Real Madrid Vs Osasuna

After two disappointing draws in their last three games, Real Madrid look to build their league lead in an interesting La Liga matchup against Osasuna.

Barcelona are now six points shy of Real Madrid after their six straight wins, and Real Madrid are feeling the heat.  

Osasuna could be a pest for Real Madrid's title hopes if they can pull out a victory. They've already mounted one shocking upset by topping Barcelona, 3-2, back in February.

Osasuna is in sixth place and is looking to continue their climb in the standings.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know for this one. 

Where: Reyno de Navarra Stadium, Pamplona, Spain

When: Saturday, March 31 at 1:50 p.m. ET

Kaka Replied To 60 Lucky People on Twitter

On 29th March Ricardo Kaka On His twitter had a little chat with his Fans and replied to many of Them & luckily we were one of them!!:

Caroline in Her New modeling Pic

Real Madrid Vs APOEL 3-0 (Kaka's Goal)

Kaka: "I'm happy with the victory and for making good use of the playing time I had"

Kaka scored the second strike against APOEL after coming on in the second half. The midfielder analysed the match in the mixed zone.

"Marcelo and I came on to try different things. I'm happy for making good use of the playing time I had and for helping Real Madrid decisively. I gradually make more use of the chances I get. I play more some times than others, but I'm happy with the victory."

"We knew of the difficulties we would face against APOEL. They've reached this far for a reason and have done well. This is only the first match and this isn't over yet. We have the advantage in the tie, but we have yet to play the return leg."

"The coaching staff and the players decided that it was best not to talk after the game in Villarreal. We are gradually returning to normality."

APOEL 0-3 Real Madrid: Kaka makes major impact from bench while Benzema nets twice in comfortable victory for Mourinho's men

Second-half goals, two from Karim Benzema and one from Kaka, gave Real Madrid a huge away win as the club beat APOEL Nicosia 3-0 at GSP Stadium.

A diving header from Benzema, a cool side-footed finish from Brazilian Kaka and another easy finish for the French striker banished any Cypriot hopes of a famous draw, as the Spanish side's quality eventually shone through.


With APOEL playing the biggest game in club history, it was perhaps no surprise that it came out of the blocks at full pelt, and really tried to put Jose Mourinho's side under extreme pressure early on.

It didn't take long though before Madrid was reestablishing the natural order of things, and started to dominate possession and create chances. Within the space of three minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Benzema all had half-chances, but it wasn't until the 15th minute where it had its first real opportunity to open the scoring. A ball from Ozil played in Fabio Coentrao, but the Portuguese fullback snatched at his shot and fired wide from inside the area.

The Cypriot champions were coping exceptionally well with the relentless wave of Madrid attacks, but they very nearly found themselves a goal down on 33 minutes. A beautiful ball across the six-yard box from Nuri Sahin evaded the APOEL keeper Dionisios Chiotis, found Benzema unmarked at the far post, but the French international somehow managed to miss the target and slice his shot over the bar.

The remainder of the half fizzled out, as APOEL failed to offer support to the increasingly isolated Ailton up front, and the nine-time European champions just couldn't find a way past the resolute Cypriot backline.

The teams re-emerged for the second half, and whatever Mourinho said to his side at the break seemed to work, as Los Blancos increased their intensity and attacking impetus during the opening exchanges. Ozil, Sahin and Sami Khedira were creating some wonderful midfield triangles, but as with the first 45, Ivan Jovanovic's side was defending at its very best to block any attempts at its goal.

With an hour gone, the Spanish side had completed 416 passes compared to APOEL's 94; but it took until the 74th minute for the Spanish side's class to truly show. Kaka put in a dangerous ball from the left, found the head of Benzema, who got down low and slotted the ball into the back of the net from six yards.

The tiring APOEL legs were starting to show, and seven minutes later, it was two. Again down the left, Marcelo this time got to the byline, played it back, and there was Kaka to coolly pass it in, and really sink all Cypriot hopes.

And right on 90 minutes, Madrid took the game out if sight. A burst from midfield by Ronaldo took him to the edge of the area, he played it square to Ozil, who passed it first time across the six yard box, for Benzema to tap in.

The Spanish giants looked for four, but had to settle for just the three away goals, as the they go into the second leg next Wednesday at Santiago Bernabeu.

Probable Line-ups: Real Madrid Vs APOEL

Real Madrid:

Goal-keeper: Casillas
Defenders: Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo
Midfielders: Ozil, Kaka, Kheidra, Granero
Forwards: Benzema. Ronaldo 
















APOEL: 

Chiotis
 Poursaitidis, Jorge, Oliveira, Boaventura
 Morais, Marcinho
 Charalambidis, Trickovski, Solari
 Ailton

Real Madrid V APOEL

APOEL coach Ivan Jovanovic will be unable to call upon the suspended Gustavo Manduca in attack with the Brazilian set to be replaced by Ivan Trickovski. 

