Party will have to wait but Madrid win in style

Barcelona continued on the slippery road to non existence in the league by losing on the road to Deportivo on Saturday. I don’t think the two goals they conceded was the problem, from looking at them play, the problem is more to do with a midfield that just looks ordinary, and no single clinical finishing in front. It has been not just a disappointing week but a few weeks for Barcelona. Man U put on the Camp Nou a very clear game plan and that was to sit and absorb the pressure and hit them on the counter. There was chance after chance for Barca, but they just could not score. More importantly Ronaldo could have given a priceless away goal if he had not missed the penalty. The press already talking about how Ronaldo did not perform in the big stage, i dont see that as an indication of that, and i not a fan of such football, but Fergusson got it right, that if they need to win a two leg tie they need to play the away leg defensively. Messi looked a little short on pace and again the Barca midfield almost playing a training session script and not able to put the killer ball in.

Sunday the first game was pressure on Villareal to win or to concede the league to Real who later entertained Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu. Villareal came out with a 1-0 win ensuring that Real even if they win will have to wait till next week against Osasuna to claim the title. With the possibility looming the Bernabeu was jam packed; it was a sight to see 80,000 fans.

Schuster was forced to change some minor changes in the line up. Cannavaro was suspended, the Italian has actually played 30 or so of the league games, it was Henize and Pepe in the center of defence and to be flanked by Ramos and Marcelo. Gago who has had a defining season is still holding onto his position in midfield, Guti ans Sneijder to play providers. Robinho on the left, Raul and a surprise inclusion of Saviola on the pitch. For the first 10 minutes i did not even realize Saviola was even on the pitch, on minute 13 Sneijder put in a remarkable first time pass on the half volley to Raul inside with so much precision, the shot was spilled poorly by the keeper back to Sneijder who had the presence of mind to back heel to Robinho who took the shot, spilled again by the keeper and there was "the Rabbit" to turn it in. 1-0 Real Madrid.

Knowing the result of the Villareal game, Real knew that they have to win. Athletic is a club that plays with one striker in llorente, most supply coming from Extebarria on the wing. There was some impressive play in the midfield from Real. Any team that comes to the Bernabeu should know that to win they need to suffocate the midfield, which never happened as Guti and Gago were seeing too much of the ball and Sneijder as usual was simply superb, taking a shot whenever he has a chance. Shot after shot by Saviola, he was single handedly keeping defenders busy with his dribbling. Robinho missed again to score but it seemed obvious that he has to play on the left side, and Schuster has a problem, as he would later find out that Robben is also just unstoppable.

Before the half came to an end, it was time for Bilbao to have a show of hands. Llorente realized that he needs to stay towards Heinze to challenge for the aerial balls. Pepe was considerable was standing tall against the tall striker but Heinze soon was to get into trouble. Just to make it even better the Real keeper just decided take control, he first made a superb save on Extebarria's shot from long range. His best save was when he was full stretch in the air to save a glancing header from a set piece. Heinze made a poor tackle when challenging for the ball in the air with Llorente inside the penalty box when he lost the ball and with his back at the striker brought him down. Just as Extebarria was stepping up to score the penalty i had a feeling that Casillas was due for some magic. It did happen when Casillas dived right, the shot was almost central and he made a superb save by punching the ball clear.
The second half kicked off with the same quickness and flair. Guti got into a scoring chance inside the box, when Saviola found him with a pass after running at the defence but only a deflection could prevent him. Sneijder had a terrific chance, when Guti put a delightful ball in after Real's quickness was evident when the counter attacked bfrom a Bilbao corner, but the first time shot was well done, but not on target. Sergio Ramos could not hit the target, when set up superbly inside the Bilbao penalty box, after some superb 1-2 passing between Raul and Saviola. Saviola was creating so much trouble for the Bilbao defense that probably no one noticed that Raul was almost invisible on the pitch. At this time Schuster made the key changes in bringing Higuain on for Raul and Robben on for Robinho. It almost immediately worked as on a counter attack Guti found Higuain with a long ball to the right who in turn crossed in quickly for the flying Dutchman to score with his first touch. Superb finish making it 2-0 on 73 minutes.
It was not to be all, Real scored again in 4 minutes when Bilbao carelessly gave the ball away and Heinze's long ball went through everyone to Higuain, who did all on his own and finished one on one with the keeper with a difficult angle. 3-0 and the Victory chant was on.

