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Real Madrid Don’t Want To Lose Hope After El Clasico Defeat

No, Real Madrid don’t want to give up their hunt for La Liga title. The truth is that they simply cannot afford to concede such an early defeat to Barcelona. Such a thing will be a mistake, even a suicide perhaps. Florentino Perez’s $ 300 million squad is in danger of ending its 2009/2010 season without silverware and everyone is aware of that.

The Spanish giants are 3 points off the pace with 7 more Match-days to go; they’ve been leapfrogged by Barcelona who have now been tipped as clear favorites to win La Liga title this year. Mathematically, Real Madrid’s chances of beating the Blaugrana in the domestic race are widely open. But analytically, Los Blancos’ mission seems huge and their fate is enormously fragile. Not only do they have to get maximum points from their remaining games, but they also have to hope that Barcelona lose at least 4 points.

Should things finish as they did end during the 2006/2007 La Liga season when both rivals had the same number of points on Match-day 38,  then Real Madrid won’t win the title this time as they are 3-0 losers against Barca on aggregate in terms of head-to-head. As things stand, Real Madrid’s fate doesn’t lie in their own hands. But the players have reportedly vowed not to seat back. They all know how disastrous it will be to conclude the year with dejection ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. 

Many saw El Clasico as La Liga’s decider; and now that Los Blancos lost that vital encounter, many believe that Real Madrid’s title aspirations are over. However, Portuguese play maker Cristiano Ronaldo thinks otherwise. He said in a post-match interview:

“We shouldn’t talk about failure as long as we can still win the league. We have to believe that it is possible. As professionals, we will not give up.”

In May last year, Real Madrid went down 6-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu against Barcelona. Before that unexpected heavy defeat, they had grabbed an amazing number of 52 points from a possible 54 to bounce back from the 2-0 El Clasico defeat which they had suffered at the Camp Nou. But when their record of 18 matches unbeaten got cut by the 6-2 defeat which they suffered in the hands of Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, disaster followed.

The club members became so disillusioned that the results on the pitch couldn’t hide the depressed atmosphere that suddenly took control over Real Madrid FC. Los Blancos lost their remaining 4 La Liga matches against Valencia, Villarreal, Mallorca, and Osasuna respectively against which they conceded 11 goals in total. La Liga trophy was all Barcelona’s then. It was left there for the Blaugrana to take it without having to look over their shoulders as if there was any realistic contender.

This season, things look similar but Real Madrid fans will hope that the end of the chapter won’t be sour. Real Madrid picked as much as 49 points out of the 18 matches that followed their 1-0 defeat away to Barcelona in November 2009. They also held a 100% record at the Santiago Bernabeu where 50 goals had been scored in 15 home La Liga games. But their perfect run in Madrid suddenly came to a halt last weekend when Barcelona won El Clasico 2-0. When Real Madrid lost to their greatest rivals earlier this season, they bounced back with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Almeria. Now they’ll be hoping to do just that as they look forward to brushing away all sort of hopelessness. Midfielder Xabi Alonso explained things clearly in a pre-match press conference. The Spaniard stated:

“We want to take things slowly but we don’t depend on ourselves anymore. Almeria are tricky opponents and many teams have dropped points at their stadium. We don’t want to be part of this list. We are thinking about winning the match. That’s all that is on our minds.”

Underdogs Almeria To Embarrass Wounded Spanish Giants Real Madrid?

Real Madrid’s desire to take all 3 points away on Thursday looks intense but Almeria, who drew with Barcelona back in March 2010, will be willing to cause an upset. Almeria posed a lot of problems to the Spanish giants at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of this fixture and they might have taken a lot of lessons from that 4-2 loss against Los Blancos. Almeria were leading 2-1 two minutes after the hour mark but they couldn’t hold on to Real Madrid’s comeback in the last 20 minutes of the game.

Now Thursday’s host will have a special opportunity to help terminate Real Madrid’s hopes of clinching the title. A shock defeat for the Spanish giants at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneors will definitely come as a big blow to Florentino Perez’s millionaies. Almeria have nothing to lose really. They look very safe from the relegation zone, seating 11th in La Liga table with 37 points.

Qualification for Europe next season doesn’t seem realistic on the other hand. They are 11 points behind 6th placed Athletic Bilbao against which they recently lost 4-1. No pressure then on Almeria, then. Will they make the most of their underdog status and take at least a point from Thursday’s fixture which Real Madrid view as one of their next 7 finals since their Clasico defeat?

Real Madrid Team News

So Los Blancos trained behind closed doors ahead of the Almeria vs Real Madrid La Liga match. After losing to Barcelona last Saturday, it’s certainly not time for the players to feel the fans’ pressure. Raul, Kaka, and Christophe Metzelder are all expected to miss the match through injury whereas Garay will be out through suspension.

Manuel Pellegrini’s 18-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Casillas, Dudek
Defenders: Mateos, Marcelo, Arbeloa, Ramos, Albiol
Midfielders: Gago, Xabi Alonso, Guti, Diarra, Lass, Granero, Van der Vaart
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain, Benzema, Juanfran

Almeria’s last 5 La Liga results:

Mar. 21: Valencia 2-0 Almeria
Mar. 24: Almeria 1-0 Real Zaragoza
Mar. 28: Osasuna 1-0 Almeria
Apr. 04: Almeria 1-1 Real Mallorca
Apr. 11: Bilbao 4-1 Almeria

Real Madrid’s last 5 La Liga results:

Mar. 20: Real Madrid 3-1 Sporting Gijon
Mar. 25: Getafe 2-4 Real Madrid
Mar. 28: Real Madrid 3-2 Atletico Madrid
Apr. 04: Racing Santander 0-2 Real Madrid
Apr. 10: Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona

La Liga’s Top 5 Standings Ahead Of April 15, 2010

Barcelona – 80 points, +58
Real Madrid – 77 points, +55
Valencia – 56 points, +15
Mallorca – 51 points +13
Sevilla – 51 points, +8


 

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