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cristiano atlético

Real Madrid have a very difficult game on Saturday, when they travel to Bilbao to face San Mamés. This is the most difficult away game of the season remaining and Los Blancos need to get the three points to continue at the top of the table. It will be also a very tough game for Cristiano Ronaldo, who is not comfortable in Bilbao.

Athletic Club unveiled the new San Mamés three years ago. Since then, Cristiano Ronaldo has not scored in Bilbao and he even saw a red card two years ago. The Portuguese wants to finish with the numbers in the new venue and the a victory to get closer to La Liga title.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored 4 goals in San Mamés but all of them came before the stadium was refurbished. Actually, the Portuguese striker scored two goals in the victory (0-3) obtained in 2013. Real Madrid won three games in a row in Bilbao with the same score and Cristiano found the net in all three games (2011, 2012 and 2013). Since then, Cristiano has not scored there.

The numbers at San Mamés are not that bad. He has won four times in seven visits, including the last season, when Los Blancos beat (1-2) Athletic Club thanks to the goals scored by Karim Benzema.

His worst experience was in 2014 when Cristiano Ronaldo saw the red card. Los Blancos couldn’t win despite they took the lead with a goal scored by Jesé Rodríguez. The Portuguese was also beaten in 2015, when Los Blancos lost (1-0) with a goal scored by Aritz Aduriz. The best memories came in 2012, when Real Madrid won La Liga title with José Mourinho on the bench.

Now Cristiano Ronaldo is back on track with his goals. He has found the net 14 times in the last 13 weeks in La Liga. Los Blancos are not playing very well, but the Portuguese is scoring some crucial goals, like the one he scored against Betis with a header. We should see the best Cristiano Ronaldo if Los Blancos want to win at San Mamés.

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Real Madrid faced in the first half of the season Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid, Valencia and FC Barcelona on the road. In these first weeks of the second half of the season, they also travelled to Villarreal, so the most difficult stadium left is San Mamés, the next fixture for Los Blancos.

Apart from the historic rivalry between Real Madrid and Athletic Club, San Mamés is even tougher this season. The Basque Country team has only lost one game this season in their venue, against FC Barcelona in the first week of La Liga. They haven’t lost in the Europa League, La Liga or Copa del Rey since then. Actually, Athletic Club is the best team at home in La Liga, only behind Real Madrid.

For this reason, the clash on Saturday would be a tough one. After defeating Betis and getting on the top of the table again, Los Blancos need to win to arrive to the international break week with some points more than FC Barcelona. Besides, Zidane will have available all the squad, except Raphael Varane. After giving some rest to important players, at San Mamés, Bale, Cristiano, Benzema or Casemiro should be on the pitch again.

Last season, Real Madrid won at San Mamés with Karim Benzema scoring a brace. Two season ago, the victory was for Athletic, thanks to the net scored by Aduriz. And in the season 2012/13, we saw a draw (1-1) with Jesé scoring for Los Blancos. That was the game in which Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off.

After the game in Bilbao, Real Madrid will have left Leganés, Gijón, La Coruña, Granada and Málaga on the road. These are all team of the bottom half of the table. We have to add the game against Celta Vigo, postponed for the bad weather in February.

So La Liga title will be decided at Santiago Bernabéu. Los Blancos will welcome Sevilla, Valencia, Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona in their stadium. Although the way of playing hasn’t been satisfactory at home, Los Blancos are getting the points and they haven’t lost yet in La Liga or the Champions League this season. Only Celta Vigo were able to beat them in Copa del Rey.

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Álvaro Morata deserves more minutes with Real Madrid. His numbers this season are superb but the competition with Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo put him on the bench very often. However, every time he has a chance, he takes it, scoring some important goals in the last minutes, like the one against Villarreal.

Morata could start the game against Betis from the beginning but he was unable to score any goal. Actually, the Spanish forward didn’t have any chance to score, because Betis were defending really well with five players in the defensive line. And this is not new. Morata has better numbers when he is on the bench than when he starts the game. Is he better as a substitute than from the beginning?

