Figo and his family were with Mamen and the boys @ the game; hope we find photos. Maybe the 2 families will go on a short break somewhere

I'm so happy Raul made a double!!!!! :hell yea!: :hell yea!:

Thanks Chic_Raul_ista

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.

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.

Raúl

"We will maintain the lead"

The captain's two goals weren't enough for the victory, but Raúl did say that Real Madrid gave it their all against Valencia.

“We had the game in the bag. We had plenty of chances and even turned it around, but up 2-1 we didn't know how to control the game. We had chances to score the third, but they equalised and eventually took the three points.”

“We're still in a good situation and we're going to continue working. We've already started thinking about next Sunday's match so that we at least maintain our lead.”

“It's a poor result, but we're going to keep on working hard. I think there were several things the team did well. We had a lot of chances, more so than recent matches, but we did make mistakes that cost us two goals. That's what we have to work on.”

“Valencia scored three goals, but our intention was to give it all we had. The team fought hard, played good football, and created enough chances to take the lead, but football is like that sometimes. We didn't finish when we had to and we were aware of the danger Valencia presented. They took advantage of their chances.”

“We had chances to score the third when it was 2-2, but Arizmendi made a great play and they won. That's just how it goes. I think we could have won, but just the opposite happened.”

“There are many rivals and neither Barcelona nor Villarreal have been discarded. We have to keep fighting. There are nine matches left and every one from here on out is a final. The moment of truth is here. Other teams creep up if you lose because not all three of us can lose on the same day.”

“We're eager to get back to work and to try to maintain our lead.”

We Blew It, Admits Raul

Real Madrid skipper Raul admitted that the team practically threw away their chance to pick up a win against Valencia.

What Could Have Been

Real Madrid came from behind to take a 2-1 lead against Valencia - thanks to two goals from Raul - and then had numerous chance to secure the result, but failed to take them, allowing the visitors to pick up a stunning 3-2 win.

“We had the game in the bag," said Raul after the final whistle. "We had plenty of chances and even turned it around, but up 2-1 we didn't know how to control the game.

"We had chances to score the third, but they equalised and eventually took the three points.”

“Valencia scored three goals, but our intention was to give it all we had. The team fought hard, played good football, and created enough chances to take the lead, but football is like that sometimes.

"We didn't finish when we had to and we were aware of the danger Valencia presented. They took advantage of their chances.”

Looking Ahead

Real Madrid now have a four point lead in the title race, and Raul was quick to draw from that.

“We're still in a good situation and we're going to continue working," he said. "We've already started thinking about next Sunday's match so that we at least maintain our lead.”

“It's a poor result, but we're going to keep on working hard. I think there were several things the team did well.

"We had a lot of chances, more so than recent matches, but we did make mistakes that cost us two goals. That's what we have to work on.”

“We had chances to score the third when it was 2-2, but Arizmendi made a great play and they won. That's just how it goes. I think we could have won, but just the opposite happened.”

Title Race Wide Open

The Merengue skipper admitted openly, though, that the title race had been left wide open after their defeat.

“There are many rivals and neither Barcelona nor Villarreal have been discarded," he added. "We have to keep fighting. There are nine matches left and every one from here on out is a final.

"The moment of truth is here. Other teams creep up if you lose because not all three of us can lose on the same day. We're eager to get back to work and to try to maintain our lead.”

Thanks LuNo!

Hopefully we can find photos with Mamen and untagged HQ! their uncle Sergio is sitting next to Luis

RAUL & MORO!