Iker Casillas

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Casillas: We Can't Throw It Away

Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas believes that his side's lead at the top of the Primera Liga is so commanding that it's theirs to throw away...

The stopper was annoyed in the aftermath of his side's dire performance in A Coruña against Deportivo, but went on to state that the title race was still in their own hands.

"We are well aware that we did badly in A Coruña," he told Marca.

"But it's just as true that we're in a comfortable position - one that we've earned since the Liga began - and we are in the driver's seat.

"If we fail, we are the ones who lose the Liga, not other teams. I can assure you that after losing at Coruña in the way that we did, the team is determined to face Valencia and Sevilla to pick up four vital points for our league challenge."

On the upcoming matches, he warned, "Teams are playing with the European spots increasingly in mind, so no games will be easy.

"If Valencia lose last week, they're in big trouble. Therefore we also have to fight, and know that we're doing so for the league."

Squad Concerns

The goalkeeper spoke out in defence of his manager, who "also suffers" along with the players.

"He suffers just as we do," explained the Spanish international.

"That's a good thing, though, because it discourages us from losing.

"This is his first year at Real Madrid and he's determined for us to win the Liga. Anyone who doesn't see the best results in their work is understandably upset."

He added that the absence of Ruud van Nistelrooy - who is set to return for the visit of Valencia at the weekend - has hurt the team due to the Dutchman being "a major player."

Barcelona?

However, this was a secondary concern, with the squad as a whole being of more import - if not the team creeping up behind them again.

"We always conduct self-criticism when we lose, not simply because Barcelona are chasing us," he grumbled.

"The most important thing is to talk. It's easy to do it when things are going well, but it's more important to do so in days like that of A Coruña.

"We must not blame anybody. The group must be more united than ever in order to attain its common goal of the Liga. We'll talk, and we'll be self-critical, in order to do that.

"Ronaldinho? That issue doesn't really worry me. What bothers me is that our squad does its best in all matches."

"We can't look for any excuse to say that Ronaldinho has caused a crisis. The Barcelona squad is excellent, and full of key players - that shows by the way that they're still in three competitions," he concluded.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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