Álvaro Morata has scored 13 goals this season, only two goals less than in his best year in Italy with Juventus. In La Liga he has scored 8 goals, some of them very important, and in the Champions League he has scored 3 goals, including a crucial goal against Sporting Lisbon in the debut in the competition this year. This season, Morata has started 14 games, but he has only found the net 6 times in those games, needing 184 minutes to score, four times more than when he’s on the bench. When he starts as a substitute, he only needs 45 minutes to score one goal.

In the two season spent in Italy, Morata was never a high scorer striker. In Serie A, the Spaniard found the net 8 and 7 times per season and he wasn’t use to start the games neither. In his first season in Italy he started the games 11 times and in his final year the numbers improved up to 16 matches.

The numbers show that Morata is more lethal when he comes in from the bench. Actually, he doesn’t need a lot of minutes to adapt to the game but he’s always focus and appear in the decisive moment. We saw it against Napoli, when he only played the final minutes and he wrote his name in the scoreboard. It’s very valuable for Real Madrid having a striker like this, especially when Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo are always in the front.

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thibaut-courtois

On Monday evening we could see a great match between Chelsea and Manchester United for the FA Cup quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge. The Blues won the game (1-0) thanks to a shot from outside the box executed by Kanté. The Red Devils played with ten players because Ander Herrera was sent off in the first half, so Chelsea controlled the game. This clash was also important for Real Madrid because we could see another battle between De Gea and Courtois, both candidates to replace Keylor Navas in the goal.

The Costa Rican goalkeeper was angel and devil in the last game against Betis with his mistakes and the great save in the very last minute of the game. So all the eyes were put in Stamford Bridge where Thibaut Courtois and David De Gea showed again their great skills.

The battle was won by David De Gea. The Spaniard had a lot of work and he did amazing saves, especially in the first half, keeping the ball away from the net. However, Kanté finally could beat him at the beginning of the second half with a shot from outside the box. De Gea’s performance was great once again.

Thibaut Courtois had less work to do, but he did it right. Especially when Rashford headed into the goal dribbling Cahill but the young English striker found Courtois. As a great goalkeeper, he had to participate few times but he did it well.

Real Madrid scouters were paying attention to the game because both are in Los Blancos agenda. De Gea looked an easier target for Florentino Pérez, but Courtois has always been among the best goalkeepers in the world so he could be another option. At the moment, the big question mark is about who will be in the goal in the next fixture of Real Madrid, Kiko Casilla or Keylor Navas.

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Keylor Navas-mistake-GI

It’s being a very difficult season for Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican goalkeeper made a huge mistake on Sunday against Betis and he listened how the Real Madrid supporters booed him during the game. Luckily, he did a great save in the last minute, helping the team to obtain the three points.

There is a lot of controversy around Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican goalkeeper is not at his best, as he showed on Sunday against Betis. The Andalusian team didn’t arrive very often to Navas’ goal but they created some situations and the keeper was overwhelmed.

In the first half, Keylor went out of the box to catch a ball but he missed it and there was a crash with Brazanac. It should have been fould and red card but the referee didn’t whistle. Just few minutes later, Tony Sanabria shot weakly to the goal, and Keylor Navas made a huge mistake introducing the ball inside the goal.

The supporters started to whistle him whereas some team-mates gave him support during the game. Luckily, Sergio Ramos scored from a header and Real Madrid could comeback. And in the very last minute, Keylor Navas saved Los Blancos flying to save Sanabria’s header in the last minute.

Now there is an open debate about whether Keylor Navas should be Real Madrid goalkeeper or not. Kiko Casilla is no the bench and he has shown great skills this season. Besides, there will be a lot of rumours in the summer transfer window with David de Gea, Thibaut Courtois or Gianluigi Donnarumma in the agenda.

Zinedine Zidane wanted to highlight his saves, explaining that “Keylor Navas saved us in the end”. Also the captain Sergio Ramos wanted to defend him: “He had bad luck but after he did a great save”, the captain said.

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verratti2

The huge defeat of PSG against Barcelona in the second leg of the Last 16 Round of the Champions League have hurt a lot in France. The press is blaming Unai Emery, the referee and the players. One of the footballers that have been pointed out by the press is Marco Verratti.

