It was a long time coming, however, Real Madrid's 2-1 win over arch rivals Barcelona last night
was the clearest indication of their desire to win their first league title in 4 years. In fact,
the last time Madrid beat Barcelona in the famed El Clasico was when Frank Rijkaard was still Barca
coach.
It was a record breaking night in La Liga on Saturday when both Real Madrid and Barcelona won
their respective matches to keep their title hopes alive. Madrid were 3-1 winners over Sporting
Gijon while Barcelona needed two goals from their sensational forward Lionel Messi to beat Levante
2-1.
A barren draw against Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu last night has cut Real Madrid's lead at
the top of the La Liga table to just 4 points with only 7 games left to play.
Moreover, with fixtures against Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona on the cards within
the next 2 weeks, things are bound to get harder for Madrid.
Red is an incredibly Spanish colour to wear, and Madrid chose to don
it against Valencia at the Mestalla last night (one of the steepest stadium steps
to climb, if you're wearing heels - stop rolling your eyes, hombres!) In Spain, you'd
better be wearing red.
Michel Platini hablaba este verano de la protección a los futbolistas que ocupan el olimpo
europeo como el argentino
Leo Messi. En la gala de la UEFA, el presidente del máximo
organismo continental indicaba que "el 'Mejor Jugador de la UEFA en Europa', está más protegido
por los árbitros que otros grandes de la historia".
.There is much to talk about in lieu of the events from last Wednesday (Thursday 5am Singapore
time). But rather than to write about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, I'd rather speak about the
Football and the Non-Football. I do have to say though that it is sad that there's more to talk
about in terms of the latter.
Photo: Earl Gardner
Union
Kaká on the Union: "I was impressed with the Union. They played very well. They gave us a tough
match. They're a very good team. It wasn't easy. We were happy to win this match. They played very
good in the second half."
Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka played for Colorado Rapids in 2006.
