La Liga Results - Highlights 05.12.09: Madrid and Barca widen the gap

Real Madrid 4 - 2 Almería

 

(1-0) 31' Sergio Ramos, (1-1) 58' Soriano, (1-2) 62' Kalu Uche, (2-2) 74' Higuaín, (3-2) 82' Benzema, (4-2) 88' Cristiano Ronaldo

• Almería gave Real Madrid a fright when they fought back from 1-0 down to lead in the Bernabeu. In end, Madrids greater potency infront of goal proved decisive.
• Gonzalo Higuaín scored another vital goal to drag Madrid back into the match. He also played a part in the goals from Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo that put the game out of reach for Hugo Sanchezs men. The Argentine is key to Real Madrids hopes for Liga glory this year.
• Cristiano then ruined the party by getting needlessly sent off. One yellow for revealing those famous abs after scoring and another for petulantly kicking out after a tussle. He now misses the match against Valencia in the Mestalla which won't go down to well with Pelligrini.
• Major talking point from the match, apart from his red card, was Ronaldos reaction to Madrids third goal. He missed the penalty but Benzema reacted first to slot in the rebound. Cue hands on head and no celebration from CR9.

 

Xerez 0 - 2 Atlético Madrid

(0-1) 28' Forlán, (0-2) 61' Agüero

• A poor match that was settled by two clinical finishes from Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero. Atlético were never put under much pressure from a dismal Xerez, but they will need to improve against stronger opposition if they want to maintain their fightback in the league. The one exception was Jurado who was majestic in the middle of the park.
• Xerezs backline played far too high up the pitch and were punished by two through balls which found Forlán and Agüero in acres of space. And why on earth was David 'The Snail' Prieto playing when the Atlético strikers have pace to burn?
• The Xerez fans voiced their anger towards the end of the match, calling for the head of coach Ziganda. Expect him to be shown the door this week, especially if the proposed buyout by ex-Real Madrid and Xerez manager, Bernd Schuster, materialises.

 

Sevilla 1 - 1 Real Valladolid

(0-1) 33' Manucho, (1-1) 46' Luis Fabiano (p)

• Devastating blow for Sevilla, who see a nine point gap open up between themselves and Barcelona. Only a couple of weeks ago they were being mentioned as possible candidates to win the league. Very different story now.
• Ex-Manchester United striker Manucho put the Valladolid ahead, but they played from the 39th minute onwards with ten men after Borja was sent off. Sevilla only managed to equalise through that man Luis Fabiano, who can't stop scoring, but failed to take advantage thereafter. Poor show.
• If you want to win the league, games like this simply have to reap three points. Sevilla have now drawn two in a row at home against limited opposition, and have seen their hopes of winning La Liga fade away before xmas.

Deportivo La Coruña 1 - 3 Barcelona

(0-1) 26' Messi, (1-1) 38' Adrián, (1-2) 80' Messi, (1-3) 88' Ibrahimovic

• Things were looking complicated for Barca until Messi stuck them ahead with ten minutes left. The Argentines first goal was exquisite, the second a clinical header. Ibrahimovic sealed the deal with a well-taken strike towards the end. I wasn't convinced he was a good buy when they signed him this summer, but how wrong I was. A giant Swedish goal machine.
• For 80 minutes Depor matched Barca stride for stride. Manuel Pablo was a rock at the back, and they dealt manfully with the Barca threat. Adriáns goal was their reward but in truth it was a monumental error from Victor Valdes.
• The Ballon D'Or seems to have reinvigorated Leo Messi, and he looked back to his best as he steered Barcelona to their third win in a week. Him and Ibrahimovic are linking up beautifully at the moment.

FIFA 2010 World Cup Draw: Spain are laughing

Well there it is. Vicente Del Bosque will sleep well tonight as his Spain side successfully avoided Portugal and France in the World Cup draw, and instead will have to negotiate a group that contains Switzerland (16th June), Honduras (21st June) and Chile (25th June). Out of those three matches, only Chile can be expected to pose problems for 'La Roja'. But once they reach the knockout stages things begin to get a little complicated. Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal are potential opponents in the second round, although if both Spain and Brazil manage to top their groups, they wouldnt meet until the final. Interesting.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Abs and the Match-Fixing Scandal

You know there's something going on when the headline story in the press is that Cristiano Ronaldo does 3000 sit-ups a day. It comes hot on the heels of an investigation being opened by UEFA on 300 players interspersed between the top four divisions of Spanish football, with allegations of illegal betting and match fixing. Some might think that the Spanish FA would want to mask this with a petty story about their most marketable asset. Other might believe they are diverting attention away from the newly crowned winner of the Ballon D'or, Lionel Messi, and towards someone who can rake in the euros. I like to think they are simply offering sound advice on how to get some rock-solid abs.

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On the day that Atlético Madrid announced a debt of over €200 million, it has been reported that the club is willing to worsen an already shocking backline by signing that big Swiss oaf, Phillipe Senderos. Fresh from rejection at Arsenal, where he was even behind Mikael Silvestre in the pecking order, he would fit in perfectly at a club where defending is actively frowned upon.

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Big day tomorrow as we'll discover exactly who will be playing who in the World Cup group stages in South Africa next summer. Vicente del Bosque wants his Spain side to avoid Ivory Coast, United States, Ghana, Chile and Portugal. Interesting to see he ignored France.

UEFA Europa League Result - 03.12.09

Austria Vienna 0 - 3 Athletic Bilbao (Llorente 19, San José 61, Llorente 103)

(Athletic Bilbao qualify from their group) 

Xerez 0 - 2 Barcelona: Ibracadabra waves his wand (Highlights)

I'm sure it didn't look too pretty on TV, but up close and personal you can turely appreciate the quality Barcelona have, even when they don't play particularly well. Xerez, to their eternal credit, pushed the reigning European champions and it wasn't all plain sailing for Guardiolas team. But two moments of ruthless execution stole the three points and Xerez were left to rue a couple of break-aways that promised much but delivered little. The match had a cup tie feel about it, and at times in the first half, I thought we could have an upset on the cards. The crowd were in full song and, having only just negotaited Real Madrid three days earlier, Barcelona sent out a team missing Messi, Iniesta and Ibrahimovic.

The first half was largely uneventful, with neither side creating too much and you could tell Barcelona just wanted to get the job done and get out. Xavi knocked the ball around as nonchalantly as ever. Yaya Toure protected his back four admirably. But in truth Renan had little to deal with. Bojan and Pedro were both dissapointments, as I was expecting a lot more from the Barca youth players, but neither got into the game. Thierry Henry flitted in and out, and Xerez got to half time with the scores level and the upset was still on.