Schuster would have been happy that his no regulars got some time on the pitch and also delivered the goods. Saviola was a pleasant sight to see, the guy has been struggling with injuries and also not been able to be a regular. He just proved that he is still quick and a threat inside the box. Unlike the last many seasons Real this season look to have built a solid foundation in Pepe, Gago, Sneijder, Robben and other new faces. Sneijder who is never happy substituted went off the pitch happy and all celebrations on the bench, just showing how ecstatic he might be with his first season. A draw next week against Osasuna if Villareal were to lose, would mean that the following Thursday’s match against Barcelona would be of no consequence.

A few details i read would actually prove that Casillas deserves the Man of the Match award.

Iker Casillas has conceded only 30 goals in 34 matches this season (0.88 gpm) and is the leading candidate for the Zamora trophy, which he has never won since debuting with Real Madrid's first team in 1999.

After making several brilliant saves on Sunday including a penalty, Athletic Bilbao coach Joaquín Caparrós had the following to say about Casillas, "Iker is unlike any one else. You reach his box in full control of the ball, you have a chance to score, and then he appears and says, "Hold it right there." He makes the save and cuts off any possible reaction by the opponent."

17 shutouts in 34 matchesReal Madrid haven't conceded a goal in half of their league matches this season. Between matchday 15 and 20 (Athletic, Osasuna, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Levante, and Atletico), Casillas didn't allow anything past him, and he was simply outstanding in the team's two goal fests of the season against Villarreal (0-5) and Valladolid (7-0). The academy product is currently enjoying a three-game steak without conceding a goal (Murcia, Racing Santander, and Bilbao). Not only has Bernd Schuster's team conceded the fewest goals this season, it's also the top scoring team in the league with 71 under its belt.

Things are heating up in EPL, with Chelsea's 2-1 win over Man U, but it would require a slip up from Man U for Chelsea to have any hopes, as the GD is in Man U's favor by miles. Its all about big game players, and who else but a German, Ballack. The crucial and controversial penalty, in the absence of Lampard was the key and Ballack showed great confidence. I still have great respect for the way Chelsea have fought the battle and got to this point. They might not be as pleasing as Arsenal in the way they play or have the flair of Man U, but they are grinding the results.

Maybe not as exciting the La Liga season last year, but this could well define the come back of one of the best teams to watch in Europe.

Here is a video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=53N3pjGN3ps

Barca stumble again and the "Real" team victory, La Liga could be over next weekend

Barcelona played the return leg of the Barcelona derby by hosting Espanyol at the Nou Camp. It was a packed stadium and its a sight to see when the Nou Camp is full all the way up to the top tiers. If the first edition of this season's Barcelona derby was a treat to watch, this one was an absolute dull affair. With Eto up front Barca has one of the most clinical strikers in world football. The problem? simple- the midfield is not flexible. Without the flair of Ronaldinho and Messi they are just mediocre, who play a specific system. The wing backs, this time around Sylvinho and Zambrotta make a few runs and create some chances but there is no movement and most of Barca's possession is just their cute passing game. Most teams who visit Nou Camp (including Real Madrid earlier) just sit back, suck up the pressure and then hit them on the counter. Espanyol could not do that on Saturday but they did well to counter each Barca move and ultimately Barca would be kicking themselves for how wasteful they were. They looked like a team who had given up on the title hopes and team some what concerned with their big clash mid week against Man U. Barca dropped 2 points in a week when Real were playing away at Racing Santander, a team fighting for the all important Champions League 4th spot.

