Marcelo Rescues Real Madrid

By -

Real Madrid needed another late winner to edge closer to the La Liga title as Marcelo was the hero in a 2-1 home victory over Valencia on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring midway through the first half but also saw a penalty saved by spot-kick specialist Diego Alves early in the second period.
Former Madrid man Dani Parejo looked to have handed Valencia an unlikely point with a stunning free-kick eight minutes from time.

Real stormed forward and needed just four minutes to find the winner when Marcelo cut inside and fired into the far corner.
Real now lead Barcelona by three points at the top of the table with four games to go for both sides.
Barca, though, can move back to the summit of La Liga with victory in the Catalan derby later at Espanyol.

Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane accepted his side nearly paid the price for taking their foot off the gas at 1-0.

“It is true that we were in a comfort zone for 30 minutes, the fans were the same,” said the Frenchman.

“After Valencia scored they started to push the players on once more and it was a completely different match.”

The Brazilian Marcelo added: “We put our heart and soul into it and showed who we are

“With the fans behind us we are hard to beat here.”

Zidane recalled eight of the side that started last weekend’s 3-2 El Clasico defeat to Barcelona and had been rested for a 6-2 thrashing of Deportivo la Coruna in midweek. However, the habitual first team nearly got off to the worst possible start.
Captain Sergio Ramos was returning from suspension after his 22nd career red card in the Clasico and his weak header allowed Santi Mina through on goal inside the first minute.

Keylor Navas came out to block the Valencia striker’s first effort before his follow-up hit the outside of the post.
Fabian Orellana also screwed a great chance wide as Valencia enjoyed the better of the early stages.

However, Ronaldo punished their profligacy in characteristic fashion as he bulleted Dani Carvajal’s cross into the far corner on 27 minutes.
That goal took Ronaldo’s tally in league football to 367 goals to surpass legendary English striker Jimmy Greaves in Europe’s top leagues.

However, even the four-time World Player of the Year struggles to beat Alves from the spot.
Madrid were awarded a penalty when Luka Modric went down under slight contact from Parejo 11 minutes into the second half.

And for the third time in four penalties against Alves, Ronaldo was denied by the Brazilian.
Ronaldo then missed an even easier chance as he bundled over and then crashed into the goalpost from Marco Asensio’s enticing cross.
At the other end Navas’s search for a clean sheet continues as for the 15th straight game the Costa Rica international was beaten, this time by Parejo’s dipping free-kick to set up a grandstand finish.

Yet, for the seventh time in La Liga this season, Madrid struck late to maintain the upper hand in the title race as Marcelo used his weaker right foot to fire across and past the helpless Alves to joyous scenes of relief at the Bernabeu.

Earlier, Adrian Ramos scored Granada’s first goal under interim boss Tony Adams but a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad relegated them after a six-year stay in the top flight.

Granada have now lost all four games since Adams replaced the sacked Lucas Alvarez and face Real Madrid next weekend.

AFP

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Characters In BBC’s Documentary On TB Joshua Unknown To Us – Synagogue Church

By -
Image
  The Synagogue Church of all Nations (SCOAN) has countered the BBC documentary on the late Temitope Babatunde Joshua, known as TB Joshua, founder of SCOAN. SCOAN described the documentary against TB Joshua as unfounded, and that the characters interviewed in the report were unknown to the church. The church, in a statement signed by its Public Affairs Director, Mr Dare Adejumo, said the statement was aimed at disabusing public minds from the report. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the BBC released a highly controversial and damning documentary on the late TB Joshua on Monday, accusing him of various crimes, including rape, against some members. SCOAN said, “BBC World Services investigative unit, code-named Africa Eye, came out this week with weird and strange episodes of atrocities against the late founder of SCOAN.” It said that to investigate and publish or broadcast reports was a central kernel of journalism, but to do so outside the ethics and fundamental principles
Read more

NBA Suspends Canada’s Joshua Primo For 4 Games For Exposing Himself To Women

By -
Image
  The NBA has suspended former San Antonio Spurs guard  Joshua Primo   for four games   ... after it says it found he exposed his private parts to multiple women. The league announced the ban on Friday morning ... saying an investigation into the free agent revealed he had "engaged in inappropriate and offensive behavior." NBA officials called his actions "conduct detrimental to the league." They did, however, note that they "did not find evidence that he engaged in any sexual or other misconduct apart from these brief exposures." "Primo maintains that his conduct was not intentional," the league said. Dr. Hillary Cauthen , Primo's former therapist, was the first to  bring the allegations  against Primo to light after she claimed last fall that he exposed himself to her on nine separate occasions. Dr. Cauthen's attorney,  Tony Buzbee , alleged the Spurs were aware of Primo's actions, but didn't take action. Cauthen went on to file
Read more

Sky Sports' On-Air Mix-Up: Chelsea Players Mistakenly Introduced as Axel Disasi Instead of Noni Madueke in Carabao Cup Semifinal

By -
Image
 Sky Sports were left red-faced after an on-screen graphic mistakenly introduced Chelsea defender Axel Disasi as Noni Madueke on Tuesday night. The pair were both the scoresheet as the Blues thrashed Middlesbrough 6-1 at Stamford Bridge in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final to boo their place at Wembley. But when Disasi spoke to Sky Sports after the game, an on-screen graphic introduced him as Madueke instead. Madueke is four years younger than his Chelsea teammate, plays in a different role and is English, while Disasi is French. Viewers immediately spotted the mistake and took to social media to flag up the glaring error.  Sky Sports with a huge mistake as that is Axel Disasi, not Noni Madueke,' another added, while a third described the gaffe as a 'howler'. A fourth commented: 'Sky sports calling Disasi Madueke. They’ve done it again.' Disasi scored Chelsea's third goal in the 6-1 rout, converting Raheem Sterling's cross at the far post after th
Read more