Translated material
Unfulfilled desire
Real Madrid failed to take revenge on Barcelona
The main event of the last round of the Spanish championship was the super match between two superclubs, which occupied first and second places in the standings. However, even if they won, Real would hardly be able to catch up with Barcelona, which now nothing should stop them from winning the championship for the second time in a row.They failed to beat Real Madrid - 1:1, despite a great desire to avenge their humiliation at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first round. Then the “blue garnets” defeated the “Galacticos” (3:0), and the stands - an unprecedented thing - stood applauding the skill of Ronaldinho and K. And in this match, in fact, the game was one-sided. And from the 25th minute, when the referee kicked the overly talkative Roberto Carlos off the field, the guests could only think about how to avoid a repeat of the shame.
From the very beginning of the meeting, Roberto Carlos tried to talk either with the main referee or with the linesman, and in the end he spoke impartially to both of them. If we remember that it was the Brazilian who organized the penalty into his own goal, which was converted by Ronaldinho, then based on the totality of his actions, his participation in this game can be called sabotage at the very least. It is not surprising that Real Madrid head coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro decided to punish Roberto Carlos in an exemplary manner, and it is possible that in addition to a large fine, he will be sent to the bench for several matches.
It is surprising that with the overwhelming advantage of the Catalans, Real also managed to win back. For once, Ronaldo, whom only the lazy would not criticize for being overweight and losing his scoring instincts, ran away from his marker at speed and easily threw the ball over Victor Valdez. The Barcelona goalkeeper was not disturbed again that evening, while his colleague from the opposite camp had to demonstrate miracles of reaction, repelling the blows raining down on him from all sides.
As for Barcelona, its fans, accustomed to big victories, are slowly beginning to express dissatisfaction with the team’s low performance. It's no joke - in the last three matches the Catalans scored only once, and only from the penalty spot.
The most scoring team of the tour was Valencia, which scored five goals against Cadiz, which is facing relegation, and, perhaps, only it can compete with Real in the fight for a direct ticket to the Champions League. This success, in theory, should give the “bats” additional acceleration, since in the previous six matches they failed to win a single victory. In the meeting with Cadiz, Spain national team forward David Villa scored a double, whose gap from Primera's top scorer Samuel Eto'o is now four goals (the Cameroonian has 22 goals).
In theory, there is currently no club in the first division that could boast of stability in play and results, and this also applies to contenders for European Cup places. These, in addition to the trinity mentioned above, include Osasuna, Sevilla, Celta, Deportivo, Villarreal and, perhaps, Atlético. The Madrid team, having perked up after the departure of Carlos Bianchi, made an impressive leap out of the “swamp”, but now they have fallen into another hole, losing to two of their competitors - Sevilla (0:1) and Celta (0:3). Who knows, maybe Atlético was traveling all this time on the baggage left over from Bianchi, and his successor Pepe Murcia simply continued the line of the Argentine specialist by inertia?
Against this background, the major home defeat of Osasuna looks completely inexplicable, admitting its own powerlessness in front of the modest Getafe, which has already abandoned its claims to high places. By the way, Getafe head coach Bernd Schuster was tipped for the position of Real Madrid coach, but the new president of the “royal” club, Fernando Martin, immediately rejected this idea, outlining the following circle of candidates: Carlo Ancelotti, Arsene Wenger, Sven-Jeran Eriksson.
By the way, at the beginning of last week it was not yet known whether this round would take place or not, since the Spanish referees announced their readiness to go on strike in protest against the non-payment of their salaries for the last two months. However, at the last moment the referees, whose salaries were increased by 20% compared to last season, backed down, believing the promises of the management of the Spanish Football League to fully pay off the debts.
Results of the 31st round. Barcelona - Real Madrid - 1:1, Zaragoza - Villarreal - 0:1, Real Sociedad - Malaga - 3:0, Osasuna - Getafe " -- 0:4, "Atlético" -- "Celta" -- 0:3, "Mallorca" -- "Espanyol" -- 0:0, "Alaves" -- "Athletic" -- 0:0, " Deportivo - Racing - 2:0, Betis - Sevilla - 2:1, Valencia - Cadiz - 5:3. The leaders are: Barcelona - 69 points, Real Madrid - 58, Osasuna - 55, Sevilla, Celta - 51 each.