Real Madrid visited El Sardinero where a capacity 22,000 Santander fans were packed in to see their team going in to the match just 1 point adrift 4th place Atletico Madrid. A win against Madrid will take them 2 points clear of Atletico as they had lost at home 1-3 to Betis on Saturday. Schuster had always complained about injuries to his backline and how he was finding it difficult to get the four first choice defenders in a game. This happened last in the match against Barca at the Nou Camp in December and it was a phenomenal effort from the defenders. 4 months later it was Sergio Ramos at RB, Pepe and Cannavaro in the Center and Heinze at LB. Gago continued to hold on to the holding role in midfield, Guti's absence gave Diarra a start. It was both Robinho and Robben on both the wings and Raul playing as the lone striker. Santander play with a lone striker in Tchite, the tall lanky forward was a real threat as the match progressed. Real would know all about their former player and now Santander star Pedro Munitis. The game started well and both Robinho and Robben were switching flanks well and Sneijder was the key in the midfield to quickly get to the Santander quarter.

On the 14 minute mark Robinho curled in a right footed shot/pass from the left wing and Raul turned it in with the slightest of touches to make 0-1 Real Madrid. I had written in my last post on how Raul has carried this team forward in the absence of Van Nistelrooy. The goal he scored was his 17th in the La Liga and 22 in total for the season. Knowing what was at sake for Santander, Real defended deep with Gago trying everything to keep Colsa and Munitis quiet. Diarra also had one of the better games that i have seen him play, when his first touch and his turns seem to be much more fluid and fast. It was the striker Tchite who almost levelled the score when he was neatly put through by Munitis, but the shot was saved by Casillas with his foot after he had smartly narrowed down the angle.

The second half was again full of midfield battles and Real were playing a well thought out passing game and were having close to 60% possession and absorbing the pressure from Santander. With Robben, Robinho and Sneijder they were always dangerous on the counter. The Madrid defense was holding up well. I personally think Cannavaro plays best when he is partnered by Pepe. Henize was doing well but on a couple of occasions found lacking for pace. I think he is at a point in his career when he should maybe used more as a CB than a LB. Robinho seemingly had very few touches on the ball apart from setting up the first goal, he still missed a chance on the 60 th minute mark. A golden chance fell to Robinho when he beat the entire back line for pace on a lobbed through ball, with all the time in the world, the keeper not charging he opted to go for the first time half volley and missed the target. Schuster took out Robinho and brought in Higuain, Balboa in for Robben and Baptista came on in the last minute for Sneijder. It was another solid performance from Sneijder. The three substitutes combined for what was the finishing touch. Almost 4th minute in stoppage time Balboa and and Baptista played a one-two on the left side, just outside the Santander box. With three defenders in front of him Balboa had the presence of mind to fake the shot and pass it to a wide open Higuain on the right who finished with a good left foot shot. Everyone in the dug out celebrated with the entire team on the goal, this was a seemingly important win which will give Real the chance to win the La liga next weekend.

Real are now 10 points ahead of second place Villareal who won earlier on Sunday, putting them in second place one point ahead of Barca. Next week Real are at home against Bilbao and Barca and Villareal face Betis away and Barca face Deportivo away. If they both lose and Real win, its all over!!

To add to my last week's segment on trouble in the Barca camp, it seems to go worse every day. If their on the field results are poor, important players are coming out and stating that they are unhappy. The most recent has been Samuel Eto who has said that he does not want to stay at Barca next year, if they are not winning anything. He also added that his time in Spain is over and it is almost certain he will go to the EPL. Valencia were 3rd in the League when Ronald Koeman took over as Manager and now they are 16 th, 2 points clear of the relegation zone, can you imagine? ya i am talking of the same Valencia who every year are title contenders at some point. They won the Spanish cup (Copa Del Rey) earlier eliminating Barcelona in the Semi finals, but this was not enough as earlier today Valencia fired Koeman, lets just hope that they don't fall out of the La Liga. I know that David Villa is not going to be there next season for sure now, any takers?