Marcinho may partner Nuno Morais in the center of the field for the Cypriot club with Helder Sousa likely to drop to the bench. William Boaventura is expected to shrug off a knock to start at left back.

Jose Mourinho welcomes back two players from domestic suspension as Pepe and Mesut Ozil are likely to return to the Spanish side's starting XI.

However, one player who will not feature for Los Blancos is Xabi Alonso, who is banned after reaching his yellow card limit in the competition. Esteban Granero is likely to start.

Despite playing two forwards in the 5-1 Liga win over Real Sociedad on Saturday, the visitors are expected to lineup with Karim Benzema as the lone striker with Gonzalo Higuain resigned to a place on the bench.

Angel Di Maria, Lassana Diarra, Jose Callejon and Ricardo Carvalho all miss out through injury as all four are left out of Madrid's 19-man squad.

Ricardo Kaká vs Real Sociedad (VIDEO)

Real Madrid 5-1 Real Sociedad

The Portugese's first goal of his brace just after half an hour gave him a century of goals in the Spanish top flight after only 92 games, making him the fastest player to reach that landmark in the capital outfit's history. 

Gonzalo Higuain's early opener and a brace from Karim Benzema completed the rout for the home side, which, after drawing its last two league games, picks up a crucial win that brings its lead over Barcelona back to six points. 

Xabi Prieto's strike minutes before halftime was nothing more than consolation, as the visiting side was well and truly beaten by a dominant Madrid outfit. 

The absence of Jose Mourinho, suspended after being sent to the stands against Villarreal in midweek, did not faze the home side as it broke the deadlock after only six minutes. Benzema strode in down the right flank, and teed up Higuain for a sweeping finish from the top of the box that beat Claudio Bravo in the visitors’ goal.

Madrid, buoyed by the opener, began to push forward more in the Sociedad half in the quest for a second, with Ronaldo at the end of a pair of great chances. The Portugese first saw a stinging effort blocked by Bravo before sending a header wide from a position where he really should have hit the target.

However, Ronaldo was not to be denied, and with 33 minutes gone, he came up with the goods at the third time of asking, running on to Kaka’s through ball and placing his finish into the far corner.

The goal, his 100th in the league in 92 appearances, comfortably surpassed the longstanding club record of Hungarian Ferenc Puskas, who reached the landmark after 115 games.

It was one way traffic thereafter, and Benzema struck five minutes before the break, latching on to a superb long ball from Xabi Alonso to lob the onrushing Bravo with one touch to further increase the home side’s advantage.

However, Sociedad pulled a goal back almost immediately, with a long range strike from the left by Xabi Prieto taking a nick off the head of Sergio Ramos en route to the far corner.

It proved to be nothing more than consolation however, as within four minutes of the restart, Benzema took Sami Khedira’s pass into his stride before slotting into the corner to restore the home side's three-goal advantage.

In the 56th minute, Madrid found itself further in front. Higuain did the hard work, sprinting in from out wide and squaring to Ronaldo at the far post, where made no mistake to score his 35th league goal of the season, bringing him level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Pichichi trophy.

The visiting side was floored at this point, and spent the rest of the match playing for the final whistle as Madrid continued to control the game. Madrid went close again the 78th minute, Ronaldo picking out Fabio Coentrao in the area for a toe-poke that flew inches wide.

With the game nearing its conclusion, Higuain let fly with a powerful drive that Bravo did well to tip over, before Raphael Varane’s header from the resulting corner was cleared off the line as Ronaldo and company ran out comfortable winners.

Madrid re-opens its six point lead over Barcelona at the Primera Division summit with the win, and in the process, avoids dropping points for the third league game in a row. Sociedad meanwhile is 14th with 33 points.

Nineteen men tabbed for duty against Real Sociedad

Goalkeepers

Casillas, Adan, Tomas Mejias

Defenders

Varane, Arbeloa, Marcelo, Ramos, Albiol, Coentrao

Midfielders

Altintop, Sahin, Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Granero, Kaka

Forwards

Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain, Benzema, Jese

Real Madrid all at sea as self-destruction and stubborn Submarines open title door to Barcelona

Then there were six.

