Page 593

By -
1
madrid-press-09022014

There is plenty of jubilation in the Madrid press this morning after Real’s 4-2 win over Villarreal combined with Atletico’s 2-0 defeat at Almeria meant Los Blancos reached the summit of La Liga.

An entertaining game at the Santiago Bernabeu saw Karim Benzema score twice, Jese continue his rich vein of form, and Gareth Bale mark his return to first team action with a goal too.

AS points out that Bale has now scored as many goals this season for Real Madrid as Leo Messi has for Barcelona, despite playing fewer games because of his injury problems. The 24-year-old Welshman has also provided 10 assists in this campaign so far.

Meanwhile, despite often coming in for stick from fans and media alike, Karim Benzema’s goals against Villarreal means he draws level with the great Brazilian striker Ronaldo on 104 goals scored for Real Madrid. After the game, he spoke to journalists and told them it was an honour to be in the same bracket as him, and that he’ll always wear the Los Blancos shirt with pride.

If there was to be a downside to the result, it was the two goals conceded. And Marca highlights that Villarreal’s first goal, scored by Mario Gaspar, ended a run of 725 minutes of playing time without conceding at the Bernabeu. The previous goal had been scored by Antoine Griezmann for Real Sociedad 92 days previously, on November 9.

By -
0

Real Madrid extended their unbeaten run in 2014 with a hard-fought victory against Villarreal. Los Blancos got unlucky with the injuries of Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao, but they were able to control the game in the first half and seal the victory with their lethal counter-attacks in the second.

Carlo Ancelotti men took the lead inside seven minutes following a poor piece of defending from Chechu Dorado. The Welshman stole the ball off the centre-back and chipped a brilliant effort over Sergio Asenjo.

Villarreal’s defence struggled in the first minutes and Luka Modric was about to make it 2-0, but his shot from inside the box was blocked by Dorado.

Bale was a headache for the visitor’s left-back Jauma Costa. Another great play by the former Tottenham Hotspur player ended up with Karim Benzema turning a cross from the Welshman into the back of the net.

Villarreal improved after the goal and tried to cause some trouble for Los Merengues. In fact, just before half-time, right-back Mario Gaspar cut the deficit to 2-1 with a stunning strike into the top corner.

Unluckily for Los Blancos, Carlo Ancelotti had to make two substitutions in the left-back position before the second half. Fabio Coentrao came in to replace injured Marcelo before the half-hour mark, but the Portuguese also had to leave the pitch at half-time with physical problems, leaving his spot to Alvaro Arbeloa.

Marcelino Garcia Toral men improved in the second-half and took the lead in the game. However, Jese Rodriguez made it 3-1 with a brilliant touch in a counter-attack.

Giovani dos Santos sent a superb free into the top corner to give Villarreal some hopes of scratching a point, but Benzema sealed the victory in another counter-attack lead by Jese.

By -
0

Although they secured a comfortable 3-0 over Atletico de Madrid in the Copa del Rey earlier this week, Real Madrid will be looking to get back on track in La Liga, have lost ground on their city rivals last weekend.

Los Blancos were held to a 1-1 draw away at Athletic Bilbao, while Atletico thumped Real Sociedad 4-0 to move three points clear of Barcelona and Real.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men go into tonight’s fixture without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo who serves the first of a three-match ban for his sending off last weekend. But Madrid welcome back Gareth Bale from injury, while Jese has been in fine form in recent weeks.

Diego Lopez will return in goal for the hosts, while Ancelotti hinted in his press conference on Friday that he may rotate the team a bit to keep some of his players fresh for other more challenging fixtures that lie ahead. Carvajal should take over from Arbeloa at right-back and Marcelo will come back into the side ahead of Coentrao.

Although they are fifth in the table, Villarreal are inconsistent on the road. Indeed, they haven’t managed to put two wins on the trot since August. Manager Marcelino has said his team will look to attack Real, but will have to do so without their inspirational number 10 Cani.