Sublime Sneijder in La Liga deciding weekend

Its been one of the most strange La Liga seasons i can remember for a few years now. If last year it went to the wire and Real edged it with a better head-head record over Barcelona after ending up even, this year Real seemed to be doing everything right. They got off to an amazing start, first for once snapping up some good players in the transfer market. By good i mean the players that they really need rather than going for the big names. It was a season when Real lost a lot of players including the likes of Beckham and Roberto Carlos. They have not successfully replaced either of them but they some how seem to be getting the job done and that is to earn the points.

Before i get into that this weekend saw the 32nd round in La Liga with Real leading the pack by 7 points. Barcelona made their visit to Recreativo on Saturday and not so surprisingly as has been their form in the past many weeks, saw their lead vanish twice during the game. Samuel Eto was the star of the day, with a goal in the second minute and a superb half volley strike in the second half. But Recreativo had an answer to both the goals and finally ended up salvaging a draw. The only positive for Barca was to see Lionel Messi get some time on the pitch.

Meanwhile the other upset of the week was when Valencia lost at the Mestalla 2-1, and very surprisingly are 14th in the table.

Real entertained 19th place Murcia at home and Schuster would not have anticipated this to be a tough encounter. He lined up Pepe and Heinze at CB as Cannavaro was injured and got Robinho and Robben both on the ground. He has been preferring Robben over Robinho in the past couple of games though the Brazilian has been back from injury. For sure Robben has been playing well, and Robinho needs to get back in shape. The game just got tough when on 20 minutes Torres at RB on because Ramos was suspended from his Red card last week against Mallorca made a studs up tackle on Aquino. Well it was by no means an all out bad tackle, it was a standing tackle but if you look at it by the book, it was from behind, Torres had his studs up so out comes the Red Card. Real would play the rest of the 70 minutes with 10 men. But Real were at home playing against a Murcia side who have lost 7 of their last 9 games before this.

The game just went dead from here on. Schuster was smart not to commit on filling up the RB position though he would have been tempted to use Salgado who was on the bench. Robinho who was playing on the right wing smartly covered. Real controlled possession and the midfield and the break through finally came, when a free kick from the right was cleared inside the Murcia box, which was not cleared first time the defender who attacked it and Sneijder was just superb with his touch and made a sublime finish to the top corner to make it 1-0 Real Madrid on 58 minutes.

I had written a piece on the transfer last season and their influence so far on teams, Wesley Sneijder is one guy at the top of my list. He was indeed highly rated when he was brought in from Ajax, but there were rumors that the Dutchman has failed to settle in after getting off to an unbelievable start. He scored 4 goals in the first 3 appearances for Real and then went into a slump. He has come back indeed especially after the winter break with some good performances from midfield. More than his skills, which are indeed superb as he is a set piece specialist and a corner specialist, he takes his shots when he has sight at goal. He is an attacking midfielder who has confidence that he can score. To top it all off he is a no nonsense player, extremely focused and does not even over emote. He runs his heart out on the pitch and there was even an instance when Murcia hit Real on the counter and with the striker about to pull the trigger inside the box, it was Sneijder tracking back all the way and stealing the ball away smartly. The goal he scored was his 9th of the season, not bad for his first season at Madrid.

Villareal also gave up on the title chase by losing to Almeria 1-0 which placed them at 59 points one behind second place Barca at 60 points.

I say La Liga has been strange because you saw Real thrash Villareal and Valencia away from home 5-0, beat Barca the Nou Camp 1-0 and beat Atletico Madrid both home and away. In a regular season these are the top teams in La Liga and the results Real obtained kind of shows that the tide has changed. Valencia have been struggling since a change in coach, being Manager less for a while and now are in dire straits. Villareal have superbly picked up their game from that humiliating loss to Real to even fight for the title. Atletico are in fourth place and their performance has been way better than usual years. Barca on the other hand, a team that boasts of players like Ronaldinho, Henry, Eto, Messi, Iniesta, Deco, Xavi have one win in the last 9 league outings. Ronaldinho is going, Messi was injured many times, Henry is playing out of position so they had to rely on 17 year old Bojan to get some results for them in the past many weeks. 2 weeks away from their titanic clash against Man U in the semi final of the Champions League, Rijkaard seems to be doing nothing right. If they indeed end up giving Real the guard of honor when they visit the Bernabeu next month, he could be very much out of the door.

