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Archive for April 16, 2010

Marcelo press conference

During Friday’s post-training press conference, Marcelo sent out a warning message that Real Madrid do not think about throwing in the towel any time soon.

"There is a long way to go and we will continue fighting"

Almeria game:

Last night’s victory served us well. We knew that Almeria were a tricky opponent. We need to continue fighting. The match was very complicated. We knew it would be tough because not many teams had won in that stadium. We were eager to leave there with three points. We won because we were very united.

Title hopes:

Winning the title will be hard, but there is still a long way to go. We have seen thousands of times that many things can happen down the final stretch of the season. There are many matches to be played, we have faith and we will continue fighting to win the league. We will continue doing our job, which is to win all that is left.

Run-in:

There are no more easy matches. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, they will all be difficult. Valencia will be a very tough team to beat.

April 16, 2010 | Categories: Press Conference | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Post-match comments

Jorge Valdano had nothing but words of praise for Real Madrid following their victory against Almeria. Manuel Pellegrini was pleased with several facets of his team’s performance, but especially their mental preparation. Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael van der Vaart, Gonzalo Higuain and Raul Albiol expressed their thoughts on their important win on Thursday night.

Valdano:

We did a great job and had a lot of scoring chances. We deserved this win and we earned it in a very difficult place to play.

Winning was a must and the team responded magnificently. We got over any jitters and the players put on a great display of professionalism. Our fans really value the fact that we don’t ever give up.

We have champion-worthy numbers. We need to maintain this rhythm to make things as difficult as possible for Barcelona. We don’t control our own destiny, but we know exactly where we stand and will resist losing in every way possible.

Pellegrini:

We played well in many aspects. We managed to recover psychologically, which was very hard after the last match. Tonight we also were more elaborate in creating plays, as we had been in previous matches. We had six or seven clear chances, but Alves had a great night.

The final outcome gives me the impression that the team was wary about Almeria’s chances of equalizing, but we had plenty of chances to increase the lead over the ninety minutes in order not to be so mindful of conceding another goal.

The team will continue fighting every Sunday to be as far on top as possible. We can only wait for Barcelona to slip stumble. Tonight we beat a tough opponent that played very well. There are plenty of points still in play and both we and Barcelona have complicated matches coming up.

Ronaldo:

We managed to win which was all that counted. These were three crucial points. The team played well. We had to win and now we cannot give up. We are Real Madrid and we cannot stop fighting.

(more…)

April 16, 2010 | Categories: Post-match Comments, Spanish Primera División | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Almeria 1-2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid kept their title hopes alive on Thursday with a come-from-behind win against Almeria. Cristiano Ronaldo equalized after Crusat put the hosts in the lead and Van der Vaart completed the turnaround with twenty minutes left in regulation. One final down and six to go en route to the team objective of 98 points.

License to dream

With risky play implemented by Almeria head coach Lillo, the hosts proved why they have lost only twice at home this season. Both teams had excellent chances of going ahead on the score board in the first half, but the Whites’ opportunities outnumbered those of Almeria, eight to four.

Van der Vaart missed an early chance as Alves managed to clear the shot and Almeria. It was the first warning put up by Real Madrid, but it was Almeria who struck first… And on their first opportunity of the match. Uche fired a low cross into the box and Crusat had no trouble firing passed Casillas.

It didn’t take long for Real to respond, and it was Cristiano Ronaldo who got his name on this score sheet. The Portuguese forward received the ball at the top of the box, advanced with several dazzling step-overs and stuck the ball by Alves.  In the ensuing quarter hour, Guti found nothing but post and his teammates had several chances to head into halftime with the lead. Van der Vaart missed wide following Guti’s rebound and Alves stretched to get a hand to an Higuain shot.

Marcelo came close to putting the Whites in the lead on the first play of the second half and Higuain followed on two occasions, but the Argentine sailed the ball high on the first and a defender cleared the ball across the byline on the second. It appeared it wouldn’t take long in scoring and that was precisely the case. Alves first managed to stymie Marcelo in a one-on-one, but the Brazilian keeper had no answer for Van der Vaart’s left-footer that put the Whites up for good.

Lineups

Almería: Diego Alves, Pellerano, Cisma, Míchel Macedo (Corona 75′), Bernardello, Crusat, Soriano, Mbami    (Goitom 86′), Vargas (Juanma Ortiz 57′), Piatti, Kalu Uche;

Real Madrid: Casillas, Arbeloa, Albiol, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, Van der Vaart, Gago (Diarra 47′), Guti H. (Lass 79′), Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuaín (Benzema 88′);

Goals:

1-0, 14′: Crusat;

1-1, 27′: Cristiano Ronaldo;

1-2, 70′: Van der Vaart;

Referee: Mr. Perez Lasa

Booked: Gago, Diarra, Guti, Albiol, Bernardello, Pellerano, Cisma

Notes: Week 32 of La Liga

Played at: Mediterranean Games Stadium.

Attendance: 11,500.

April 16, 2010 | Categories: Match Reports, Spanish Primera División | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

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