Nothing is lost for Los Blancos in cup competitions this year but success is definitely not guaranteed. Their situation in Europe and in the Spanish Cup semis is the same. The half-time scoreboards ahead of Barcelona vs Real Madrid on February 26 and Manchester United vs Real Madrid on March 5 read 1-1. Will penalties decide Los Blancos’ fate?
The Spanish giants must score to stand a chance of progressing into the Copa del Rey final and UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. “I want goals, more goals!” is what Jose Mourinho screamed during a training session on Wednesday, according to Spanish news source Marca.
On Wednesday, eight Real Madrid stars practiced spot-kicks. The group – composed of Ronaldo, Özil, Marcelo, Khedira, Varane, Essien, Coentrao and Arbeloa – excluded Ramos who trained last week.
Last season, the Portuguese coach watched helplessly from the dugout as Bayern Munich ousted Real Madrid on penalties in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Defender Sergio Ramos as well as penalty experts Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo all wasted their kicks at the detriment of the entire squad.
Penalty shootouts are described as a lottery game and this is what Mourinho wants his side to avoid against Barcelona and Manchester United. However, the ‘Only One’ is reportedly preparing for the possibility of having Los Blancos' destiny decided through spot-kicks.
This is all about learning from past experiences. Real Madrid did not train for penalties before last year’s crucial game against Bayern in Europe. The outcome from 12 yards was dreadful and harsh criticism from the media aimed at Jose Mourinho’s training policy was inevitable.
This term, confidence will be key for Real Madrid to charm Lady Luck should the games against Barcelona and Manchester United go to penalties. It is this confidence that Mourinho wants to build by getting his players to hit the back of the net through penalties during training. More importantly though, Mou wants his stars to avoid nail-biting penalty shootouts by scoring “goals, more goals” - first at the Camp Nou on February 26, then at Old Trafford on March 5.