On Sunday afternoon, few outside the region of Catalunya would have dared suggest that the Primera Division title race could be revived. The cavernous 10-point advantage held by a relentless Real Madrid seemed completely insurmountable, with Jose Mourinho's side having played 26, won 23, and lost just two. 
Wednesday evening's 1-1 draw versus Villarreal, arriving in the aftermath of Sunday's surprise capitulation versus Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu, has shown us that Madrid aren't quite over the line yet. Amidst the anarchy that ensued at El Madrigal, their resolute facade has cracked, ever so slightly, with the Primera Division shimmering on the horizon. 
But bring forth a cliche - a week of football, in the case of the league leaders, has proven to be a very long one indeed.

Wednesday evening's 1-1 draw versus Villarreal, arriving in the aftermath of Sunday's surprise capitulation versus Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu, has shown us that Madrid aren't quite over the line yet. Amidst the anarchy that ensued at El Madrigal, their resolute facade has cracked, ever so slightly, with the Primera Division shimmering on the horizon. 

The two fixtures, Malaga and Villarreal, were undeniably different in their execution. Had the formerly assured Karim Benzema not been so profligate, victory would have been cemented long before Santi Cazorla's stoppage-time silencer.

LA LIGA - AS IT STANDS
	Games	Pts	GD
R. MADRID	28	72	+65
BARCELONA	28	66	+60

Against the Yellow Submarine, however, Madrid were further from their most fluent. The hosts, revitalised by that curious notion - the new coach in the dugout - are a team fighting for their Liga lives, and were far more fastidious in defence than during the haphazard death throes of previous incumbent Jose Molina. Under the tutelage of the notoriously tentative Miguel Angel Lotina, they gave Madrid a genuine challenge, and the visitors, perhaps with the silence created by Cazorla imprinted in their memory, toiled to assert themselves to the level they have achieved so ruthlessly across the campaign.

But the match itself was settled in two key areas. The first of which was the decision to opt for the trivote of Lassana Diarra, Xabi Alonso, and Sami Khedira from the start. Diarra's reckless early challenge left him cautioned with three minutes played, then substituted after 29 as Mourinho sought to maintain his full compliment of players on the pitch. The Frenchman's folly may have interrupted a well-laid plan, but Villarreal were undoubtedly superior while he was on the field, with Nilmar and Marcos Senna both passing up opportunities to open the scoring. The team failed to harmonise throughout, and even in their dominant spells of the second period, Cristiano Ronaldo's sumptuous goal aside, they fell below the required standard to see out the match. 

At the point of Ronaldo's goal, Madrid were in the process of doing what champions do - collecting the obligatory hard-earned three points at a notoriously difficult venue. That was before the second contributory factor, referee Jose Paradas Romero, made his inauspicious presence felt, and all hell broke loose.

Mourinho and Romero have past history - the official sent the Portuguese to the stands in November 2010 during a Copa del Rey fixture versus Murcia, and the coaches' gesticulations in the technical area once more gathered the attention of the man in the middle.

The altercations began slowly, simmering, before exploding like Krakatoa. Firstly, the ever-exuberant Rui Faria, Madrid's fitness coach, was expelled from the touchline for the fourth time this season. Then, Marco Ruben was shown a yellow card, when it appeared that he had already been booked during a heated incident in the first half. 

But when a free kick awarded 30 yards from goal for a foul by Hamit Altintop on Joan Oriol was duly swerved home by Marcos Senna, Mourinho became apoplectic, and he joined Faria in the stands, while refusing to acknowledge the media afterwards. 
The players, partly stung by their own inability to carefully close out the contest, mirrored the indiscipline offered by their mentor. Instead of maintaining an air of calm, they embraced the opportunity for rebellion. Sergio Ramos' head-high challenge on Nilmar, following through with his elbow, saw him collect a second yellow. Mesut Ozil quickly followed for his protestations. Romero, who had also failed to acknowledge a blatant tug on Nilmar in the first half which should have resulted in a penalty for the hosts, had lost complete control by this point, brandishing bookings like a get-out-of jail-free card against the crime of his own incompetence.

But Madrid unwittingly followed him into the abyss of self-implosion. Ronaldo can cry foul play, and Pepe may launch insults towards those he believes are against him and his team, but Romero's only saving grace lies in the impartiality of his ineptness. Both sides were burned by his decision-making, yet Madrid were the ones that took it personally. 

They allowed emotion and, perhaps, expectation, to get in the way of seeing out what would have been a monumental win in the confines of the title race. The lead had been theirs. The points were within their grasp. Had they simply performed in their own ominous style from the off, Villarreal, a team clinging onto a season that descended into freefall almost as soon as it had began, would have folded. 

