions League twice in the last three years and they knock-out the rivals in the quarter-finals two years ago thanks to a goal scored by Chicharito. They want to continue with this run in the European competition and we are confident that Los Blancos could beat again Atlético and have some advantage to play the second leg the next week. We don’t expect a lot of goals though.

Both teams met in April in La Liga at Santiago Bernabéu and Simeone’s side was able to get a point thanks to a late goal scored by Antoine Griezmann. Pepe, with a header, opened the scoreboard.

Free Betting Tips

Match Prediction

Real Madrid to win 5/6 at Bet365.

Over/Under Prediction

Less 2,5 goals 4/5 at Bet365.

Result

Real Madrid to win 1-0 at 11/2 with Bet365.

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Pepe’s future is still in the air. The Portuguese full back finishes his contract with Real Madrid on June 30 and except a radical change, he will not continue in Zidane’s side next season season. According to the Turkish newspaper Fanatik, his destination could be Galatasaray, a team that has shown a great interest in signing the Portuguese full back next year.

The Turkish newspaper confirms that the general director of the Ottoman club, Cen Enrgün, travelled to the Spanish capital with the goal of negotiating with the Portuguese agent, Jorge Mendes. The offer consists in a two season contact with a salary around €5M net per season. This proposal is much higher than the one Real Madrid offered him in the beginning of the season. Florentino Pérez offered him only one year more with the white shirt, and for that reason the Portuguese player didn’t want to renew with the team that gave him a lot of confidence during all his career.

Pepe has a lot of offers of many important teams that want his services, such as offers from China and Juventus Turin. Allegri wants to sign a full back for next year but the Italian side will not pay that amount of money for a player who is ending his professional career. Nevertheless, the Portuguese full back wants to enjoy a leading role in a team, and that will be very important when he will take the final decision. In the current season Pepe has played a total of 1460 minutes, in a season in which he has been injured several times.

Real Madrid have other defenders on lawn in different teams in Europe highlighting Jesús Vallejo, who has played a great season and who can return to Madrid next season. Pepe has been an important player in Real Madrid in his 10 years at Madrid, but he is already 34 years old and there are young full backs who can replace him in the future as Vallejo and Nacho, who is playing his best year as a professional.

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Álvaro Morata

Real Madrid will receive in the next weeks a very huge offer from the Chinese Super League with the target of signing a player who is not having many minutes during the season. They are interested in Morata’s signing and in the next summer transfer market he will receive a millionaire offer that will make the Spanish striker think about his future.

In China they know that Morata’s situation is not the ideal, despite he is being one of the best payers in Zidane’s side when he has has the opportunity to play. This situation seems that will finish with his departure from the team that he supports. Many important European teams are interested in his service, such as Manchester United or Chelsea, but the offer he will receive from China is much higher than the ones from other teams.

A Chinese Super League club is willing to offer a big contract with the target of convincing the player. Morata’s priority is to continue in the European competition, especially under the orders of Antonio Conte, a manager who has been very important in his progression when he was at Juventus and that currently is training Chelsea.

Florentino Pérez will begin to listen offers for Marata next July, once the season is over. Real Madrid don’t want to sell him but the Spanish striker wants to have more importance in the team. Los Blancos indispensable condition for his departure is an offer close to €75M, if it’s lower than that amount, Florentino Pérez will not sell the Spanish striker.

In this season he has already scored 13 goals in the regular season (the second top scorer of the team), 2 in Copa del Rey, and 3 in Champions League, where he has only played 164 minutes. The Spanish striker has shown game by game that he can be a really good player for Real Madrid, but with Zidane on the bench, the BBC is untouchable.

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Real Madrid won once again in the last minutes against Valencia in the 35th week of the regular season. Los Blancos achieved the victory thanks to a goal from Marcelo when there was almost no minutes remaining. The Brazilian left back played a really good game and when it looked like the match was going to finish in a draw, Marcelo appeared in the last minutes and he scored a brilliant goal that gave the victory to his team. He is very important for the team and with the pass of the years his performance is improving being nowadays the best left back in the world.

Marcelo had a difficult week after El Clásico because he had a great oportutniy to stop Sergi Roberto’s run with a foul in the goal  Messi’s goal in the 92nd minute that gave the victory to Barcelona. The Brazilian left back is one of the best players in the team, and this is his 10th season with Real Madrid’s shirt. Nowadays he is one of the captains in Zidane’s side being a key player in the squad.

Marcelo is playing one of his best seasons since his arrival to Madrid from Brasil and with yesterday’s performance he has shown once again that he is very important in the team despite he plays as defender. We must add that Marcelo doesn’t have any natural substitute in the squad, being a player who has played a lot of games during the season. He is one of the most used players of Zidane during the season. Marcelo has played 2097 minutes in La Liga, 270 in La Copa and 731 minutes in Champions League. The french manager has always said that Marcelo is very important for the team because he has a great personality and a very good relationship with the rest of his teammates, being a player who all manager wants to have in his team.

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