Probable line ups:Real Madrid: Lopez (GK); Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Alonso, Di Maria; Bale, Benzema, Jese

Villarreal: Asenjo (GK); Mario, Paulista, Dorado, Jaume Costa; Aquino, Trigueros, Bruno, Gomez; Dos Santos, Perbet

By -
0
Real Madrid Villarreal betting preview

Real Madrid go into tonight’s La Liga fixture against Villarreal without leading scorer and star man Cristiano Ronaldo who begins his three-match suspension for his red card at Athletic Bilbao last week.

But with Jese in fine form, and a fit again Gareth Bale back in the side, Los Blancos should have enough to see off Villarreal.

The two sides shared the spoils back in the autumn at El Madrigal, playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw. But on the road, the Yellow Submarines are a bit erratic. They have enjoyed some fine wins – such as the 5-2 over Rayo Vallecano. But they’ve also played some dour stuff on their travels, a 1-0 defeat at Valladolid their last away trip.

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have been in relentless form, going 22 games unbeaten in all competitions. One gets the sense that Los Blancos still have to move through all the gears though and are being efficient at the moment, reserving their energy for tougher tests to come. Bookies have them at 1/3 to pick up the three points today. Villarreal are outsiders at 15/2. A draw is available at 9/2.

The front three for Real Madrid should be Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Jese. To bet on any of those three being the opening scorer, their odds are 13/5, 3/1 and 7/2 respectively.

 

By -
3

Real Madrid have contacted Argentinian 20-year-old promise Luciano Vietto, according to the player’s agent Jorge Cysterpiller. The young forward, who currently plays at Racing Avellaneda, has been linked with a move to Europe, with Los Blancos, Napoli and Liverpool having shown their interest.

“Napoli have been eyeing him all this season, such as other big clubs. There’s a lot of competition to signing him, as we have also spoken with a first level club like Real Madrid, and also Liverpool and a couple of German clubs,” Cysterpiller told the press.

Vietto can play as striker or playmaker, and he’s one of Argentina’s biggest prospects. He was already linked with a move to Madrid last summer, as reported by Argentinian newspapers. However, those contacts have not been confirmed until now.

The youngster has caught the attention of many European clubs with a brilliant season at Racing Avellaneda, scoring 13 goals in 32 appearances.

At 17 years old, Vietto would most likely join Real Madrid Castilla in case Los Blancos ended up signing him.

By -
0

Spain boss Vicente del Bosque has said he was unimpressed with some of the behaviour on display by Real Madrid and Atletico de Madrid players in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg this week.

In an ill-tempered match at the Santiago Bernabeu, which Los Blancos won 3-0, some Real players appeared to target Atletico forward Diego Costa. The Brazil-born Spain striker had scored on the same ground in his previous two appearances against Real.

Central defender Pepe seemed to have a running battle with Costa throughout the match and picked up a yellow card for his efforts, while full-back Alvaro Arbeloa watch picked up by TV cameras appearing to stand on his ankle while waiting for a free-kick to be taken.

Speaking to AS newspaper, Spain boss del Bosque said some of the behaviour was over the top and set a bad example to youngsters wtaching the game. Arbeloa and Costa could well be teammates in the Spain squad for the World Cup this coming summer.

“There were incidents and things in the derbi that I did not like. I know this is football, it can happen — but I did not like it,” del Bosque said.

“Each player should just worry about playing, performing at their best, defending their team. There were confrontations and behaviour that were not appropriate.”

By -
0

Carlo Ancelotti has urged his team to play with the same intensity against Villarreal today as they did in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg if they are to get anything from the match.

Los Blancos drew 2-2 with the Yellow Submarine earlier on in the season, a Gareth Bale debut goal helping Real to a point. And Madrid boss Ancelotti is expecting a tough match again at the Santiago Bernabeu against the side lying fifth in La Liga.

At his press conference on Friday, the former AC Milan, PSG and Chelsea boss called on his team to play at the same level they did on Wednesday when they thrashed city rivals Atletico de Madrid 3-0 to all but book their place in the final of the Copa del Rey.

He stated: “Villarreal are a very good team. We were put under a lot of pressure in the corresponding fixture earlier in the season. We worked very hard on Wednesday in a game of high intensity, and to win tomorrow, we need more of the same. Maximum intensity and maximum concentration.”

