Real Madrid tried hard to turn around their first leg defeat against Alcorcon, but had no luck. They dominated the match and had countless chances on goal throughout the entire game, but imprecisions in attack, up to three shots to the posts and goalkeeper Juanma’s excellent performance thwarted their chances and only allowed them to net one strike. Alcorcon made history at the Bernabeu by reaching the Last 16 of Copa del Rey.
Alcorcon had the same lineup as in the first leg, while new faces were on the Real Madrid starting eleven. The Whites wanted to do their best to thrill the 80,000 fans that gathered at the stadium, but Alcorcon were well positioned and managed to thwart their incessant bouts in attack.
Van Nistelrooy had two shots on goal; Arbeola pulled off a powerful low shot; a cross from Albiol was cleared by the defence; Juanma saved a shot from Lass; the defence cleared corner kicks served by Kaka and Higuain… Real Madrid lacked precision in their many chances, while Alcorcon proved to be dangerous with shots from outside the box and in set pieces.
The Whites’ intensified their game after half-time and had seven shots on target in the opening seven minutes. Pepe tried with a header; a long shot by Van der Vaart slightly missed the mark; Van Nistelrooy hit the crossbar; Van der Vaart hit a post; Van Nistelrooy crossed a shot; Juanma cleared a shot from kaka; Higuain tried again from outside the box… Nothing worked.
The match carried on this way until the end. Alcorcon did their best to withstand Real Madrid’s onslaughts, which finally found their reward when Van der Vaart scored from outside the box with then minutes to go to the final whistle. This wasn’t enough and Alcorcon qualified to play in the Last 16 of the Copa del Rey despite Real Madrid’s victory. The Santiago Bernabeu crowd gave Alcorcon a standing ovation at the end of the encounter.
Lineups
Real Madrid: Dudek, Albiol, Pepe, Arbeloa, Gago, Kaká, Lass (Marcelo 72′), Diarra (Van der Vaart 48′), Higuaín, Van Nistelrooy, Raúl;
Alcorcón: Juanma, Nagore, Iñigo López, Borja Gómez, Rubén Anuarbe, Rubén Sanz, Sergio Mora, Ernesto Gómez, Fernando Béjar (Vara 75′), Diego Cascón (Carmelo 60′), Borja Pérez (Jeremy 81′);
Goals:
No one can forget the first leg of the Last 32 match played on 27 October in Santo Domingo Stadium. And it is precisely the biggest motivational factor Real Madrid need heading into tonight’s match at the Bernabeu, where the Whites need to turn around the 4-0 defeat from two weeks ago.
Home-field advantage will play a huge role and the sell-out crowd will act as the 12th man for the sixteen men have been called up for elimination match. Raul Albiol is once again available after missing the derby to suspension. Sergio Ramos meanwhile will sit this one out after being sent off against Atletico. Casillas, Benzema, Xabi Alonso are being rested by Pellegrini and will watch from the stands, while Guti, Drenthe and Metzelder weren’t called up by the coach.
AD Alcorcon are on the verge of making history and can do so by eliminating Real Madrid for a berth in the Last 16, but the Segunda Division B side will have to defeat a confident team and raucous fans.
It still isn’t known who Juan Antonio Anquela will field. Cascon and Borja, the latter who scored a brace in the first leg, didn’t play in last Sunday’s game against Cacereño. Iñigo Lopez may be unavailable as well after abandoning the team’s last league match, which Juanma, Anaurbe, Bejar, Ernesto and Ruben Sanz sat out to rest for tonight’s showdown.
Sixteen men requested for Alcorcon
Manuel Pellegrini has announced the 16-man squad list for Tuesday’s Cup match against Alcorcon. Raul Albiol is able to play after serving a one-match suspension against Atletico Madrid, while Sergio Ramos must sit out after being sent off in the derby. Casillas, Benzema, Guti, Drenthe, Xabi Alonso and Metzelder did not make the final cut due to a coaching decision.
SQUAD LIST:
Goalkeepers: Dudek, Adan.
Defenders: Arbeloa, Pepe, Marcelo, Albiol, Garay.
