Preview: Sad return to the Bernabeu for third-placed Real Madrid
The home crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu will be asked to multiply their voices and get behind the players. At such a tough period, the efforts of supporters are as much needed as the efforts of the players and the intelligence of the technical team. However, Marcelo who captained Los Blancos in the absence of red-carded defender Sergio Ramos against Sevilla believes that it is up to the players to make the first step and revive the spirits of Madridistas worldwide.
“We must apologise to Real Madrid's fans. We'll keep fighting,” he said following Real Madrid’s problematic 2-1 loss away to Sevilla on Wednesday.
“It's perfectly normal for us to be mentally drained, but we'll keep working to put Real Madrid back where they should be.”
Most importantly, Carlo Ancelotti wants his players, like Cristiano Ronaldo, to stop playing the negative blame game and back-up. He reportedly ordered the following ahead of Matchday 31 in La Liga:
“Forget about the referees. Try and play football, as if they weren't there.”
Jose Mourinho, who left the Spanish capital without winning a single trophy in 2013, is one of many people stunned at how Real Madrid bottled their La Liga title hopes within three days. He was quoted as saying:
“I am a little surprised. I expected Real Madrid to be higher up, with a greater advantage, because Barcelona have lost a lot more points than they have in the past three seasons,” said the Chelsea boss.
Still, for current manager Carlo Ancelotti, not all is lost as he declared:
“We have to think about ourselves. We can win the league. We are three points away from Atlético and two from Barça and everything is possible.”
Remarkably, upcoming opponents Rayo Vallecano are on a terrific run. They kicked off March with a 1-0 upset of Valencia, won a five-goal thriller away to Real Sociedad and scored three more goals at home to Almeria. After holding Real Valladolid to a draw, Rayo beat Osasuna 1-0 to enter Saturday’s game full of confidence.
As long as dreaming doesn’t hurt, the underdogs will try to play their game at the Santiago Bernabeu. Who knows how brave they will be?
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano live on Saturday, March 29, 2014:
In USA at 17:00 ET:
| United States | SiriusXM FC, beIN Sports en Español, beIN Sports USA, beIN Sports Play |
In UK at 21:00 GMT:
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports 2/HD |
In Canada at 17:00 ET:
| Canada | beIN Sports Play Canada |
In Spain at 22:00 CET:
| Spain | Canal+ Liga / HD, GOL T, Gol Stadium |
If you live outside these countries, check out our Real Madrid-Rayo Vallecano match page for worldwide live listings, in addition to live scores during the game.
