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Had Real Madrid won at Celta Vigo yesterday they would be in with a great opportunity to win the league give that Atletico de Madrid and Barcelona both dropped points in their respective games.

But Los Blancos continued their poor run of form in La Liga since the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. The 2-0 loss at Balaidos comes on the back of the 1-1 draw with Valladolid and a 2-2 draw with Valencia – three games that killed any chance they had of winning the league.

While the focus in both Marca and AS is on the showdown between Barcelona and Atletico next Saturday evening, there is also plenty of coverage of the Madrid game, and criticism for how meekly they surrendered to Luis Enrique’s team. Despite having a number of first teamers out injury, Los Blancos had enough in them to beat a team with nothing to play for having secured their top flight status for next season already.

In their interviews afterwards, Carlo Ancleotti, Sergio Ramos and Alvaro Arbeloa all admitted they threw away the game with silly defensive errors. The positive is there is a Champions League final to come – and the team need to get ready for that now.

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Real Madrid’s slim hopes of winning La Liga were ended in north west Spain this evening as they fell to a shock 2-0 defeat.

Needing to win and hoping for Atletico de Madrid and Barcelona to drop points, Los Blancos failed to do their part while their rivals both drew. Two horrible defensive errors either side of half time allowed Charles to scored perhaps the easiest double of his career.

Real were deprived of the services of many first team players from the off, with Cristiano Ronaldo heading a long injury list. Angel di Maria, Pepe, Karim Benzema and Daniel Carvajal missed out, while Gareth Bale could only feature on the substitutes’ bench. There was a return to the starting line up though for Sami Khedira and Alvaro Arbeloa though.

The visitors got off to the better start, with Marcelo flashing an effort just wide. But Luis Enrique’s men grew in confidence in the first half with Fabian Orellana looking to cause problems in the Madrid defence.

In a fairly tight opening 45 minutes, Isco had the best of the chances for the vistors, his 35th minute effort brilliantly saved by Alvarez in the Celta goal. Alvaro Morata also went close just before the break and was made to rue his profligacy in front of goal as the host took the lead on the stroke of half time.

Sergio Ramos, so often the rock at the heart of defence, slipped at the crucial moment, allowing Charles to round Diego Lopez and roll it into an empty net from a tight angle.

Madrid came out fighting in the second half and Ramos thought he had made amends for his error when he had the ball in the back of the net, only for it to be ruled offside. Luka Modric also had a good chance to grab an equaliser, while Isco and Morata also tested Alvarez in the Celta goal.

But as Madrid pressed, they left themselves open at the back. Just after the hour mark, Marcelo sold Diego Lopez short with a terrible back pass, allowing Charles to nip in a score his second. Although there were still 30 minutes remaining, Carlo Ancelotti’s men never looked like getting back into the match, and attention now turns to getting the team ready for the Champions League final on May 24.

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Celta Vigo Real Madrid match preview

Real Madrid visit Celta Vigo this evening hoping for a miracle to happen elsewhere to keep their title hopes alive.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men must win, and hope Atletico de Madrid and Barcelona drop points to Malaga and Elche respectively. It appears unlikely to happen, and for all the talk of fighting for the title, it looks like Madrid already have one eye on the Champions League final.

They travel to the north west of Spain without a host of first team regulars as they are kept back in preparation of the big match in Lisbon on May 24. Headlining those absent if Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward came off after only eight minutes into the game at Valladolid, and although the injury is not as bad as first feared, no risks will be taken with him.

Daniel Carvajal, Angel di Maria, and Pepe are all out injured too, with the central defender looking like he’ll miss out against Atletico de Madrid too. But in good news for the team, German midfielder Sami Khedira will make his first start in six months having recovered from his serious knee injury.

The hosts are in good form at the moment having won their last three matches. Having secured their top flight status for next season already, and with no chance of making the Europa League, many would think Celta will not play with much intensity.

But Luis Enrique is the man at the helm and will want to get one over the team he hates. The fact that he is likely to be named the next Barcelona boss will make him even more fired up to get a win over the nine time European Cup winners.

