[Drugmachine]

Real Madrid vs Real Murcia 5-1
All Goals & Full - Highlights 2010

[Peptobismol]

Copa del Rey wrap: Real, Atletico set up derby date

7 January 2011



Real Madrid will meet city rivals Atletico in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals after both sides progressed on Thursday.

The two Madrid sides will face each other after Real defeated Levante 8-2 on aggregate, while Atletico had to work harder to progress, edging Espanyol 2-1 over two legs.

After thumping Levante 8-0 in the first leg, Real boss Jose Mourinho took the opportunity to rest the likes of Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso, while Cristiano Ronaldo missed the match through illness.

Mourinho would nevertheless be disappointed by his side's display as Levante won 2-0 at home thanks to a penalty from Xisco and a strike from Sergio.

After a 1-0 first-leg victory, Atletico looked to have sealed their progression when Sergio Aguero, who signed a two-year contract extension with the club this week, opened the scoring after 25 minutes.

Espanyol continued to attack in search of a goal that would renew their hopes but Fernandez Luis Garcia's strike proved to be mere consolation.

In other matches, Real Betis booked a quarter-final match-up with Barcelona after a 3-1 away win over Getafe sealed a 4-3 aggregate result.

Villarreal scored four second-half goals to defeat Valencia 4-2 on aggregate in a remarkable turnaround. Heading into the match trailing 2-0 after the first leg, Villarreal put in a scintillating second-half display in front of their home faithful as Santi Cazorla and Giuseppe Rossi netted after the interval. Marco Ruben gave Villarreal the lead just after the hour mark before Rossi completed the turnaround with his second.

Elsewhere, Almeria recorded a thrilling 4-3 away win over Real Mallorca.
After the first leg ended 0-0, Almeria stormed to a 4-0 half-time lead courtesy of doubles from Pablo Piatti and Jose Ortiz.

A Fernando Cavenaghi brace and a Michael Pereira goal set up a tense finale, but the visitors held on to book a quarter-final clash with Deportivo La Coruna.

[softy54534]

Barcelona vs Real Betis 5 - 0
All Goals 12.01.2011

[TorryJens]

Watch Sevilla create an upset by knocking Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey competition.

0 - 5 again? Don't be surprised if Barcelona decides to field their reserve (second stringers). They can even afford to lose 4 - 0 to Almeria and still qualify for the final to face either Real Madrid or Sevilla. Remember this is the 2nd leg match.

[Paul Bunyan]

Copa del Rey preview: Barcelona v Real Madrid

19 April 2011



Bitter rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona will lock horns for the second time in less than a week as they fight for the the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Saturday's La Liga encounter between the arch rivals ended in a 1-1 draw, with stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo each converting from the penalty spot for their respective teams.

Madrid, who were handed an 5-0 thrashing at the Camp Nou in November's league match, deployed a defensively sound approach in Madrid as they looked to stifle Barcelona's possession play.

But Jose Mourinho's men will need to open up take the game to the Catalans if they want to claim their first Spanish Cup since 1993.

Mourinho, who was criticised by some for his negative tactics against the defending League and Cup champions, is expected to bring German playmaker Mesut Oezil back into the XI as he looks to pierce through the defensively sound Barca rear guard.

Oezil's re-introduction, however, could see French striker Karim Benzema relegated to the bench.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has traditionally struggled to get into his stride against Barcelona, should be buoyed by his maiden goal against Pep Guardiola's men and is expected to be the focal point in attack.

Their opponents, who are widely expected to claim their third consecutive La Liga crown, again had the majority of possession against Real on Saturday.

Barcelona completed 817 passes while their opponents could only muster 278 attempted passes, while they were also winners last time the two sides met in the final of the same competition at the Estadio Mestalla.

Pep Guardiola is rumoured to be considering resting first-choice goalkeeper Victor Valdes - who was saved by the woodwork on Saturday when Ronaldo's dipping freekick rattled the post - in the Cup final, looking ahead to the upcoming Champions League semi-final legs with Real.

Barca captain Carles Puyol was stretchered off against Madrid and remains a doubt for the clash, meaning Gerard Pique will likely partner Gabriel Milito at the back.

[radikal]

Copa del Rey
Real Madrid 1 Barcelona 0
Scored by C. Ronaldo after extra time.

[Ifroham4]

Mourinho hails ´special´ victory

21 April 2011



Jose Mourinho has described Real Madrid's 1-0 win over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final as a 'fantastic triumph' for his side.

After a tense 90 minutes at the Mestalla in Valencia, extra-time was required, with Cristiano Ronaldo's 103rd minute header separating the two sides on Wednesday.

The win signalled an end to Real's three-year trophy drought, with the club now taking confidence into their two-legged Champions League semi-final with Barcelona beginning on May 27.

"I am thrilled to win the Copa del Rey - it is something special," Mourinho said.

"It's a fantastic triumph against a great team like Barcelona - and we deserved it. We can take them on over two games; we have just done that."

"There is no reason we can't beat them in the Champions League because we have just drawn once against them and then beaten them. I came here to do a job and change the mentality of the club. We have started to do that and it's satisfying - but it's just the start.''

Recently, Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff said that Mourinho's only existence was to win trophies and that he was not a 'football coach', but Mourinho responded by saying he was pleased with the comment.

"Winning titles is winning titles, it's always good," he said.

"Only a few days ago someone called me a coach who wins titles and not football. Thank you. I like being a coach who wins titles."

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos's comments after the match highlighted just how much Mourinho's squad believe in their manager.

"Mourinho is the captain of our ship and we are with him to the death," Ramos said. "What he is trying to instil in us is working wonderfully."

Goal-scorer Ronaldo backed up Ramos' comments and hailed the silverware as 'really important' for the club.

"We knew that whoever scored first would win it - and so it proved,'' Ronaldo said.

"Mourinho has given us a winning spirit and this is a really important trophy for us - it was an objective we had for this season and we have achieved it.''

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola was disappointed after the match, but insisted his side will bounce back from the defeat.

"It's always better to win than to lose,'' Guardiola said.

"But life is like that - you can't always win. We will pick ourselves up - of course we will."

"We are more sad than if we had won, but that's part of the game. These players have been playing together for a long time and we'll bounce back.''

[TorryJens]

Trophy Celebration