Spain super team Getafe Manager Michael Laudrup is now in pole position from what i read to take up the Barca hot seat. Former Barca player Pep Guardiola who is currently in charge of the Barca B team also was considered as a natural successor to Rijkaard. I honestly doubt Barca will take this risk because Guardiola does not have the experience at the top level. It would be tough on Getafe to lose out on Laudrup, the fact after Schuster left in the summer the team should be proud of their achievements includng a UEFA Cup final spot.

Real made a superb start went unbeaten for almost 2 months till the winter break and had Casillas equal the record for a Madrid keeper in terms of minutes without conceding still the press came back at them when they started losing. Even i wrote some pretty strong comments on Schuster's tactics when they were struggling after the winter break. If you look at it i realized that Robinho and Van Nistelrooy along with Raul who were crucial before the winter break were injured after the break. So it was how Raul would carry this team forward. The slumped till he started getting some goals in again. Robben was injured multiple times, he got back in the team and he is playing superbly. Good news is Van Nistelrooy should be back in training in another 10 days. Pepe, Heinze, Cannavaro, Marcelo and Ramos have all been injured some time or the other and hardly get to play together, Sneijder was injured for a month.

Barca have the same problem, you take out Eto injured in the beginning of the season, Messi injured twice later, Ronaldinho playing 12 of the 32 league games, it is a big deal they are in second position.

Valencia, apart from the fact they were Manager less for a while, they also had their key players in Marchena, Baraja and Villa injured.

This will result in a dangerous summer for Barca, when they are almost all set to lose their most influential player this century. With all the rumored on and off the pitch problems, it looks as though Barca also would rather see the back of him.

Valencia might actually end up losing their priced asset David Villa to Real Madrid. The defending champions are almost sure to bring in a high profile Striker to cover Van Nistelrooy. This could be very well the likes of Drogba or David Villa. I definitely dont believe the rubbish in the press on Real's 100M bid for wonder man Christiano Ronaldo. I cannot comprehend the fact that Carlos Quieroz has even time to respond such rumors and claim that Real need to keep their hands off. I have a feel that if Ronaldinho indeed ends up at Milan, Real can kiss their hopes of signing Kaka good bye.

The magic of the game is that when you start we have a blank canvas, very difficult to predict a result. So Barca would try their level best to mathematically be in the race, when they visit the Bernabeu next month. 6 games left in the La Liga and 9 points lead, blank canvas or not chasers have a tough task ahead.

Defenders are no Angels but.....

Birmingham defender Matt Taylor made a horrific tackle on Eduardo Da Silva which resulted in one of the most horrific scenes on video and a broken foot for the Croatian. This is an old story which has been gone over in lot of angles by the press and almost everyone made Taylor an immediate villain. I am in no way defending the tackle, but it does not make him a man with bad intentions. As a defender you go into a lot of tackles and in today's game the players like Eduardo and Ronaldo are with so much skill and speed that there is a possibility to get a few wrong. For Taylor, he was beaten for speed, and so had to lunge with his studs up which hitting Eduardo on his shin is of course a direct red card. The referee did everything right, first looked at Eduardo and found that he was seriously injured, he called for the medical team and then issued the red card to Taylor. As the Defender himself said, "Eduardo was too quick for me". Arsene Wenger after the match said "That man (Taylor) should not be playing football". A few weeks later Eboue made a horrific tackle, received a red card and Wenger said " It was tackle for self protection". Oh Lord Wenger must have a mouth on both sides of his head, or he must be thinking with his rear end.

