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Real Madrid boss Carlos Ancelotti has said the Madridista fanbase will play a huge part in helping the team over the next five league games as they look to secure the La Liga title.

Los Blancos remained in the hunt for title success after beating Almeria 4-0 on Saturday night to move above Barcelona and level on points with city rivals Atletico de Madrid, having played a game more.

At his press conference after the game, the Italian manager said the support from the fans will be crucial in the closing matches as the pressure is cranked up and the team needs all the encouragement it can get to reach the finishing line.

“The atmosphere in the stadium was great and that is important because it helps us give our all. Having fans that help us in all our games is very important for us,” he said.

He spoke about how the team is playing well at the moment and wants to carry that form in the the last few matches of the campaign.

“The team played good football, it was a good game. The goal is to win all the remaining matches. It is a very dangerous league and at this point of the season, all the matches are tough. We are in the fight for every competition. It isn’t easy and we have to give everything in all our matches,” Ancelotti told reporters.

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Real Madrid midfielder Angel di Maria has said the players must treat the final five league games as individual finals as they chase La Liga glory.

In a season on many twists and turns, Los Blancos moved above Barcelona again and level on points with Atletico de Madrid at the top of the table after seeing off Almeria 4-0 on Saturday night. Atletico have a game in hand and could re-establish their three point lead.

And di Maria, who opened the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu, told journalists his teammates must treat each game like a final from now until the end of the campaign. He added they must not get distracted by what others around them are doing.

He stated: “We know there are a lot of twists in the La Liga. We started down the table, then we took the lead… We’re still thinking about ourselves, about the fact that there are several ‘finals’ left and we have to play them as such. We want to play well. The match against Dortmund was just a misstep and we don’t want to repeat it.”

The Argentina international then switched his attention to Madrid’s next challenge – the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on Wednesday.

“It has nothing to do with La Liga or the Champions League and hopefully we’ll play well. It’s a final and they will come out and do their best. We’re on track. We have to keep doing our work and continue in that way. We’re fine as we are. Finals are different games,” he commented.

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Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Almeria at the Santiago Bernabeu last night saw Los Blancos move level on points with Atletico de Madrid at the top of La Liga, albeit having played a game more.

They leapfrogged Barcelona, who warmed up for the Copa del Rey final in the worst possible fashion, losing 1-0 to Granada, and now facing a crisis at the club. The players are being criticised by the Catalan press for not making enough effort, while manager Tato Martino is under enormous pressure to save his job.

The Madrid press this morning looks at both matches – hailing Madrid for continuing to fight on all fronts despite missing the injured Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s the second weekend in a row that they have missed their talisman in La Liga and the second consecutive league game they’ve won 4-0. Meanwhile, they describe Barcelona as being a shadow of their former selves.

Looking ahead to the Copa del Rey final, AS has an update on the fitness situation in the squad. Sergio Ramos will be fit to return on Wednesday night having missed the game last night due to a problem with his trapezius muscle. Marcelo will not be ready, despite making a return to training. Ancelotti will have Xabi Alonso and Daniel Carvajal available again after sitting out the Almeria game through suspension.

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Real Madrid moved above Barcelona in La Liga and are now level on points with Atletico de Madrid after they saw off Almeria with ease at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Goal from Angel di Maria, Gareth Bale, Isco and Alvaro sealed the three points that ensured Los Blancos warmed up for the Copa del Rey final in the best manner possible.

With seven players out injured, including 45-goal man Cristiano Ronaldo, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti called up several youngsters to his match day squad, including Nacho, Lorente and Jose.

Just before the match kicked off, the Bernabeu erupted in loud cheers with the news of Barcelona’s shock defeat at lowly Granada. And Los Merengues could have had the perfect start as Angel di Maria rattled the bar with a 30-yard effort. The hosts dominated the opening 45 minutes, enjoying 68% possession, but struggled to convert their dominance into goals. Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema both went close a number of times.

It was di Maria who eventually broke the deadlock on the half hour mark though, the former Benfica man arrowing his shot beyond the keeper from a tight angle inside the area.

There were always more goals in it for the hosts, and they eventually came after the break. The nine-time European Cup winners settled the game as a contest with two goals in three minutes shortly after the interval. First, Gareth Bale played a clever one-two on the edge of the Almeria area before taking the ball and slotting it low past the keeper.

It was then Isco’s turn, whose strong effort found the back of the net after good work by French international Karim Benzema.

With the final of the Copa del Rey in mind, Ancelotti took the opportunity to give some of his stars some rest, taking off di Maria and Bale and introducing Casemiro and Morata. Benzema was guilty of missing some guilt-edged chances as Madrid threatened to extend their lead.

With five minutes remaining Morata did just that. His excellent finish past the Almeria keeper ensured Los Blancos took full advantage of Barcelona’s slip up earlier. Next up, the Catalans themselves, and the chance for Madrid to win the first trophy of the campaign.

 

 

 

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Real Madrid will look to stay in the title’s race as they face bottom-feeders Almeria at the Santiago Bernabeu tonight. With only six games left in La Liga, Los Blancos cannot afford any more dropped points.

Carlo Ancelotti men will try to improve their game after their disappointing performance in Dortmund, where they lost 2-0.

The Italian manager will miss Cristiano Ronaldo once again, as the Portuguese is set to remain sidelined for two weeks due to injury and could even miss the Champions League semi-finals against Bayern Munich. Alvaro Arbeloa, Sami Khedira and Jese also remain on the sidelines, while Daniel Carvajal and Xabi Alonso will miss the game through suspension.

On the other hand, Marcelo is ready to make his comeback, although Ancelotti might opt to line-up Fabio Coentrao at left-back and let the Brazilian rest for the Copa del Rey final.