Probable line ups:Celta Vigo: Alvarez; Aurtenetxe, Lopez, Fontas, Jonny; Rafinha, Oubina, Krohn-Delhi; Nolito, Bermejo, Orellana

Real Madrid: Diego Lopez; Arbeloa, Nacho, Ramos, Marcelo; Alonso, Illarramendi, Modric; Isco, Bale, Benzema.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said he hopes there are more upsets in La Liga today to allow Los Blancos in with a chance to lift the title.

The nine-time European Cup winners take on Celta Vigo while Barcelona visit Elche and Atletico de Madrid host Malaga. Madrid need both teams to drop points if they are to stand a chance of lifting the title going into the final day next weekend.

Speaking at his press conference, Ancelotti said he players would do all the could to win against Celta Vigo and then rely on others to bring them good news.

“We have to beat Celta and then hope because there could be more upsets. We’ve lost points in La Liga and we have two matches to win. It could be that the league is over tomorrow or it could be more open that we expect. There have been a lot of shock results this season in La Liga and we have to be ready in case it happens again,” he stated.

Real will have to make do without a number of players including Pepe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Daniel Carvajal, Raphael Varane and Angel di Maria. Sami Khedira and Alvaro Arbeloa will have the chance to get more minutes under their belts having recovered from injury.

And Ancelotti stated the team was in good shape mentally, having recovered from the draining tie with Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

“It’s nothing new in football. The same thing happened to Atlético against Levante. After a semi-final like we just had, in which you expend so much energy, it’s a normal thing to happen. The team is feeling a lot better now,” the Italian said.

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Madrid is ready to party tonight, but it won’t be the Los Blancos celebrating.

A win for Atletico de Madrid couple with a draw or a loss for Barcelona at Elche would see Diego Simeone’s men crowned champions with a game to spare.

Real, who could win the league if Atletico take one point or less from their final two games, and Barcelona four or less, are away at Celta Vigo. And it seems minds are very much on the Champions League final in two weeks time.

Los Blancos are without a host of players due to various injury concerns, notably Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese is not at 100% and will not be risked with the final in Lisbon in mind. Also missing tonight are Pepe, Daniel Carvajal and Angel di Maria. But Sami Khedira will return to the line up 177 days after he last appeared for Real.

Marca runs a story on the club’s inability to combine the La Liga and European Cup in the same season, and says perhaps the poor form in recent La Liga games, against Valencia and Valldolid is a good omen for Lisbon. On the last three occasions Madrid won the trophy, in 1998, 2000 and 2002, their La Liga campaigns collapsed on the final straight before they went on to lift the Champions League.

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Cristiano Ronaldo believes there is no favourite for the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico de Madrid and the game will be an evenly contested match.

Los Blancos meet Los Colchoneros in Lisbon on May 24, the first time the top club competition in Europe will be contested by two teams from the same city.

And speaking to the press, Ronaldo, who has set a new goalscoring record in the competition this season with 16 goals to his name so far, said the match is too close to call. But he added he was hoping it would be a special night for Los Blancos.

“It’s a moment which the club has been waiting for for a long time. It’s going to be a great final, an exciting match between two great teams. Finals are always 50-50,” he said, before continuing, “We just hope that it’s a fantastic night and we win. We hope that May 24 will be a magical night for Real Madrid.”

The Portugal forward, who has more than 50 club goals to his name this season – for the fourth consecutive year – told reporters that although La Liga is looking out of reach, he’d have signed to be in Real’s position now a the start of the campaign.

“If we had known at the start of the season that we would be in this position, we would have been very satisfied,” he said.

“We’ve won the Copa del Rey. The league is looking difficult but not impossible and we’re in the Champions League final.”

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Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane has insisted his knee problems are behind him and he is ready to play first team football.

The 21-year-old has has two serious knee operations since arriving in Madrid and missed the final stages of last season as well as much of the early part of this campaign.

But speaking to AS, he said he has overcome his problems and is ready to fight for his place in the team. He also admitted he was getting tired of misleading reports and stories suggesting he is still suffering with injury.

“Many things have been said about my knee but I don’t like jokes about my knee surgery,” he told AS.

“The situation is clear: I was in good hands with Dr Herve Silbert. I keep in touch with him; he did a great job. All is well in the joint of my right knee and I don’t doubt it.”