Taylor did not mean to break Eduardo's leg, it was a bad bad mistimed tackle. Croatian journalists in England took this to a next level by even following Taylor to his doorstep. I still remember 2 months or so before the 2002 World Cup, Aldo Duscher of Deportivo made a horrific tackle on Beckham (then Man U) which broke the then England Captain's foot in a Champions League fixture. The England Press went on and on about how Duscher being an Argentine did this on purpose because of the animosity between Argentina and England in the World Cup.

After the Taylor incident FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that he should not just get a 3 game ban, but it should go up to "months" of ban on players causing harm to others. The game has been defined in such a way that tackles are bound to fly around. Especially in the Premiership the speed is super high that there are bound to be some bad tackles. Before Blatter comes out with such statements, he should probably study the player's background or stats first. Martin Taylor, if i am correct has received a single red card in his top flight career way back in 1999. I don't see many Center backs who can boast of this kind of a record in Europe. I can understand Wenger going over board, who later indeed retracted his statement on Taylor, but FIFA President should not be the one pushing FA for a longer ban.

I did not want to add the video because as Sky Sports rightly stopped showing the replay, it was a gruesome scene. Let us not go over board here, maybe the FA may be should have considered a 6 match or 2 month ban on Taylor, but are they prepared to do this to all players who come in with such tackles. We see week after week across Europe tackles similar to the one Taylor made, get away with maybe a yellow card, because no severe injury was inflicted. As per the rule book does a referee show a red card each time a player comes into a tackle with the studs up?

What about Ashley Cole's tackle a few weeks back against Arsenal and the actions after that in not turning around to the referee. The attacking players also don't make it easy for the Referees with their play acting to figure out which is a genuine injury and which is not. But as a Referee its not the injury that decides the card, its the tackle.

Eboue who was sent off a few weeks back was once on the receiving end last season when he broke his leg. But he is not new to senseless tackles. Wenger i think should have seen this tackle as self protection as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuOQ08tbdyk

Can some one please tell me the sense behind this tackle? He was going for the ball, but the wrong one...

When i was searching for the actual tackle by Cole, i found a long jump video by Henry. This is just baffling why the referee did not hand the red card to Henry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkR5BGXrA2Y

Now, OK Henry went for the ball but as a Referee you should be able to look at the entire picture, Henry lost the ball and went right back with both feet up. It is funny to look at but is this not a dangerous tackle and deserve a red card?

I can go on and on and find more such stupid tackles, but the bottom line is no one is here to kill anyone. People make mistakes, let us punish them for their mistakes and move on. Whatever little football i have played, i have played as a defender and we get tackles wrong, any defender would, i know exactly how Matt Taylor would have felt. All our hearts go out to Eduardo and a speedy recovery for him, but how would you judge the skill of Ronaldo, Kaka or Messi if you did not have strong defenders?

Real move closer to Title with a hard fought draw, Villareal and Barca slip

Real went into Saturday's game that they have to come out of Mallorca with a positive result. Now it was not just Barca that they had to look for over their shoulders. Villareal was 6 point adrift and Barcelona 7 points and any Real slip would result in either of them gaining a significant advantage with such very few rounds left in La liga. Real had their task cut out as Mallorca had beaten the defending Spanish Champions twice in the Copa Del Rey to pave way for their exit from the competition for yet another season. Their strikers Guiza and Arango were a real threat to look out for. Guiza was the player off whom the entire Mallorca team plays off of.

Schuster lined up the same team that he used in last week's win against Sevilla. The good news was he had most of his regulars back fit and healthy on the bench. Diarra, Pepe, Robinho and Saviola were on the bench just in case it did not go exactly as planned. Mallorca proved a tough team to play against with their strength in marking and also because of their superb wing play. Ramos and Marcelo was kept busy right from the beginning defending the flanks. Robben was maybe a little careless in not able to finish as early as the opening few minutes after being superbly set up by Sneijder. Real were getting close to the Mallorca box, but was being controlled well by the Mallorca defense. There were some long range shots on both ends which were cleared by the respective keepers. Wing play was very strong by Mallorca and one cross from the left took a deflection off Sergio Ramos and Casillas was tested for his reflexes.