Yet now, a disappointing draw has escalated into a myriad of controversy; the performance of self-harm ramped undue tension during the match, and will have ramifications for the weekend fixture against Real Sociedad. Diarra is suspended after collecting his fifth booking. Ramos and Ozil are unavailable, while Mourinho will likely be jettisoned to the stands for his behaviour. These are inconveniences they could very much do without.

They remain the masters of their own destiny, but Barcelona had been afforded a reprieve, a distinct beam of light where before, as Pep Guardiola alluded to over the weekend, there had been no possibility for salvation. With a final Clasico to come in over a month's time, the dying embers of a title race have been unexpectedly stoked, and Madrid must regain their composure if it is to end with gratification. 

Kaka: We must be alert until we officially clinch the Liga title

The Santiago Bernabeu outfit can move eight points clear at the top of the Primera Division table with a win over Villarreal at El Madrigal on Wednesday.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has indicated that the Liga title is Madrid's to lose, given the distance between the two clubs, but Kaka is refusing to get carried away.

"We have an advantage [over Barca] which means a lot and does not mean that much at the same time," he told AS.

"We know that Barca are very strong and that they have great players, so we will have to be very alert until we have mathematically won the title."

Kaka then expressed relief at putting his fitness problems behind him and said that he was over the moon when he signed for Madrid.

"I am improving and trying to be at a good level again," he added. "Madrid are a new step in my career, I want to make history here and win a lot of things.

"It was a great emotion [when I joined Madrid]. This is one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"Many great players have played here. Now I am here and it is always a big challenge to play at this club." 

Real Madrid V Villarreal

This particular fixture, last year or even couple of years ago, was mouth-watering for the quality of football both teams were capable of. This year, it may not be the same. This can well turn out to be a defensive match in which neither team will go for the kill.

Jose Mourinho will be unhappy with his team’s performance against Malaga, even though his post-match conference suggested otherwise. Malaga controlled the tempo of the game in the first half and were a treat to watch. And then, there was the stoppage time goal; a brilliant free kick by Santi Cazorla, from a dead ball situation. Real Madrid have been poor, compared to their lofty standards in attack, in defending set-pieces this season.

If the problems mentioned above are considered to be note-worthy, then Villarreal’s problems are impossible to solve. The team which played Champions’ League football this season have stooped to such lows that survival in the first division will be considered as an accomplishment from now on. They have sacked their second manager this season and appointed Miguel Angel Lotina, who does not share Villarreal’s vision for flair-football. It is very clear that Fernando Roig has appointed Lotina, a manager with more emphasis on defensive football than offensive, to stem the bleeding some how, some way.

Villarreal have lost their last three matches including against Real Zaragoza, a team sure to be relegated. Last time, Real Madrid played Villarreal, they thrashed them 3-0 with first half goals from Benzema, Kaka and Di Maria.

With a new manager in charge, it is still unclear about how Villarreal will actually approach this match. They will be in a fragile state of mind with the humiliating defeats and the ruthless sacking of their coach playing on their mind. And then there is the unavailability of their star forward, Guiseppe Rossi, who is sidelined with along-term knee injury.

Borja Valero, their best ball player is also injured and this increases problems manifold for Villarreal. Then, there is the suspension of Marchena and you begin to wonder if Villarreal is facing the best team in the league at their worst possible time. Lotina will have no time to make changes to this squad. He will, in all probability, be playing a 4-3-3 with Bruno,Senna and Cani.

The forward line will consist of the Marco Ruben, Nilmar and Martinuccio. Without Rossi, the Villarreal attack has lost its sting but Lotina has no other option but to stick to this line-up at least for this match, before tinkering with the squad. Real Madrid’s full backs have been error prone and Malaga’s Joaquin demonstrated the frailty on Marcelo’s side of defense in the last match. Nilmar needs to beat Marcelo and the right flank will be one on which most of the attacks, if any, will originate.

The defense will remain unchanged from the match against Levante. Diego Lopez will be guarding the sticks and Mario, Zapata, Musacchio, and Oriol will shield him.

Expected Starting XI Villarreal ( 4-3-3) : Lopez; Mario, Zapata, Musacchio, Oriol; Senna, Cani, Bruno; Nilmar, Ruben, Martinuccio

After a deserving draw against Malaga, Real Madrid cannot afford any more slip-ups in the league. Pep Guardiola may be claiming that the league is out of reach but everybody knows that it is not the case. Another slip-up can prove fatal, and with Real Madrid playing at Camp Nou at the end of the season, the season finale can very well turn out to be dramatic.

Fabio Coentrao has been left out of the squad due to a coaching decision. But, according to rumors he has been punished for smoking in public. Raul Albiol has also been left out of the squad as well. It turns out that Albiol will have no chances of making it to the Spanish squad at the Euros. Di Maria is still not fit and will make his come back against APOEL if everything turns out as expected.

