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Premier League champions Manchester United could make a shock swoop for Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale, according to the Sunday Times.

The paper claimed Red Devils boss David Moyes, who was keen on taking Bale to Old Trafford in the summer, is keeping an eye on the 24-year-old Welshman and how his season progresses at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Just two months ago, the 91-million-euro signing was greeted by thousands of delirious Los Blancos fans on the day of his arrival at the club. But foot and thigh injuries, a lack of pre-season, and a quiet show in his first El Clasico have drawn criticism from the press and fans alike, and raised doubts about whether he will be able to settle long-term in Spain.

The Sunday Times claimed Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is coming under  increasing pressure for sanctioning such an expensive transfer, and United are hopeful a deal could be struck at the end of the season. United’s chief executive was keen on tying up a deal in August but was eventually gazumped by Real when they came in with a huge offer.

Bale, the PFA Footballer of the Year, scored 31 goals in all competitions last year as he fired Spurs to fifth place in the Premier League, just missing out on a Champions League spot to Arsenal.

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Spanish sports daily Marca sends today a positive message to Real Madrid fans in their front page, with the headline “Keep calm and this Madrid will work.”

The paper claims “the second half at El Clasico gives Madridistas hope.” According to Marca, some of the keys were that “the 4-3-3 system works better” and that “youngsters Varane, Carvajal, Illarramendi and Jese change the team’s image.”

Marca points out that another reason to expect better results in the next games is that “Xabi Alonso will make his return this week.”

Meanwhile, As keeps on blaming the referee for the loss against Barcelona, publishing a picture that shows Undiano Mallenco was in a good position to see the penalty on Cristiano Ronaldo clearly.

“Undiano did see it,” they title. “Atletico Madrid would be at the top of the table if the referee hadn’t made that mistake,” they add.

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Napoli defender Juan Zuniga has moved to dispel rumours that he will be leaving Naples anytime soon, with rumoured interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.

“A future at Real Madrid or Barcelona? To be honest I am very happy to be a Napoli player and I want to continue doing well here,” Zuniga told Radio Caracol.

The 27-year-old Colombian full-back is known for his attacking style and also his versatility, but is now likely to be out of action for six weeks after having surgery this week to try and resolve a long-standing knee ligament problem.

“I’ve been struggling with a knee injury for a while, the best decision was to have surgery.
I knew it would mean being out of action for some time, but I will now be able to fully recover from the issue,” Zuniga said.

Surgery at this stage of the season will allow Zuniga time to recover from the injury and regain his first team position and form before the World Cup – a tournament Colombia enter as dark horses and the current number five ranked team in the world.

Zuniga started his career at Atlético Nacional in 2005 before leaving to join Siena in 2008. He spent just a year there until he moved to Napoli in 2009 and has remained there since, making 116 appearances in that time and scoring four goals.

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Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos was incensed that his side were not awarded a penalty in the wake of their El Clasico defeat to Barcelona at the Camp Nou yesterday.

Los Blancos star Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be shoved to the ground by Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano whilst Real were chasing an equalizer, having fallen behind to Neymar’s deflected first half strike, but referee Alberto Undiano waved away strong appeals.

Not long after the penalty protest, Barcelona substitute Alexis Sanchez doubled their advantage with a delicate chip over Madrid stopper Diego Lopez, meaning Madrid substitute Jese Rodriguez’s low finish in stoppage time was only a consolation.

Sergio Ramos, taken off early in the second half for Asier Illarramendi after playing in an unfamiliar role in defensive-midfield, was furious after the game, and said to the press furiously, “We have been harmed, the penalty was so clear. There are things that we can’t fight against. The referee was determinant.”

The Spanish international added “Real Madrid played well against a hard team. It’s been a long time since we saw Barcelona suffering and wasting time.”

Carlo Ancelotti’s men now find themselves six points lagging behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

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Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino claims his side’s 2-1 victory over rivals Real Madrid will be a huge morale boost, but it certainly isn’t the title decider.

The Argentinian has mirrored the comments made by captain Carles Puyol despite the fact Los Blancos are now six points adrift of the current La Liga champions and only four points ahead of Atletico Madrid.