Almeria will look to get out of the relegation zone, although that will be a tough task. The Andalucians are winless against Los Merengues since 2008, and they usually concede four or more goals when they visit the Santiago Bernabeu. In fact, they lost 8-1 in their last match at Real’s stadium.

Coach Francisco Javier Rodriguez will miss defenders Sebastian Dubarbier and Rafita, although he will recover Marco Torsiglieri and Hans Martinez.

Almeria will try to improve their performance against Los Blancos, as they lost 0-5 in La Liga’s first leg. Yet, with Ancelotti men fighting for the title, they should have few chances of savaging a point.

Possible line-ups:

Real Madrid: Lopez; Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Coentrao; Modric, Illarramendi, Di Maria; Bale, Benzema, Isco.

Almeria: Esteban; Nelson, Torsiglieri, Silva, Mane; Verza, Corona; Suso, Soriano, Vidal; Diaz.

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Cristiano Ronaldo shouldn’t rush back from his hamstring injury, according to former Real Madrid left-back Roberto Carlos.

The Los Blancos talisman sat out last weekend’s trip to Real Sociedad and the midweek match away at Borussia Dortmund nursing a knee problem. It later emerged that he also has a hamstring strain that could see him miss the Copa del Rey final and the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.

Ronaldo, who has contributed a stunning 45 goals this season, including 14 in the Champions League alone, would be a huge loss. But Roberto Carlos told Marca that he had to make a full recovery rather than rush back too soon.

“I had the same injury and I had to strengthen my knee with a lot of gym work with massages to reduce the inflammation,” the 41-year-old former defender said.

He added: “It is an injury that needs to be treated with care. If he pushes himself too hard, it could become a chronic injury.

“Personally, 45 minutes prior to training I would warm my leg up, which stopped it hurting and I played as usual. There’s a full preparatory session prior to the warm-up and the game itself, and Madrid has all the tools required to manage the pain.”

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Real Madrid cannot afford any more failure in their fight to win the La Liga title ahead of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. Their next duty is winning on Saturday evening at the Santiago Bernabeu against Almeria, a rival that might bring them good memories.

Los Merengues have never lost a match against the Andalucians playing as a host. In fact, they have won all the games when Almeria have paid a visit to the Santiago Bernabeu.

These victories have usually been emphatic, as the club from southern Spain have conceded 26 goals in their six visits to Los Blancos’ stadium. On the other hand, they have only found the back of the net five times.

Taking statistics in account, this means that Madrid usually wins 4-1 or 4-0 every time they face Almeria as a host. Although sometimes the goal fest is even bigger, just like the last time both teams met in Madrid. It was on May 21st 2011 in the last day of that year’s La Liga. The team managed by Jose Mourinho at that time inflicted on Almeria an embarrassing 8-1 loss.

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Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has said the team will give everything it has to reach the final of the Champions League in Lisbon in May.

The La Liga giants were pitted against current holders Bayern Munich in the semi-final, which takes place later this month. But he said the squad has enough strength and depth in order to cope with the Bavarian side.

Speaking to reporters about the draw, the World Cup winner, who made some crucial saves against Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final, said: “Against Bayern it will be an attractive game because they’re a tough rival and the current Champions League holders.

“We have to try and beat the reigning champions. They have great players but we’re going to give our all to get to the final in Lisbon. We have a bit of a scare in Dortmund, but we will play an exciting game and hopefully it goes our way.”

With Carlo Ancelotti’s men still fighting on three fronts, Casillas was asked to give his thoughts on how the team could cope, given the fact a raft of players are out injured.

“The side are fine, although recently we have had some unfortunate injuries. Now is the most important part of the season and we have a big enough squad to go for all three titles. We go game by game”.

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Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has described his side’s task against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final as a ‘huge challenge’.

The two European giants were drawn together in the last four of the competition and will play each other at the end of this month – first in Madrid followed by the return leg in Munich.

The Bavarians are looking to become the first side to lift the trophy in successive years since it was renamed the Champions League in 1992, while Los Blancos are aiming to end their 12-year wait since last winning Europe’s top club competition.

Speaking shortly after the draw was made, former Barcelona boss Guardiola said: “The draw is the draw. But Real Madrid are a tough draw. I know their team well. They have a great team and a great coach [Carlo Ancelotti], so it will be a huge challenge for us. But we are looking forward to it.”

Despite reports Cristiano Ronaldo will sit out the match through injury, the Catalan told reporters he expected the Portuguese to be fit and raring to go.

“I believe he will play against us,” the ex-Spain international stated. “We will prepare for the game believing that he will be in the team.”

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Yesterday’s Champions League draw pitted Real Madrid against Bayern Munich, with Chelsea facing Atletico de Madrid in the other semi-final.

And today’s papers have plenty of reaction to the draw, with the overall tone being one of anxiousness ahead of facing the German side. This will be the sixth time the two teams have met at the semi-final stage in the European Cup. Of the previous five, the Bavarians have won four, including the most recent meeting in 2012.

Marca and AS both carry plenty of quotes from players and managers alike about the semi-final match up. Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who has won the competition twice as a manager, said although Bayern are favourites, it will be an “exciting challenge” for his players. Former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, now in charge of the Bundesliga side, revealed he is looking forward to the two games and added that he knows Madrid very well.

Away from the Champions League, Los Blancos have an important La Liga match tonight, The face Almeria at the Santiago Bernabeu knowing they must win to keep the pressure up on Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid in the title race.

Ancelotti will have to reshuffle his pack, with several players out missing, Daniel Carvajal and Xabi Alonso are suspended, while Marcelo, Álvaro Arbeloa, Sami Khedira, Jesé Rodríguez and Cristiano Ronaldo are all in the treatment room.

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