Having already played down reports of Gareth Bale’s injury earlier this week, Ancelotti once again confirmed the Welshman is fine and will take part in the match today, especially with Ronaldo suspended.

“He will play from the start tomorrow; he is fit. He has no problems and is fit to play. He will be ready to perform. I always tell the truth. When I don’t need to tell the truth, I don’t say anything. When I say Bale is fit, it means that Bale is fit. When I say that Bale’s absence from Wednesday’s match was to prevent a recurrence of his injury, that is the truth,” Ancelotti said.

By -
0

Real Madrid take on Villarreal at home this evening in La Liga hoping to keep the pressure on Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid and stay in the fight for the title.

Earlier on in the season these two drew 2-2 at El Madrigal, with Gareth Bale scoring on his debut. And the Madrid press turns its focus on the Welshman again today as they expect him to step up and replace the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo.

Both Marca and AS have been running stories in recent weeks about Bale’s injury struggles this campaign. This hasn’t helped a growing number of Los Blancos fans unhappy with the 24-year-old as they had expected more from him.

But boss Carlo Ancelotti has reassured them on many occasions this week that the Wales star has been training and is fully prepared for today’s game. He insisted in his press conference yesterday that Bale didn’t play against Atletico on Wednesday night to ensure he comes into the game today fresh, particularly with Ronaldo suspended.

Much attention will also be on Jese, the in-form striker whose goals have caught the attention of Spain boss Vicente del Bosque. Fans of AS have also noticed how well the 20-year-old is playing, with two-thirds of readers polled by the newspaper saying he should go to the World Cup with Spain in the summer.

By -
0

Spanish playmaker Isco has told Marca that Real Madrid are looking to capitalise on their summer signings by winning trophies this year.

Los Blancos are still in all three competitions this season, and already look to have one foot in the Copa Del Rey final after Wednesday night’s 3-0 semi-final first leg win over Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I hope to experience some great moments in the world of football, and we’re hoping to achieve big things this season,” he said.

Real Madrid spent in excess of €150million last summer on players like Gareth Bale, Asier Illaramendi, Dani Carvajal and Isco himself.

The club has made a huge effort with these signings to finally secure La Decima, it’s tenth European cup, and surge ahead of Barcelona and city rivals Atletico in the league.

The 21 year-old was also forced to deny that he is unhappy in the Spanish capital after being left out of the team in recent weeks as manager Carlo Ancelotti switched to a 4-3-3 formation.

Isco told the Spanish newspaper: “I’m very happy with the way things are going for me. It’s true that I’m playing less but I’m here to help out.

“Every coach I’ve had has told me that if I took care of myself and kept a level head, I would go a long way and it has been far from easy to get this far,” he added.

By -
0

Real Madrid showed their mental and physical strength in overcoming Atletico de Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night, says midfielder Luka Modric.

The Croatian, one of the star performers in the side this season, played his role in the 3-0 demolition of their city rivals in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. And afterwards, he told reporters the players were happy to get their revenge for last season’s final heartbreak against the same opponents, on the same ground. Los Blancos had also lost to Atletico in the La Liga match at the Bernabeu in September too.

“We had lost the last two matches against Atlético Madrid. We were very focused from the start and fought together, which was important to get the win. When we play like we did tonight, we are very strong. It is always something important to beat the bigger, stronger teams like Atlético Madrid,” Modric stated.

The playmaker was also asked by reporters about the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, who begins a three-match ban in La Liga this weekend, as a result of his red card against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. The former Spurs player admitted the loss of the Portuguese star will be tough, but teammate Gareth Bale will be able to slot back into the team to cover the 29-year-old’s absence.

“It is not fair, because he didn’t do anything wrong, but we can’t do anything about that. We all have to do more when Cristiano it is not playing because he is a very important player for us. Bale trained normally over the last two or three days. The coach did not want him to force anything today because we have another important match on Saturday and Cristiano cannot play in it. It is important for him to rest because there is no rush,” Modric stated.

1...592593594...733Page 593 of 733

www.gambleaware.co.uk or www.gamcare.org.uk
Please gamble responsibly