The French newspaper L’Equipe blamed Verratti and Matuidi for the defeat at the Camp Nou last week. The journalists said that both Verratti and Matuidi were partying before the game and that is the reason why their performance was so poor.

The footballers are so angry with this information and they are requesting a rectification. Verratti’s agent spoke in Italy about the situation: “The French press should be on their feet and thanking him for playing with PSG. Marco has contract until 2021 and the president affirmed his willingness to build a great team. But it’s also true that my phone keeps ringing…”, Donato di Campli said to Premium Sport.

This speech has triggered all the rumours about Verratti’s future. Real Madrid have always asked about him, especially when Carlo Ancelotti was on the bench. The Italian is one of the most skillful midfielders in the world and his way of playing could be the perfect replacement for Luka Modric.

Verratti, now 24 years old, is playing his fifth season with PSG. Since his arrival with 19 years old, he’s been a key piece in the new project of the French giant. He’s won four Ligue Ones and two Coupe de France, but he has still to win any major European trophy. PSG paid €12M for him to Pescara, when Verratti was only playing in Serie B with Lorenzo Insigne or Ciro Immobile.

After the disaster of Camp Nou, some player might think of leaving the French club. Rabiot, Matuidi, Thiago Silva, Cavani, Di María or Verratti are players who are not use to lose. This shocking defeat could mean that some of them might leave France in summer and Real Madrid should be alert.

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zidane osasuna

Zinedine Zidane was again a happy man after beating Betis (2-1) at Santiago Bernabéu and overcome FC Barcelona in the table. However, Los Blancos played another bad game and they risked losing some points at home.

Despite these bad feeling, the manager was happy after the game: “The balance is positive because we got the three points. At the end we suffered but I’m happy and we have to congratulate the players. We had a lot of patience and the score is fair. There are some moments in which we have to suffer, but it’s normal. At the end we are happy with the result. We’re going to have the pressure in these games and this is not over yet. There are a lot to come”, Zidane said.

One of the main protagonist of the game was Keylor Navas. The goalkeeper should’ve been sent off and he made a huge mistake in the first goal scored by Betis: “I didn’t say anything in the half time. It’s part of the game, he can make mistakes, like everybody. At the end he saved us the game. I focus on the support from all the players to Keylor Navas. At the end he did the save to win the game”, Zidane recalled after the great save made in the 92nd minute.

The French manager didn’t want to speak about the possible red card because he didn’t watch the images. Betis manager, Víctor Sánchez del Amo, complained a lot after the game: “Anyone can say their opinion. I’ll never complain about the referee. We obtained the three points and that’s it”, Zidane said.

Some Real Madrid supporters whistled the team because they weren’t happy with the show: “We knew we could score at any time. We have to keep a cold mind. At the end we won thanks to the set pieces. I’d rather scoring more goals in any other way”, Zidane finished.

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sergioramos_betis_GI

Real Madrid suffered a lot to beat Betis (2-1), who scored the first goal after a big mistake made by Keylor Navas. Los Blancos played quite bad, but they were able to comeback again thanks to Sergio Ramos. The defender headed a corner kick from Toni Kroos. It was the same play from set pieces but it worked. Los Blancos are now on the top of the table.

Zinedine Zidane introduced a lot of changes in the line-up. He put a lot of quality players in the midfield with James Rodríguez, Isco, Kroos and Luka Modric to assist Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo, both playing in the attacking line. The plan seemed to work in the first 15 minutes because Los Blancos had the ball and arrived to Adán’s goal although they couldn’t create any important chance.

Betis were doing a bit better and the first time they approached Real Madrid goal they could score because Keylor Navas went out of the box, didn’t touch the ball and tackled Brazanac. The referee didn’t whistle. Just few minutes later, Keylor Navas made another huge mistake by introducing the ball inside the goal after a weak shot from Tony Sanabria. Real Madrid didn’t improve and they had difficulties to create chances with the five-men defenders. But they could level the game before the half time thanks to a header by Cristiano Ronaldo after an assist from Marcelo.

