Gonzalo Higuaín

[LuNo]

Recreativo vs. Real Madrid

Goalkeepers: Casillas & Dudek.

Defenders: Pepe, Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Miguel Torres, & Marcelo.

Midfielders: Gago, Diarra, Robben, Balboa & Drenthe.

Forwards: Raúl, Robinho, Higuaín, Baptista & Soldado.

[LuNo]

RECREATIVO: Sorrentino; Bouzon, Beto, Martín Caceres, Poli (Ersen Martin, 76’); Varela, Barber, Carlos Martins, Aitor (Quique Alvarez, 62’); Camunas (Zahinos, 69’) and Sinama Pongolle

REAL MADRID: Casillas; Ramos, Cannavaro (Robinho, 73’), Heinze, Torres; Drenthe (Pepe, 58’), Gago, Diarra, Robben (Higuain, 76’); Baptista; Raul.

GOALS:

1-0, min.16: Martin Caceres

1-1, min.27: Raul

1-2, min.73: Robinho

1-3, min.88: Robinho

2-3, min.90: Martins

REFEREE: Iturralde Gonalez. Booked Bouzon (17’), Robben (69’), Cannavaro (72’), Martin Caceres (80’), Sinama (86’), and Ersen Martin (88’). Real Madrid fitness trainer Jordi Garcia (45’), Beto (51’), Ramos (55’), and Quique Alvarez (67’) sent off.

NOTESS: Matchday 26 of La Liga played at Nuevo Colombino Stadium. Attendance: 20,000.

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

Higuaín press conference

"Referees? Schuster only likes to talk about football"

Gonzalo Higuaín offered Sunday's press conference at Real Madrid City, less than 24 hours after the Whites extended their lead in the table with a victory over Recreativo Huelva.

Congratulations Gonzalo. Yesterday's win reaffirmed Madrid's spot atop the league.

I am very happy. It was an important victory, we're now five points ahead of second place, and it served as a huge moral boost heading into Wednesday's Champions League match. We achieved what we wanted, so now we're only thinking about Roma.

The only bad news is Robben's injury.

It's a shame. I didn't see the play because I was warming up on the touchline. We have to give him all our support and help so that he can make a speedy recovery.

Can you say anything in regard to the referees?

That's not a matter for me to discuss. I live and breath football. I'm not worried about the matter. We just think about playing. I don't get involved with referees.

Was yesterday's victory important heading into the next match against Roma?

Absolutely, very important. We have to think about Wednesday's match and we only have two days to prepare for it. They will be looking to defend the first leg result, but we have to remain calm and try to score.

You know the officials who refereed last night. What did you think about their performance?

I never have and never will talk about the referees.

Schuster left last night's press conference when asked about the referees. Doesn't that show a little lack of respect?

You have to ask him. He was a great player and he lives football day in and day out. He doesn't have to discuss the referees. He loves talking about football.

Were the fans responsible for the 1-1 equaliser?

No (laughs). We scored it. The fans are extremely important, and they'll play an important role on Wednesday because they push and we need their support.

Barça lost, so it was a great day overall.

Everything turned out well. We were losing and Barça were winning, but we turned it around and so did Atletico. We have to continue working hard because we've got important matches ahead. Those of us on the bench were getting updates from the Calderón.

You must have seen the highlights of the Atletico-Barcelona match. Your thoughts on Agüero? Is Kun better than Messi?

We all know how good Agüero is. There's no need to talk about him. They are both young players with bright futures. I hope they keep playing as well as they are. I am happy that Agüero had the chance to play a great game.

Did you see his goals?

He had a solid game. He scored and provided two assists. I am sure he'll go very far if he keeps it up.

[LuNo]

Real Madrid vs. Roma

Goalkeepers: Casillas & Dudek.

Defenders: Cannavaro, Marcelo, Pepe, Salgado, Heinze & Torres.

Midfielders: Diarra, Guti, Gago, Baptista, Drenthe & Balboa.

Forwards: Higuain, Robinho, Soldado & Raul.

[LuNo]

[Aga]

[Aga]

[LuNo]

Thanks!!!

[LuNo]

DEPORTIVO vs. REAL MADRID

Goalkeepers: Casillas & Dudek.

Defenders: Salgado, Pepe, Torres, Marcelo, Cannavaro & Heinze.