The France defender was signed by Jose Mourinho from Lens and made a spectacular start to his career at the Santiago Bernabeu. His highlight was probably scoring the winning goal in the Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona last year.

Varane managed to dislodge Pepe from the starting eleven last season, but has found game time harder to come by under Carlo Ancelotti this campaign.

 

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Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa has revealed how the club’s training ground was plastered with pictures of Barcelona defender Gerrard Pique as a way of motivation during the days of the intense rivalry when Jose Mourinho was boss.

Los Blancos and El Azulgrana had some tempestuous matches in the period when Mourinho was in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, with accusations of cheating, unfair officials and play acting commonplace.

In his first Clasico match as manager of Real in 2010, Mourinho’s side were humiliated 5-0 at the Nou Camp. At the end of the game, Pique celebrated by waving five fingers to the crowd.

Los Blancos would get their revenge later in the 2010/11 campaign though, and secured the Copa de Rey through a Cristiano Ronaldo header. In the build up to that match, Valdebebas was plastered with images of Pique – something that motivated the players to get their revenge.

Speaking to Jot Down, Arbeloa said: “Someone plastered their comments about how much better they were and their style and photos of Piqué’s hand gesture all over Valdebebas. Don’t ask me who it was because I have no idea.”

The defender also went into detail about what it was like working with Mourinho, and revealed the now Chelsea boss doesn’t care for anyone’s reputation in the dressing room.

“We found out all about Mou one day in pre-season. I was among the Spanish players who had just won the World Cup and joined up with the squad in Los Angeles. We were 2-0 down at the break against LA Galaxy and he just let rip! We quickly found out what he was made of,” he stated.

And he continued: “You couldn’t imagine [former boss Manuel] Pellegrini shouting at Cristiano like that. ‘You don’t want to run? No problem: I’ll put you on the bench. You neither? No problem: you’re out’, he said, sparing no one.”

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Real Madrid take on Celta Vigo tomorrow night and today’s headlines are full of the injury updates surrounding various members of the squad – with the Champions League final in mind of course.

The main story on Marca is that of Cristiano Ronaldo. The 29-year-old froward limped off after only eight minutes in Wednesday night’s draw with Valladolid with a hamstring injury. Madridistas around the world were immediately concerned about whether the striker would be fit in time for the Champions League final on May 24.

But the injury was not as bad as first feared, and now Ronaldo says he wants to play tomorrow. According to Marca, team doctors would prefer it if he rests this weekend and in back to 100% fitness. The final decision will be made by boss Carlo Ancelotti.

AS says of the injured players, Gareth Bale, Alvaro Arbeloa, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Angel di Maria will be fine for the final against city rivals Atletico de Madrid. Pepe is a major doubt after it was confirmed he would be missing for around two weeks. Xabo Alonso and Jese Rodriguez are the only certainties to miss out through suspension and injury respectively.

Elsewhere, Ronaldo has been talking about the upcoming World Cup and has picked out Spain and Brazil as the two favourites.

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Xabi Alonso will miss Real Madrid’s Champions League Final clash against rivals Atletico Madrid after an appeal against his semi-final booking was rejected by UEFA.

The 32-year-old picked up his third yellow card of the competition in the second leg tie against Bayern Munich, and despite Real’s appeal on Wednesday it was announced that the ban has been upheld.

“Following the protest lodged by Real Madrid CF against the caution of their player Xabi Alonso at the return-leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against FC Bayern Munchen played on 29 April in Germany, the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has declared the protest inadmissible,” stated the governing body.

“As a result of his third yellow card, the Spanish player is suspended and will therefore not be eligible for the UEFA Champions League final against Club Atletico de Madrid played on 24 May in Lisbon.”

Alonso has been a key member of Real Madrid’s starting eleven this season, with Carlo Ancelotti seeing the Spanish international as the defensive anchor that allows the likes of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo to get forward.

The Italian coach now faces a selection dilemma, having to choose between central midfielders Sami Khedira, who hasn’t played for club nor country since November following a serious knee injury, or the more inexperienced Asier Illarramendi.

 

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