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Cup defeat could deepen Madrid dressing room rift

By
Tim
– January 24, 2012Posted in: Uncategorized

The El Clasico on Wednesday is likely to be overshadowed by the problems in the Real Madrid dressing room which are only good for Barcelona who have the 2-1 lead in the Copa del Rey quarter-final as it could also affect their confidence in the championship race. Against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend there were signs of disagreements between players like Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso while Mourinho received whistles from a section of the crowd. This will be a crucial period for Mourinho to see if he can keep the team united or the supposed split betweeen the Spanish and the Portuguese players grows. For Barca the weekend win over Malaga showed Messi was back to his best and Sanchez is proving to be an important buy and as well his talent he injects an enthusiasm into the team having not won the titles yet that his team-mates have managed. The defence though is still not convincing and with Puyol out Mascherano and Pique can do a job but they are not an ideal partnership.

Here is my preview of the Wednesday night’s game:

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, who is at the centre of a reported bust-up between players and coach Jose Mourinho, has denied there is now a rift in the dressing room ahead of the El Clasico this Wednesday at the Nou Camp which will decide who will go through to the semi-finals of the King’s Cup.
Despite Real’s blistering form in the league which has seen them score a record 67 goals at the halfway stage of the season and has helped earn them a five-point lead over reigning champions Barcelona, all is not well at the club and that is partly because they have been out-classed by their bitter rivals in their two meetings so far.
Mourinho is now in his second season at the Bernabeu and has still not found a way to beat Barcelona – with the one exception the Cup final last year.
He has reverted to defensive and ruthless tactics in a desperate bid which have not only failed but also are not good for the image of the club.
It was reported on Sunday by Spanish sports daily Marca that there was an argument after the 2-1 first leg defeat in the cup by Barca last Wednesday and this reignited on Friday during a training session. The players apparently hit back at criticisms from Mourinho that they were not backing him in the press with Sergio Ramos a protagonist.
Real bounced back from their negative performance against Barcelona with a devastating second half display at home to Athletic Bilbao and ran out 4-1 victors.
But whistles could still be heard for the first time for Mourinho from the crowd.
Ramos attempted to clear the air saying that all is well in the Real camp as they prepare for the cup decider.
“Whoever said that the dressing room is divided or that there are problems is lying. We have an excellent group of players who are united and working together we will have success,” he said on Twitter.
“It was a big win at the weekend, we played well and have three more points. Now we are concentrating on the cup.”
Barcelona also warmed up in style for the game with a 4-1 win over Malaga where Lionel Messi grabbed a hat-trick, his 14th at the club.
The Catalan side couldn’t afford to be distracted by the cup and risk dropping more points in the championship race and Messi rose to the occasion with Alexis Sanchez getting the other goal.
It was the perfect response from the Argentine, whose away form has been questioned as just one of his 19 goals before the Malaga match had come away from the Nou Camp.
One of the lingering memories of the cup first leg was an apparent stamp by Pepe on Messi as he lay on the ground and Andres Iniesta says he is surprised that no action has been taken against the Portuguese enforcer.
“The images speak for themselves and the different opinions have been made. He said it was not deliberate but apart from what is decided on the pitch maybe a disciplinary committee should act so that this doesn’t happen again. It isn’t the first time,” he said.
Looking ahead to Wednesday’s game he added: “The opposition will mean that we will have to play a perfect match as it is a knockout and they are Madrid. From us there will be no relaxation, we have an advantage but that is all and we are just concentrating on getting through to the next round.
“If we started speculating or being cautious it would be worse because Madrid have come to win and they have the players to achieve it.”
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Barca must put Clasico success to one side and concentrate on Malaga