Midfielders: Diarra, Gago, Baptista, Guti, Drenthe, Robinho & Sneijder.

Forwards: Raúl, Higuaín & Soldado.

[LuNo]

1- DEPORTIVO: Aouate, Manuel Pablo, Lopo, Pablo Amo, Coloccini, Filipe, Wilhelmsson, Sergio (Antonio Tomás, 86’), De Guzman, Lafita (Guardado, 79’) and Xisco (Riki, 68’).

0- REAL MADRID: Casillas, Miguel Torres, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze (Baptista, 77’), Sneijder, Guti, Diarra, Drenthe (Higuain, 70’), Raul and Soldado (Robinho, 70’).

GOAL:

1-0 (min. 56’): Pepe own goal.

REFEREE: Turienzo Alvarez. Booked De Guzmán (60’), Coloccini (69’), Torres (71’), Aouate (89’), Lopo (90’), and Pepe.

NOTES: Matchday 28 of La Liga played at Riazor Stadium. Attendance: 35,000.

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

Player Ratings: Deportivo 1-0 Real Madrid

Deportivo produced an impressive performance as they extended Real Madrid's run without a victory in Riazor to 18 years. The visitors forward line offered very little, while the resurgence in their hosts continued as they looked confident and decisive, even if they did need an own goal to win. Goal.com has judged every player and dished out marks out of ten.

Casillas 6 - Did not have a huge amount to do and was helpless for the goal that came out of nowhere to beat him,

Torres 5.5 - Madrid's defence were not there weak point and the right-back looked as ragged as anyone. Was repeatedly skinned by Lafita, and should have stopped Filipe before the goal.

Heinze - 5.5 - The same goes for the left-back as he even went forward in order to help, although made little impact at that end.

Pepe 6.5 - The own goal was a shame for the defender as he had not played badly, and even ventured forward.

Cannavaro 6.5 - Maintained his position and stood firm whenever the home team broke away and cannot be blamed for the defeat.

Diarra 6 - Was given the task of protecting the back four and, in the main, achieved that without much fuss. His passing, however, remains a huge problem.

Guti 4 - Was not on form and looked lethargic. Gave too many balls away, and never once bothered to do something about it. On nights when his passing deserts him, he looks a real liability.

Drenthe 6.5 - An industrious first half, but all theat hustle and bustle rarely made an impact on the Depor defence. But he was trying ever so hard, unlike some of his teammates.

Sneijder 5.5 - Also did very little impress and his long range shot that went well wide in the second half summed up his display. Absolutely no imagination.

Raul 4.5 - Virtually anonymous up front. Whether that was because of his own performance or because of a lack of service is open to debate.

Soldado 4.5 - At least looked to involve himself, but in all honesty neither forward created anything for themselves.

Subs

Robinho 5.5 - Has helped Madrid in sticky situations before, but did nothing to help here even though he looked lively.

Baptista 5.5 - Came on and appeared to quickly become frustrated with the lack of movement and space up front.

Higuain 5 - Came on did virtually nothing to help turn around Madrid's fortunes on a night when nobody really stood out.

[Aga]

[LuNo]

Real Madrid vs. Valencia

Goalkeepers: Casillas and Dudek;

Defenders: Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo, and Heinze;

Midfielders: Diarra, Gago, Robinho, Robben, Guti, Baptista, Sneijder, and Drenthe;

Forwards: Higuain, Raul, and Soldado.

[LuNo]

REAL MADRID: Casillas; Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Marcelo; Robinho (Higuaín, 77’), Gago, Guti, Sneijder, Baptista (Robben, 62’) and Raúl.

VALENCIA: Hildebrand; Miguel, Albiol, Marchena (Iván Helguera, 32’)y Canería; Maduro, Banega (Baraja, 64’), Silva, Arizmendi, Mata (Morientes, 64’) and Villa.

GOALS:

0-1. Min. 35. Villa

1-1. Min. 36. Raúl

2-1. Min. 55. Raúl

2-2. Min. 67. Villa

2-3. Min. 88. Arizmendi

REFEREE: Carlos Clos Gómez. Booked Marchena (19’), Pepe (83’), Cannavaro (83’), and Marcelo (90’).

NOTES: Matchday 29 of La Liga played at the Santiago Bernabéu.