“Six points difference? The win is good for how we feel, it’s not so important from a mathematical point of view,” the 50 year-old told the press.

“There is still a long way to go and I’m still putting Atletico as one of the contenders.”

The Catalan giants took the lead at the Camp Nou through Neymar and substitute Alexis Sanchez secured the bragging rights only for youngster Jese Rodriguez to score a late consolation goal in injury time.

Martino was alert to Real’s change of emphasis when looking for the equaliser and brought on Sanchez and Alex Song for Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta.

“I noticed in the first 20 minutes of the second half we were too much on the back foot, giving the initiative to Real Madrid,” Martino continued.

“Starting from that point we considered the best choices for the substitutions. I don’t know how decisive it was at the end, but we managed to recover control of the game.”

Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156

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Real Madrid left back Marcelo has called on his team mates to put the defeat to Barcelona behind them and focus on the next match against Sevilla.

Los Blancos lost 2-1 at the Nou Camp, but felt they were hard done by and should have had two penalties. Adriano appeared to handball inside the box, and shortly before Barcelona scored their second goal, Javier Mascherano hauled Cristiano Ronaldo down in the area.

Speaking to the press after the game, Marcelo admitted his team mates felt aggrieved, but added there was little that could be done.

“The goal was to win, but there are things that work against us that we can’t do anything about. In my opinion there were two blatant penalties. We know that something is always going to happen but there’s nothing we can do about it,” he stated.

The Brazil left back then urged his team to forget about the loss and look to the future and how they can close the gap on the league leaders.

He said: “We’re going to keep working with our heads held high and now we have to think about Sevilla and winning that game. We know that we’re Real Madrid and that we have to forge ahead.”

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The Collins Column

El Clasico is one of the most watched sporting events worldwide, and yesterday’s clash would prove no different. Although much of the animosity in recent years has been removed thanks to the departure of Jose Mourinho, there was plenty to be intrigued about in the match between the two Spanish giants.

How would the two new managers set their teams up? Who of the two biggest summer signings would shine, Neymar or Bale? Could Madrid win three Clasicos in a row for the first time in 34 years?

Let’s have a look at some of the things we learned from the game, which Barcelona went on to win 2-1.

  • Ancelotti’s tactics: The Italian surprised many with his decision to start Sergio Ramos in midfield, and opt for a defensive pairing of Pepe and Raphael Varane. The Spain international was playing alongside Sami Khedira and Luka Modric, with each clearly having been told what role to play. Ramos rarely ventured further forward than the centre circle – his job to prevent Messi and co running into free space. Madrid’s midfield was too rigid and lacked guile – the perfect solution was on the bench – Isco.
  • The New Boys: What contrasting fortunes! Neymar scored just 19 minutes into his El Clasico debut and was a constant thorn in Madrid’s side. His pace and trickery down the left hand side meant Ramos would have to move over and help Daniel Carvajal try and fend off the threat. Bale, meanwhile, didn’t make any real contribution until the 25th minute and even then his long range effort was sent high and wide. The Welshman is clearly still not match fit and was taken off after an hour in place of Karim Benzema. Neymar was given a standing ovation for his contribution when he was removed in the 85th minute. 1-0 to Neymar.
  • Ronaldo vs Messi: So many previous El Clasico encounters have been settled by their brilliance, but yesterday both of them had quieter games than usual. Ronaldo started on the left of the front three, but pushed more into a central role, making the Los Blancos forward appear to be very congested and working in little space. Should have won a penalty in the second half, but endured a frustrating day. Messi lined up on the right hand side and would constantly cut on on his left foot. Madrid’s defenders did well in doubling up on him though.
  • What might have been for Madrid: Los Blancos didn’t get going until after half time, but they dominated for large spells of the second half. The game could, and should have, changed in the 72nd minute when, with the score till at 1-0, Ronaldo was felled by Javier Mascherano in the area. Replays show it should have been a penalty. Karim Benzema, on for the ineffective Gareth Bale, crashed his effort against the bar seconds later. Just moments after that though, Alexis Sanchez went down the other end and chipped Diego Lopez to give the Catalans an unassailable lead.
  • La Liga hopes: The gap between Barcelona and Madrid has opened to six points now, not enough to rule Los Blancos out of the championship yet. But Ancelotti’s men will need to improve, and fast. To date, they have been too disjointed and look the most likely of the two teams to drop points as the season progresses. Find some consistency and a ruthless streak and they will be challenging for honours.

