Xabi Alonso press conference
Xabi Alonso discussed the improvement Real Madrid has shown in recent weeks and Tuesday’s Champions League showdown against Olympique Lyonnais during today’s post-training press conference.
Lyon:
Tuesday’s match is very important. We need to have a good game and score a goal or two if possible. Benzema has told us a little about Lyon. We know their past history in the Champions League and that they have made a name for themselves in Europe. They have experienced players and we are expected a tough game.
CL:
The fact that the final is played in the Bernabeu is a plus, but there are six matches left before then. Wininng the Champions League is feasible, bit we have to play our hearts out. We need to be consistent in La Liga because we have little margin of error with Barcelona ahead of us, and in the Champions League we simply cannot make mistakes.
Atletico-Barcelona game:
We need to focus on ourselves and not worry about what Atletico do against Barcelona. Yesterday we knew how difficult our match could be, but we managed to take care of business. Whether Barcelona lose against Atletico is out of our control, but of course we would like them to drop points. Atletico are capable of winning and all Madridistas hope they do today.
Real Madrid Castilla 3-0 Tenerife B
Real Madrid Castilla cruised to their fifth straight win at Alfredo di Stefano Stadium with a 3-0 victory against Tenerife B. Rodrigo, Samu and Luis Hernandez found their names on the score sheet for the Whites, who continue to impress on their home turf. A moment of silence was held prior to kick-off in honor of the late Luis Molowny.
Post-match comments
Real Madrid cut the gap at the top to two points with a win over Xerez, and Jorge Valdano is pleased with their progress. Manuel Pellegrini pointed out the hard work and discipline displayed by his players. Saturday’s star of the show, Cristiano Ronaldo, turned all the attention to the team’s effort rather than his individual performance. Sergio Ramos and Marcelo discussed the victory against Xerez upon its conclusion. Casillas, Granero and Drenthe discussed the difficulties they faced against Xerez and turned their attention to Tuesday’s champions League match against Lyon.
Valdano:
We are right up next to Barcelona. We are in good form, with a full set of players to choose from. Ronaldo contained himself today, even when he was fouled and the referee played on. He is starting to understant the style of refereeing in Spain. He has become more intelligent as a player.
Pellegrini:
Xerez felt our pressure and luckily we had more room to work with and close out the match following the first goal.
Scoring is tough no matter who the opponent is. We were up against a good Xerez team in the first half. The field of play wasn’t in the best of shape, but we maintained our discipline. This team is mature and ready to battle for 90 minutes. We know we can’t demolish every opponent.
Cristiano Ronaldo attracts a lot of defenders. Scoring upon his return from suspension was the best that could happen to him.
Cristiano Ronaldo:
What matters most is that the team won and that we put the pressure on Barcelona. I am very pleased with my return. We need to pay attention to ourselves and continue on the path we are on.
Xerez 0-3 Real Madrid
It took time in coming, but once Arbeloa fired home the first goal in the second quarter Real Madrid had no trouble in putting away Xerez. Kaka and Cristiano connected twice and the Whites earned an historic first win in Jerez and tied a club record by notching their 53rd point in 22 weeks of play. A wonderful tribute to the recently fallen Madridista legend, Luis Molowny.
Xerez gave Real Madrid a lot of room to work with in the early going hoping to catch the Whites off-guard with the counterattack, and the Real responded but with poor accuracy on a pitch whose condition only worsened. The state of the turf didn’t impede the visitors from creating chances on goal, however and they had six in the first half alone. Cristiano nearly scored the evening’s first of the night following a precision assist by Granero, but his left footer one-on-one with Renan sailed wide. Xerez also had an opportunity but Momo’s volley was no where near on target. Casillas pitched another shutout, his 13th in 22 matches, in what was his 500th match as a Madridista.
The best play of the first half was also the work of Cristiano. The Whites got 15 touches on the ball as it swung from left to right until reaching Arbeloa, who curled in the cross for the Portuguese international, but his header caromed off the crossbar.
The second half was all Real Madrid and all Xerez could do was fend off every Madridista offensive. Granero went to the turf to battle for a ball and managed to get a picture perfect pass off to Arbeloa. Although way out of position, the defender blew past Xerez’s back like and struck the ball to the left of the Xerez keeper, who could only watch the ball hit the back of the net. It was Arbeloa’s first goal since joining Real Madrid last summer.
The hardest part had been taken care of, but the Kaka-Cristiano connection slammed the door shut in a matter of minutes. The Brazilian assisted the Portuguese on two occasions; the first a header and the second a left-footer. Drenthe, who replaced Kaka, nearly put the fourth on the board, but Redondo cleared the shot off the goal line. What the defender couldn’t prevent was an historic win for Real Madrid. Not only have the Whites won four straight, but they also equaled the club record of 53 points in 22 weeks of play.
Just another Madridista
Sunday round up
My name is not Khan. I am not a terrorist either. So lets move on and get over with this friggin post.
Xerez made us realize that we have got to work to earn three points from any game no matter who the opponent is. On any other day I would’ve blamed the woeful nature of the pitch for Ronaldo not scoring earlier than he did but then again, some pitches are bitches and we’ve got to live with them irrespective of whether we like it or not. I wasn’t very comfortable with the way in which we tried to whip in crosses so that we can out muscle them in the air in order to score a header or two. We do have a few right and left foots in our team. Van der Vaart is a specialist in that art. So is Granero. Kaka’ too can cross. He proved that through Ronaldo’s first goal, even though that was a kind of a cross that even Darren Fletcher would’ve come up with given the same amount of time and space that the Brazilian created for himself. I felt that with Pipita playing alone up front in front of a wayward Ronaldo (I use wayward with reference to the position in which he plays) we had to play either through low hard crosses or through the center. Low hard crosses was nullified by the wet condition in the Chapin, so it had to be the center.
All our three goals came through the center but that was only after 65 minutes. Arbeloa finished Granero’s threaded pass clinically, something that I didn’t expect from him. Ronaldo’s goal started in the center until Kaka’ made himself space on the wings, showing his masterclass, and crossed perfectly for Ronaldo, so much that he didn’t have to jump to head the ball in. The third goal yet again involved the two with Ronaldo putting Kaka clear on goal who went too close to Renan that he had to get clear of the custodian to deliver a cross that would see Ronaldo score into an goalkeeper-less (not empty) net. It was all beautiful. But what took us 65 minutes to realize the mistake is what bothers me. The first half saw Marcelo, Granero and Arbeloa trying to cross the ball for Ronaldo, who head butted Higuain more than he headed the ball. It never worked. Granero played a Dirk Kuyt role and worked his heart out. His set plays though were as bad as Kuyt’s – something that I didn’t expect from him. Pipita thus had nothing to do with only useless crosses to work upon. We’ve got to admit it. He’s no Raul when it comes to heading the ball. Raul, as short as he might be, knows the right place and the right time that he has to get to in order to nod one in. The crossing should have started when El Siete came on in. It was the other way round. We started playing quick through balls when he came in making him look useless.
Fortunately, these mistakes can be worked upon. And even more fortunately these didn’t cost us three points which has now reduced the deficit to two points though Barca have a game in hand.
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February 14, 2010 | Categories: Comments, News | Tags: Chapín, Cristiano Ronaldo, José María Gutiérrez 'Guti', Karim Benzema, Olympique Lyonnais, Racing Santander, Sergio Canales, Xerez CD | Leave A Comment »