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

Player Ratings: Real Madrid 2-3 Valencia

Casillas — 5: Made a great save from Villa and was powerless to stop the first goal. Had put in a good shift up until the 88th minute, when he came out carelessly, allowing Arizmendi to beat him at his near post for the match-winning goal.

Ramos — 7: Back like he'd never been gone. Ran tirelessly, looked a threat going forward and took care of ex-Madrid man Mata fairly well.

Cannavaro — 3: Caught napping practially every time he needed to be awake. More crucially, his individual, unforgivable and basic errors gifted Valencia not only their equaliser but their match-winner. The defender, who once rightly held the title of the best in his position in the world, has had a very inconsistent time in Spain, but this has to go down as his worst performance yet. Shocking!

Pepe — 6.5: Like his defensive partner, was caught out from time to time. His size, athleticism and strength coming out of defence with the ball meant he provided much more than the Italian.

Marcelo — 4.5: Like the man he replaced in the team, Gabriel Heinze, he is prone to errors - but at least he offers something going forward. Was caught out and played David Villa onside for the goal and was lax marking Arizmendi for much of the game - which included falling asleep when the forward broke up the right for the match-winner. A decent contributor in attack, but clearly needs to learn how to defend.

Sneijder — 3.5: Squandered possession and looked uncomfortable from time to time, even when given a free role on the edge of the area, he failed to make any sort of impact. Was dreadful from his supposed trademark set-pieces as well. Very disappointing.

Gago — 5: Didn't play much of a traditional pivot role as he was found wandering from time to time. Passed well but lacks the size and presence of Diarra, which was somewhat exposed by the likes of Maduro in the midfield battle. Toward the death when Madrid had to push for a goal he was lacking.

Guti — 6: Had a few good runs with the ball and trademark passes, particularly in the first half. However, his lack of defensive ability was exposed when his side were without the ball. Nevertheless, a good assist for Raul's second.

Baptista — 5.5: Put in an hard working shift being played out of position wide right. Chased everything down and even did his best to beat his man when coming inside. But not enough bite.

Raul — 8: Did his best to lead the line though it's not his natural game. Showed strength and awareness to grab the equaliser as well as his second that put Real Madrid ahead. Played brilliantly and had chances to grab his hattrick, which would have been well-deserved. Definitely led by example and, for those looking for a scapegoat, today it was not Raul. Would have probably been Man of the Match had his team at least drawn the game, and certainly if they had won it.

Robinho — 6: Flattered to deceive mostly on what was a below par evening for him, but delivered a beautiful cross for Raul's equaliser to save his rating. Was substituted by Robben.

Substitutes: Robben — 5.5.

[LuNo]

Pepe & Higuaín

"We ask that the fans remain calm because there is still a lot of league to be played"

Pepe and Higuaín were devastated after losing to Valencia, but both asked the fans to remain calm.

Pepe:

“This match was decided by a small detail. We failed in that respect and that's where we have to improve. We have to continue battling because there is still a lot of league to be played. We cannot give up.”

“I am sad because we lost at home in front of our fans; in front of our fans who filled the stadium today. We also lost after making a comeback, which makes us even more upset.”

“I don't like to speak about the officiating. There were enough reasons for us to come out as winners. We have to keep our heads held high and continue working. It wasn't a penalty in my opinion, but that's what the referee is for and we have to accept what he says.”

“The coach also thought we played well. Next week we have another chance to win in front of our fans, but we have to pay attention to the details in order to come out on top.”

“We're not losing steam. We played well today but just weren't able to win.”

“Of course we have to keep an eye on Villarreal, but we're still four points ahead of second and we have to keep on battling to maintain the lead.”

Higuaín:

“We knew how important it was not to lose, but there are still many matches to play and we still have a four-point lead. We have to work hard to ensure that what took place today doesn't repeat itself.”

“Hilderbrand was incredible. I think it was one of the best matches of his career. I congratulate him, but today we deserved to score more goals.”

“We have to forget about this match and think about the next. There are nine finals remaining and we have to win them all. We're in first place and we want to end this way.”

“I ask that the fans continue supporting just as they have been and that they believe that we're going to do whatever it takes next Sunday against Sevilla. We're already thinking about the next game, but in a calm and collected fashion.”

[Aga]

New hairstyle? Thanks. People are asking me about those pics.