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No team have ever lost an eight point lead in La Liga with just eight games to go, but Villa remains cautious: "we have to be realistic and accept that we are in a great position, but it would be a mistake to see ourselves the champions already. Right now the league is ours to lose".
The young midfielder was outstanding in victory at Villarreal. Such was his impact, that AS says Barca may decide to stick with Thiago rather than block the youngster's progress by buying Cesc.
Barça and Madrid will be meeting two times in just four days in two competitions. They first meet on Saturday, April 16 at 22.00, in the game corresponding to the 32nd round of Liga matches. Pep Guardiola will be going to the Santiago Bernabéu for the third time since he has been on the bench at FC Barcelona and so far his record is two wins out of two: 6-2 in the 2008-09, season and 2-0 in 2009-10.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has stated in and interview with L' Equipe that both Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are "extremely strong", but he believes that his club colleague is the better player. "Messi has more. Ronaldo dribbles well, he's excellent with headers, but Leo is more direct with the ball. He'll always do more than just score a goal."
Barcelona star Lionel Messi may be widely acknowledged as the world’s best player at the moment, but Ghana legend Mohammed ‘Polo’ Ahmed believes that during his playing days he was far better than the Argentina international forward.
Real Madrid legend Raul expects to return to the club in some capacity when his playing days are over. Raul, now 33, is currently playing for German side Schalke and has a contract until the end of next season with the Gelsenkirchen outfit.
Barcelona, and Italian duo Inter Milan and AC Milan, as well as Manchester United, are all thought to be keeping tabs on Bale's situation. However, Mourinho insists Real are unlikely to make any move for Bale because of his likely high price-tag and he feels they are well covered on the left side of midfield.
Brazilian playmaker Kaka joined Ronaldo in the squad along with fellow injury doubts Marcelo and Angel Di Maria, Real said on their website. Striker Karim Benzema, who injured himself on duty with France, did not train on Monday and was left out.
Madrid have greatly improved in terms of their tactics and attitude this season, and they are definitely one of the contenders for the final at Wembley. Nevertheless, the Spurs will have a say in this tie. That they qualified for the quarter-finals doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
Now he is known for what he has done in reaction to and in the orbit of Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho, a glaring example I might add of the lazy journalism that persists in Spain, but as is usual, when one digs in deeper, much more important information can be found if one just cares enough.
The last 18 months have been difficult for Trochowski, who has lost his place with the Mannschaft as well as Hamburg and has only played in 181 of a possible 990 minutes for the club since the winter break. With his contract set to expire in June, he will now move to Spain on a Bosman.
Espanyol defender David García could be sidelined for the next six weeks after suffering a Grade II tear to his left hamstring. The full-back picked up the injury during the weekend meeting with Racing de Santander. He should however, be able to make his return before the end of the Liga BBVA campaign.
Racing striker Markus Rosenberg sustained an injury in Monday’s training session. The Swede is reported to have suffered a Grade I-II sprain to his right knee and medical staff estimate that he will be out of action for between two to four weeks. Rosennerg will undergo fresh tests on Tuesday to give doctors a clearer idea of the problem.
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