Arbeloa is back in the reckoning and will start as the right back. Lass did a commendable job against Malaga but according to reports from Spain, Khedira may be given a break in the midfield replacing the Frenchman. That means Pepe, Ramos and Marcelo will continue in their usual roles.

It is baffling though that the most used player in Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso, has hardly been rested inspite of having Granero and Sahin on the bench. The playing time seems to be taking a toll on the Spanish maestro and his form has dipped slightly. But, his name will be the first to be pencilled on the squad sheet.

Kaka did not have a great game against Malaga but Mourinho may persist with him against Villarreal, with Ozil and Ronaldo flanking him. Karim Benzema started against Malaga and with the rotation policy now in place, Higuain will get the nod.

Expected Starting XI Real Madrid ( 4-2-3-1) : Casillas; Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Alonso, Lass; Ozil, Kaka, Ronaldo; Higuain

Caroline got a New Haircut

Oh God!! Is she Looking pretty or What???

Real Madrid players wear t-shirts supporting Abidal and Muamba

The Spanish side's players showed support for the Barcelona defender and the Bolton midfielder, who have both had serious health concerns, ahead of their meeting with Malaga.

The players wore shirts with 'Get well soon Abidal' written in Spanish on one side and 'Get well soon Muamba' in English on the other. 

Pictures of the Game

Real Madrid 1-1 Malaga

Real Madrid's 11-game winning streak in La Liga has came to an end as Malaga secured a dramatic 1-1 draw late on at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Despite the visitors enjoying large spells of possession during the game, Karim Benzema put Los Blancos ahead until Santi Cazorla fired in a beautiful stoppage-time equaliser to ensure the spoils were shared, meaning the gap to Barcelona at the summit of the table is now eight points. 



The Real Madrid players showed respect to the plights of Eric Abidal and Fabrice Muamba at kick-off, wearing two-sided shirts offering messages of support to the duo in their respective battles with illness.

When the game began, a flurry of chances for both sides made for an exciting spectacle, and Willy Caballero was the first goalkeeper to be called into action after just two minutes. Benzema met Lassana Diarra’s cross at the near post and flicked it on goal, with his effort almost looping over the keeper and into the net.

Malaga, coming off the back of a three-game winning streak, were unperturbed, and forced a save from Iker Cassilas just two minutes later. Cazorla spotted Salomon Rondon’s run across the top of the box but the Venezuelan could not find the corner of the goal with his effort.

After Caballero made another two saves from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka respectively, the visitors forged another great chance to take the lead on the 15-minute mark. 

Nacho Monreal breezed past makeshift right-back Lassana Diarra and played the ball to Isco, but he dragged his shot wide of the goal, when perhaps he should have did better.

In an open game, Los Boquerones seemed unfazed by the task at hand but looked occasionally vulnerable to the Madrid counterattack.

With 28 minutes played, Benzema changed the pace of the attack with a cute one-two on the left of the box with Ronaldo. The France international opened his body and looked to bend the ball into the bottom corner, but failed to hit the target.

But the deadlock was broken in the 35th minute and it was the hosts who took the lead. Ronaldo was given too much space on the left and bent in a delightful ball for Benzema to finally got his goal with a simple header at the back post.

The second half was a much more subdued affair, with both sides adopting a tentative approach in order to not be exposed.

Visiting coach Manuel Pellegrini brought Ruud van Nistelrooy on for the final 30 minutes as his side tried to find and equaliser, and the Dutchman was given a rapturous ovation by the home crowd for whom he won two Liga titles.

Moments after Monreal produced a last-ditch clearance to deny Benzema a tap in, Caballero then saved expertly from Ronaldo. With an hour played, Kaka’s through ball put the Portuguese in on goal, and although he attempted to caress the ball past the Argentine keeper, his strong hand kept the ball out.

Malaga were clinging on as Madrid upped the tempo with two efforts in quick succession. Mesut Ozil was proving dangerous on the ball as he initiated a move that ended with Jose Callejon seeing his header cleared behind by Monreal.

One minute later, Benzema missed a golden chance to put the game to bed. Ozil’s cutback from the left looked to have gifted him a goal but he somehow fired the ball wide of the target.

The visitors searched for an equaliser and it came in dramatic fashion. Cazorla fired in a glorious free kick from 25 yards out to rescue a point for his side in stoppage time, helping their own efforts in their attempts to clinch Champions League football.

The late goal means that Jose Mourinho's men saw their lead over Barcelona at the summit of La Liga reduced to eight points over the weekend, and Malaga now sit joint-fourth with Levante.