Guiza went through and with the keeper to beat, was almost any tears when he saw that his toe poke had gone wide. It was again the striker scoring after a penalty box collision but the referee had already halted the game for the foul on Ramos. Gago was controlling Ibagaza through the middle well, but Guti was also proving in effective. The one thing to be noticed through the game was when Robben switched over to the right wing, Sneijder could be seen taking his position on the left wing and playing in an advanced position. He seems to be playing with so much confidence and form and has to be credited for taking shots at goal. Sneijder knows that his long range shots might actually not beat the keeper but a spill can always result in a chance for Raul or Higuain.

Robben was looking very active on the pitch and a handful for the wing backs, and he finally went past two defenders with ease on the right and squared a delightful ball in for Raul, keeper pushed the ball right into the path of Sneijder unmarked inside the box and he smashed it in. As soon as Mallorca saw Robben get past the defenders they pushed forward and that probably cost them. 0-1 Real Madrid at half time.

I always thought that Cannavaro needs a partner who is an aggressive defender and who commits first time into tackles and wins the headers. Pretty much similar to the Ferdinand situation without Vidic, he was found wanting against Alfonso Alves. I was talking to my friend about the Brazilian not having an impact yet in England after coming in with such a big goal scoring record. He proved me wrong and in the most important fixture against Man U. He made two cool finishes and made Ferdinand look foolish. Pepe and Cannavaro as the two center backs are the best combination for Schuster and Pepe is all that Cannavaro is not. The Italian Captain who has struggled after the World Cup and FIFA player of the year winning year did show some sign against Mallorca when he did a decent job of controlling Guiza.

Soon after the restart Ramos was shown a Yellow card for a hand ball, which most referees would have just called a foul on. There was some confusion amongst the TV commentators as they thought it was his second yellow card, that's all i could figure out from my minimal knowledge in Spanish. They were not to be disappointed as the Referee did show him the second yellow card for a seemingly non existent foul. I personally thought it was a bit harsh. Real was playing better organized football and not trying hard to score the second goal. They pushed their defense up and Raul was playing withdrawn in the midfield, with only Higuain up front. But to play against Mallorca with 10 men and defend the lead for 25 minutes would be tough. Schuster soon brought in Diarra, but wrong call, he can maybe play as a CB but with his poor pace and touch no way he can play as a RB. It was Valero who made the initial run, Diarra not getting close to him, Arango backing into Cannavaro made a one touch through ball to Valero, Cannavaro probably did not even see what was going on, he made a cool finish past the lunging in Heinze and diving Cassilas to make 1-1.

Schuster but soon made the right choice to bring on Torres the defender who plays at RB, but i was surprised to see him take out Sneijder and not Guti. The Dutchman was seemingly annoyed on being substituted and i see a point too, he had played much better in the game till then, where as Guti was no where to be seen. Torres slipped in to RB and Diarra moved into a defensive Midfield role on the right. Baptista also got a few minutes of playing time, but Real smartly played out the draw.

Villareal lost to Sevilla, and Barcelona managing a goalless draw at home to wonder boys Getafe means Real, now have 66, Barcelona on 59 and Villareal also on 59. Real welcome Murcia to the Bernabeu next weekend.

On my last post, I had written a comment about who can afford Ronaldinho, i would think i need to correct myself. I think most clubs in the world can buy the Brazilian because of a transfer clause that lets players leave their club for a portion of their release clause after 3 years. The release clause on Ronaldinho is some where close to 170M but looks like clubs like Milan are talking to his brother and agent at a figure close to 20M. A host of clubs are now in the running, Milan, Inter and Chelsea have been long term admirers, but now Man City have surprisingly joined the race. 20M for Ronaldinho is a lottery but Man City better be prepared for a 100,000/week salary.