By
Tim
– January 19, 2012Posted in: Uncategorized
As the dust settles on another El Clasico victory for Barcelona where they once again outplayed Real Madrid, who resorted to desperate antics especially from Pepe to try and stop them, the champions still return to league action away to Malaga trailing their bitter rivals by five points.
It is only the half-way stage in the King’s Cup quarter-final but Real face an uphill battle next week to overcome their 2-1 defeat in the cauldron like atmosphere that always greets them at the Camp Nou especially if they play like they did on Wednesday night.
Real, who now face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, looked nothing like the side which had won all but one of their last 23 matches and amassed 63 goals so far this season in the league although that defeat in December did come against Barcelona when they were torn apart in the second half.
Barcelona had been stuttering especially away from home where they have only won three out of eight games and looked defensively frail last weekend in the 4-2 win over Real Betis but rather than trust in his own side’s attacking flair, Real coach Jose Mourinho preferred to offer a more defensive and destructive display where Pepe was once again the villain.
The Portuguese attempted to stop Barca by any means possible with some over the top challenges and playacting but the worst by far was when he stood on the hand of Lionel Messi as he lay on the ground.
Gerard Pique has not been a regular in the side this season due to injuries and has often been left out when coach Pep Guardiola has played three at the back. He produced a solid performance against Real and said that when Barca play to their potential they are still the team to beat.
“That was one of our best performances and when we play like that then we are not going to lose. We have a style of football which we have been playing for many years and we play the same in whichever stadium,” he said.
“In the head-to-head matches we have come out on top against Madrid which is great as it shows we are stronger than them but we must improve generally to win the league and we face a big match this weekend against Malaga.”
Real Betis and Sevilla clash in what is one of the most passionate derbies in world football but the match has been overshadowed in recent years by crowd trouble and directors from both clubs have met this week in an effort to urge a more peaceful atmosphere.
Sevilla are a point below the European places with Valencia leading the chase behind the front two and they now take on Osasuna. Levante are still hanging onto the other Champions League berth despite losing 3-0 last weekend to Athletic Bilbao and they haven’t won in the league now since early December but they will hope to end that run against bottom side Zaragoza who are five points adrift.
Espanyol are also in the European hunt and take on Granada while below them Atletico Madrid, who have responded well after the appointment of Diego Simeone, travel to Real Sociedad.
It is set to be a tense clash between relegation threatened Villarreal and Sporting Gijon while Racing Santander are also in action against Getafe and Rayo Vallecano entertain Mallorca.
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Barca 4-2 Real Betis

By
Tim
– January 15, 2012Posted in: Uncategorized

Barcelona were not at their best but kept the pressure up on leaders Real Madrid with a 4-2 victory over Betis at the Nou Camp.

Before kick off the fans were shown the Club World Cup trophy and Messi also paraded his recently retained World Player of the Year Award. The gongs brought a cheer to the crowd in what was a slightly downcast atmosphere before kick-off. Not what Barca really needed for a game they must win to keep in touch with Real Madrid.

On the face of it Betis don’t appear a difficult opponent but after a poor run during autumn they have got their rhythm back and won four out of the last five games in all competitions.

Barca began the game knocking the ball around and settling into a 3-4-3 formation with Puyol, Mascherano and Abidal at the back. Betis’ pace is where they really carry the threat and with their first real string of passes Molina, who has been in good form for Betis, went through on goal and Valdes blocked his shot. The Barca shot stopper had to be alert again from the proceeding corner as he stopped a Dorado header.

Barca responded quickly though and Xavi knocked in the opening goal after Cesc’s shot from a tight angle hit the post. Betis’ weak defence was soon being torn apart again as Messi added a second from an Alexis Sanchez cross.

The azulgrana in possession appear unstoppable but it is at the back where there are concerns and is the reason why they have dropped points away. 41 goals without a single in response until tonight was a fantastic total at the Camp Nou but they have only won three matches away, along with drawing four and losing one.

That record of not conceding a goal was increasingly in danger and finally went as the defence was cut open with Ruben Castro slotting home from close range after 32 minutes.

Betis could have had another before half-time as Molina headed over unchallenged at a corner.

The Andalusians came out for the second half with attack in mind as Roque Santa Cruz was added to the forward line. At the same time Barca switched to a flat back four with Alves on but the defensive change did not work as Santa Cruz fired Betis level with a  strike into the corner after being given too much time on the edge of the area.

Barca looked a lot more lively but Betis defended more deeply and were frustrating a Barca side not at their best. Messi had a few speculative shots but without too much danger.

Gradually the pressure was beginning to tell and the referee missed a body check by Montero on Iniesta inside the area which would have been a penalty.

Minutes later though the sending off of Betis defender Mario turned the match in Barca’s favour.

Iniesta had a shot saved and Alexis headed over before the Chilean restored Barca’s lead with a drive from 20 yards which found the corner passed the keeper’s despairing dive.

Messi added the fourth from the penalty spot and attention now turns to the Copa del Rey and the next clasico in Madrid.