Midfielders: Gago, Diarra, Kaka, Lass, Van der Vaart, Granero.
Forwards: Raul, Van Nistelrooy, Higuain.
We all know that the weakest link in our team is the Left Back spot – a position that was once occupied by the likes of the legendary Roberto Carlos, not so legendary Gabriel Heinze and a fairly decent Raul Bravo in the past decade or so and now there is Marcelo, Drenthe and Arbeloa who to be fair to them are not real Left Backs.
If there should be any reinforcements in January then it definitely should be to that position in our team. Most of the crucial goals that we have conceded have been because of the lack of a major presence on the extreme left hand side of the defence or so to speak.
Marcelo is great in attack. No doubts about that. And R.R.Drenthe can do a lot of Dutch rap. No doubts about that as well. What we need is a player who can defend in that position and can support the attack by whipping in crosses and not try and dribble into the center and smack goals into the opponents goal. No thats not what we need. We have enough people to do that.
That brings us to today’s poll.
During Monday’s press conference, Manuel Pellegrini appeared absolutely confident in his team’s ability to turn around Tuesday’s Cup tie against Alcorcon.
Are you confident that your team can eliminate Alcorcon?
Coming back from a 4-0 deficit it always hard, but we know we can do it. We have the talent.
Queiroz called Cristiano up to be with Portugal.
I was asked about it last week. Everyone has their own interests in mind. Whatever, happens, there are medical records that need to be looked at.
What team will you field against Alcorcon?
Several of the players who played them the first time. We will put on players who can recover the ball and who are offense-minded. Benzema will rest because he has played several consecutive matches.
How do you see Cristiano Ronaldo?
He is following a specific treatment protocol. No player likes to miss playing for his national team, but the doctors should have the final say.
How do you think Alcorcon will play?
It is impossible to say. We are very anxious to get out there and to play with intensity. We cannot rush ourselves and we need to make Alcorcon feel like they are playing against the entire Santiago Bernabeu.
Is qualifying for the next round mandatory?
Mandatory is a complicated word in football. We have the willingness and team spirit, and we need to show it on the pitch.
How is Guti?
He will be called up when he and the coaching staff think he is ready. We want him to be like he was at the start of the season. There is no punishment and there is no fighting.
SIXTEEN NAMES
Manuel Pellegrini has announced the 16-man squad list for Tuesday’s Cup match against Alcorcon. Raul Albiol is able to play after serving a one-match suspension against Atletico Madrid, while Sergio Ramos must sit out after being sent off in the derby. Casillas, Benzema, Guti, Drenthe, Xabi Alonso and Metzelder did not make the final cut due to a coaching decision.
ONE HERO
Among the names on the list, one stands out. An enigmatic Brazilian named Kaka, call sign: SCARECROW. (Its funny Kaka means crow where I live). Kaka was on the pitch of the Bernabeu on Sunday morning and talked about Tuesday’s match. He said:
Our victory in the derby has boosted our morale to make a comeback on Tuesday. Our history and our pride force us to make a comeback The fans’ support will be very important. Players and fans must unite. The Bernabeu will be like a pressure cooker. The crowd must be the team’s twelfth player.
I can here the Madridistas say “Your wish is our command master.”
NO LIMITS
Real Madrid find themselves in need of a major turnaround in Copa del Rey action come Tuesday, but on two previous occasions the team has been able to bounce back from 4-0 deficits.
On 4 May 1947, a hat-trick by Crias and a goal by Pineda for Betis put Madrid in a major hole, but in the return leg at Metropolitano Stadium, Barrinaga scored three goals and Vidal, Molowny and Pruden had one each to turn the tie around. The Whites went on to win the competition against Español with two added-time goals by Vidal and Pruden.
Then in 1974/75, Real Madrid fell 4-0 to Las Palmas in a quarterfinal match up in the Canary Islands. Two days later at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Whites staged an epic comeback with goals Roberto Martinez, Santillana (3) and Pirri. The team also went on to win the Cup this season after a penalty shootout against Atletico Madrid.
There are no limits in this world.