Betis started much better the second half. They were pressuring very high and creating some problems to Real Madrid. Los Blancos didn’t find the way to beat the great defence and they were unable to create any danger. Zidane had to make some changes and he introduced Lucas Vázquez and Karim Benzema. In the 78th minute, Piccini saw the red card and Asensio came in. There were 12 minutes to score one more goal.

And the goal arrived in the 82nd minute. Toni Kroos assisted from the corner kick and Sergio Ramos headed to the net. Anything new? It’s always the same goal and the defender again saved their team. Zinedine Zidane has to change a lot of things because the team is not playing well, but they have a jewel with Sergio Ramos. But the game wasn’t finished. Tony Sanabria head the ball in the 92nd minute and Betis always drew, but Keylor Navas appeared, this time successfully, to save the team in the very last minute.

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Fabio Coentrao

Few times in Real Madrid history we could see a player with less minutes in the squad. It’s not just that Fabio Coentrao is not playing but he’s always injured and the times we had the opportunity to see him the performances were really poor. How Fabio Coentrao is able to stay in the best club in the world? This is a mystery.

Zinedine Zidane keeps defending the professionalism of Fabio Coentrao. However, the Portuguese is never in the list because he always gets injured: “If he is not with us this is because he’s not fully recovered, it’s not important. His injury was serious and he had some pain that keep him away from training”, Zidane said yesterday in press conference.

In La Liga, for instance, he has only played 22 minutes in the game against Granada. In Copa del Rey he played 32 minutes in the first round against Third Division team Cultural Leonesa. And, curiously enough, he played more minutes in the Champions League, enjoying time in the pitch against Sporting Portugal and Legia Warsaw. 96 minutes in total in Europe, where he committed a odd penalty in Lisbon.

Coentrao arrived to Madrid in 2011 and Los Blancos paid €30M to Benfica. He has never been the most important left back in the squad because Marcelo is the owner of this positions. However, there were some important games, for instance in the Champions League semifinals in 2014 with Carlo Ancelotti, where Coentrao played as a left back showing a great level. But these were the exceptions.

Last season, he left Real Madrid to play on loan with Monaco. In Ligue One he only played 15 games with Monaco and after got injured and forgotten. He also missed the Euro in France, where his national team won the trophy. Florentino Pérez couldn’t find another club for the Portuguese so he stayed one year more in the Spanish capital.

His contract expires in 2019 and he’s currently earning €2.5M per year. Obviously, this is a very high salary for a player who never actually wear the white t-shirt. Real Madrid will have a serious problem this summer if they want to get rid of Coentrao. He had some offers from China and this country could be his possible destination. He’s only 29 year old, so he could have a long career. Which club could afford to pay a high salary for a footballer that never play?

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James Rodríguez could be the most wanted player in the summer transfer window. There are still three months left of season but the rumours are triggered around Isco and James Rodríguez’s future. The new club interested in the Colombian playmaker is Bayern Munich.

According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, Carlo Ancelotti wants to sign James Rodríguez in the next transfer window. The Italian manager had a really good relationship with James when Ancelotti was the Real Madrid manager. Actually, James played the best season of his career, when he just arrived to Madrid. It was the season 2014-15 and James scored 17 goals and gave 18 assists.

At that time, it looked like James Rodríguez could be one of the best players of the world. However, his performances are getting worse and worse and now we’re use to see him on the bench. James Rodríguez hasn’t played El Clásico, the FIFA Club World Cup final or the important games in the Champions League. For this reasons, he might think on moving at the end of the season.

And Munich could be a good destination. The Colombian playmaker still remembers the good relationship with the Italian manager and the possibility of winning a lot of titles with Bayern Múnich. Besides, Robben and Ribery are quite old, so he could have space in the team, fighting with Thiago Alcantara, Muller o Douglas Costa for a spot in the starting eleven.

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are great European rivals but the relationship between the clubs is good. Los Blancos signed Toni Kroos a few seasons ago, whereas Xabi Alonso completed his transfer in the last day of the summer transfer window. However, if Bayern want James Rodríguez, they’d have to pay more than €80M. This is the amount paid to Monaco, but the Bavarian club should pay a higher transfer fee for the Colombian playmaker. Should Real Madrid sell James Rodríguez to Bayern?

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