 

 

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Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in El Clasico left Spanish media with the same feeling. All of them highlight that Carlo Ancelotti’s conservative line-up and the referee’s mistake not awarding Cristiano Ronaldo a penalty were the keys of the loss.

Marca titles “Coward Ancelotti, awful referee.” The Madrid sports daily claims “Ancelotti gave Barcelona the first half with his unprecedented line-up invention.” They also state the ref “had a terrible performance, denying Real a clear penalty.”

The other main Madrid sports newspaper, As, claims “Ancelotti and Undiano [the referee] immobilized Real.” PRISA’s paper points out “the manager messed up the team including Gareth Bale as striker.”

“The referee’s fear to concede the penalty stopped Real Madrid’s reaction,” they add. “Alexis sealed the victory with a delightful goal when Barca was having their worst moment,” As points out.

Marca also emphasize the fact that “Alexis sank a Real that deserved more than a loss.”

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Carlo Ancelotti thought otherwise when the referee decided to not reward Real Madrid a clear penalty kick.

“Naturally the penalty was very clear for me. I think everyone saw it, the only person that didn’t see it was the referee,” Ancelotti said in the post-match press conference according to Sky Sports.

The controversial decision was not the only thing that Ancelotti thought went against Madird during the match.

“It’s a difficult decision, but it was at an important movement and if the penalty had been given, it may have been another yellow card too,” he said.

Asier Illarramendi was left out of the starting eleven because he had a muscle sprain sustained in Wednesday’s match against Juventus in the Champions League. Ancelotti put Ramos in his place.

“I played Ramos there to look for balance in the middle of the park, I asked him about it before and he said he wanted to play there so I put him in,” he said.

Ancelotti added that he “did not play defensively” and that “Barcelona did not play with anymore attackers than they did.”

Although Real Madrid lost the Clasico, Ancelotti found it interesting. “It’s a fascinating game and atmosphere, I think it was a great game we showed we can play well against a fantastic team. Of course you want to win this kind of game but at the moment we are improving and this game proves that.”

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Barcelona increased their lead over their over Real Madrid in La Liga too six points after beating Los Blancos in a very intense Clasico. Neymar drove Madrid’s defence crazy and gave Barca the lead.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men were superior in the second half and they should have been awarded a penalty, but Alexis finally sealed the hosts victory with a superb goal in a counter-attack.

Ancelotti surprised everyone lining-up Sergio Ramos as centre-half and Ronaldo as striker, leaving Karim Benzema in the bench and Alvaro Morata out of the squad.

The unexpected test seemed to work at the beginning, as Barcelona was unable to reach the area. The Azulgranas most dangerous player was Neymar, who constantly put Daniel Carvajal in trouble. The Spanish full-back lacked some help from Angel di Maria and Sami Khedira.

Despite the lack of chances for Barcelona, Real barely managed to get out of their own half. Neymar kept on stressing Carvajal and he finally put the hosts in front after receiving a pass from Iniesta. The Brazilian’s shot deflected off Raphael Varane’s hand and ended up in the back of the net.

Los Merengues seemed to get going after the goal, but their offensive effort was about to allow Barca score the second in a counter-attack. The Argentinian broke the Madrid offside but send a strike wide off the post.

Real took control off the game, and Khedira could have equalised just before half-time. Ronaldo sent a cross into the box and the German international slided a close-range strike. Valdes saved it and the ball hit Adriano’s hand, but the referee didn’t concede the penalty.

Los Blancos played more aggressively since the first minute of the second half and they soon took control of the game. Especially after Asier Illarramendi came on for Sergio Ramos, making Real stronger in the midfield.

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