The race is on and the pace is frantic as Real fight for their survival in the Copa del Rey, in the process demolishing Alcorcon, a team from Segunda B (the third tier of Spanish football) who stunned us in the first leg two weeks ago, in a result that raised questions over the future of coach Manuel Pellegrini.
We have won the European cup nine times, more than anyone else, and the League 31 times. This time it is different.
Because this time we are doing something that no one expects us to do.
P.S: The above format was drawn from the teaser of Scarecrow, a Matthew Reilly novel.
Carlos Queiroz has announced his 23-man list for Portugal’s World Cup playoff against Bosnia on 14 and 18 November. Among those included are Cristiano Ronaldo, who is still recovering from injury, and Pepe.
But Real Madrid have announced that they will not allow Cristiano Ronaldo to travel to Portugal, as playing could see him risk his entire career. Real’s doctors have told the player that if he plays the play-offs he could suffer a major setback in his rehabilitation from an ankle problem. Marca have revealed that Real are digging their heels in and have sent all the relevant medical reports to the Portuguese Football Federation regarding the ankle injury, which they claim will take another month to six weeks to recover from.
I am not sure whether he would really travel or not. We will just have to wait and see.
Cristiano Ronaldo meanwhile spoke to Portuguese newspaper A bola amongst other, his life at Real Madrid. The Portuguese heart-throb said:
Whenever you have a new ‘girlfriend’ you want to please her more and do as much as you can for her. I feel well at Real Madrid and, despite having missed some games, playing at a new stadium with a new crowd and meeting different teams and players motivates me… I like to learn, so this is very stimulating, but it doesn’t mean my former team wasn’t.
Whatever.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Manuel Pellegrini earned his 100th victory in La Liga in his 200th match in the competition. The coach was very happy with his team’s victory against Atletico Madrid. Iker Casillas was one of the best players in the derby. The goalkeeper was very satisfied with the team’s victory. Marcelo starred in the match against Atletico by scoring the team’s second goal. Pepe, Ramos and Arbeloa were all very happy with Real Madrid’s performance in the derby.
Pellegrini:
We scored three goals and had several chances to net more. We controlled the game until Ramos was sent off. Atletico Madrid have very dangerous men and the final minutes were very difficult for us and didn’t reflect our superiority during the rest of the game.
The entire team is adapting to a new dynamic. There’s still much to improve on, but we are earning good results nonetheless. I am satisfied with the job we are doing in that respect. We are making progress and I hope we continue to do so.
The key to our victory was that we went for it from the start, avoiding to speculate about our opponent. We put a lot of pressure on them and we were creative enough to score goals and have many chances.
I am very happy with the work we’re doing. We’ve earned important victories and I expected some ups and downs to happen. We’ve sorted out our drawn matches, our defeat in Seville… We are doing rather well in the Champions League and we hope to make it to the next round. We have to come back from our defeat in Alcorcon.
We must be coherent and strive to create ball movement and keep possession as much as possible. We should play with midfielders down the wings as opposed to using fixed wingers all the time. Real Madrid must strive to do something different and we are on the path to achieving this, but we still have much to improve on.
Casillas:
We made mistakes we can’t afford to make again. We worked hard for the victory and we have to get more chances on goal. We were slightly hurt by the red card and we made mistakes, but that’s no excuse. What’s important is that Madridistas enjoyed the victory. We won at a complicated stadium and we must now focus on playing a good game in the Cup against Alcorcon.
Aguero had a great chance, but I was lucky and managed to clear the ball. We were a great opponent for Atletico Madrid. We know what a derby is like so it was normal for us to be so focused from the start. Our defence was tight and Ramos’ red card hurt us. They took advantage of that. It will help us correct our mistakes in the future.
We suffered at the end of the second half. It was hard, but we deserved to win in the end. We are solid in defence and the red card distracted us. Atletico capitalised on two chances and had several others.
Our last three games have been difficult. We now hope to defeat Alcorcon on Tuesday. Team and fans must unite to help us reach the next round. The great thing about this squad is that every player on it gives 100%. Anyone can make the starting lineup.
We are anxious to play the game on Tuesday and win. We must reach the next round.
Real Madrid once again proved they aspire to win every title at stake this season. The Whites played brilliantly during 80 minutes at the Calderon despite Atletico’s push in the final ten minutes. Kaka and Marcelo scored in the first half, while Higuain followed suit after half-time. Forlan and Aguero put the locals back in the game close to the end with one strike each, but the Madridistas eventually snatched the victory.
Real Madrid pressurised from the start. The central midfielders constantly supported the full backs, who in turn helped out as much as they could in attack.
Four minutes into the game, Lass lost the ball only to recover it again and pass it to Kaka, who scored from a phenomenal shot right outside the box. Pepe tried to score a second strike with a long shot (19’), Ramos tried from the edge of the box (21’) and Marcelo eventually netted the team’s second strike on the 24-minute mark.
The goal was the result of excellent touch on ball and precision; Ramos and Benzema combined passes inside the box before finally giving the ball to the Brazilian, who scored with his right foot despite hardly having an angle from the goal-line. Benzema came close to netting a third (33’) and Forlan hit Casillas’ post (30’). Simao had the last chance of the first half.
Aguero came on in the second half and Atletico tried to make a comeback, but within fifteen minutes Real Madrid managed to score again through Higuain (64’). The Argentine dribbled past Perea and defeated Asenjo in a one-on-one.
Ramos saw a red card one minute later for tackling Aguero outside the area and Forlan used this to cut distances short (79’). One minute later, Aguero thrilled the crowd by scoring a second strike for his team, but it was too late for the locals to make a full comeback and Real Madrid won again at the Calderon; the Whites haven’t lost there in eleven years.
Lineups:
Atlético Madrid: Asenjo, Ujfalusi, Pablo (Sinama Pongolle 90′), Perea, Antonio López, Cléber Santana, Raúl García, Reyes (Maxi Rodríguez 60′), Jurado (Agüero 47′), Simao, Forlán;
Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Garay, Arbeloa, Lass, Xabi Alonso, Kaka (Van der Vaart 86′), Marcelo, Benzema (Gago 70′), Higuain (Raul 67′);
The first derby of the season between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid will take place tonight at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. The Whites have great motivation thanks to their brilliant performance in the first half of their match against Milan in San Siro. Atletico are also optimistic thanks to their improved performances of late.
The Madridistas haven’t lost at the Calderon in a decade, earning six victories and two draws (Atletico spent two years in the Second Division). Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gonzalo Higuain scored the strikes in Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory at the stadium last season.
Barcelona will face Mallorca at Camp Nou before the derby. If Barça fail to win, Real Madrid could snatch the top spot of the table by defeating Atletico.
Ezequiel Garay and Christoph Metzelder are the new faces on Pellegrini’s squad list, while Raul Albiol will have to miss the match due to being suspended as a result of the red card he saw against Getafe. Midfielder Assunçao (suspended) and defender Juanito (injured) will be the absences on Atletico’s camp. Former Madridistas Jurado and Reyes will have a chance to face their former team.
Garay and Metzelder called up
Manuel Pellegrini has announced the 19-man squad list for Saturday’s derby against Atletico Madrid. Garay has found his way back after missing the last two matches due to tendonitis, as has Metzelder, who last played against Alcorcon. With the Sports Discipline Committee yet to reach a verdict on the red card Albiol received against Getafe, Pellegrini had also called up the Spanish international. But he will be suspended for the game. Cristiano Ronaldo is unavailable due to injury, while Adan, Drenthe, Guti and Diarra were left off due to a coaching decision.
Just another Madridista
Post-match comments
Director General Jorge Valdano commented on the fans’ support and reaffirmed his confidence in the team’s work following the match. Manuel Pellegrini offered his thoughts following Real Madrid’s elimination from the Copa del Rey. Pepe was visibly upset after Real Madrid was knocked out of the King’s Cup on Tuesday. Raul Albiol expressed his dissatisfaction after Real Madrid’s elimination from the Copa.
Valdano:
Pellegrini:
read more…
from → Copa del Rey, Post-match Comments