Fernando Gago

[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.

[Aga]

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Real Madrid vs. Sevilla

Goalkeepers: Casillas & Dudek.

Defenders: Torres, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo & Heinze.

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

Forwards: Higuain, Raul & Saviola.

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3 - Real Madrid: Casillas; Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Marcelo; Gago, Guti (Diarra, 72'), Sneijder, Robben; Higuaín (Baptista, 83') & Raúl (Robinho, 85').

1 - Sevilla: Palop; Alves, Mosquera, Prieto, Adriano; Crespo (Navas, 27'), Poulsen (Renato, 45'), Keita, Capel (Koné, 72'); Kanouté & Luis Fabiano.

REFEREE: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes. Booked Crespo (6'), Heinze (22'), Mosquera (50') and Raúl (56').

GOALS:

1-0: (7'): Heinze.

1-1 (37'): Kanouté.

2-1 (39'): Raúl.

3-1 (65'): Higuaín.

HIGHLIGHTS: Matchday 30 of La Liga. Venue: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Attendance: 80,000. One minute's silence was held in memory of the recently deceased former Real Madrid basketball player Sergio Luyk.

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[LuNo]

Player Ratings: Real Madrid 3-1 Sevilla

Real Madrid produced both a fluid attacking performance and defensive solidarity to produce a priceless result against Sevilla to extend their lead, and put their opponents out of contention for Champions League qualification. Goal.com analyses the individual performances...

Casillas - 6.5: Was rarely called upon but looked sharp and assured as usual.

Sergio Ramos - 8: Showed just what an asset he is up and down the right hand side. Did brilliantly to subdue Capel and got forward to good effect throughout the entire game.

Cannavaro - 7: Is a shaved head all Cannavaro needs to produce his A-game? He won the World Cup with one, but for much of his hapless Madrid career has let a little grow through. Today he was back to his bald best and besides one unpunished error, put in an accomplished and solid performance.

Heinze - 7.5: Quite like his defensive partner, surprised everyone this evening. Made a few errors but always atoned for them almost immediately. Made some crucial blocks and of course threw himself at the ball to score the crucial opener.

Marcelo - 6.5: Was not outstanding individually. He was well protected and supported by his team-mates and in that comfort zone he was able to put in a competent showing. Still room for improvement.

Sneijder - 8.5: Yet another on the long list of shocking performances today - shocking because they were much better than expected. Sneijder has looked lost for so much of the season, but his fantastic free-kick set up the first goal and his wonderful pass was the prelude to the second; he also played a crucial part in the third and final goal as well. Was all over the place, spraying accurate passes and doing well to cover and assist Marcelo in defence in the second half.

Gago - 7: Put in a performance that will inspire confidence within him and many Real fans who were losing faith in the young Argentine. Proved relatively solid up against the physical threat of Poulsen and Keita in the first half and his passing game is always a delight to watch. A slightly more sturdy Guti in the making.

Guti - 7.5: And Guti himself did a good job on the night. Setting up the third quite brilliantly and did well to keep things ticking over in midfield.

Higuain - 7: Eventually managed to take a chance he'd have struggled to miss. Cannot be faulted for his work-rate, and some of his runs were promising, but was too wasteful in front of goal to warrant a higher score.

Raul - 8: Another trademark performance from the captain, who put himself about from the first minute until the last and made things difficult for the entire Sevilla backline. Scored the goal of the game; a fantastic effort which put Madrid back in front less than two minutes after Sevilla had equalised. Indispensable.

Robben - 7: Constantly a thorn in Sevilla's side early on and his running was always a danger. In the second half, he by and large flattered to deceive and did not produce enough end product.

Substitutes: Diarra - 5.5, Julio Baptista - n/a, Robinho - n/a.

[LuNo]

Gago: We Showed We Can Win The League

Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago expressed his delight after the 3-1 win over Sevilla, which consolidated Los Merengues' push towards the title.

The Argentine formed a solid midfield partnership with Wesley Sneijder and Guti in what was a display of tenacity Real madrid have not shown for a couple of months now.

The effects were there to see, as Sevilla never quite settled down, and the likes of Poulsen kept chasing the ball to no end.

Speaking after the much deserved 3-1 win, he chose to focus on the team's collective display, and on the importance of the result.

"It was very important to win this game, and besides, we did it playing good footbal," he said.

"We know that every game is a final, but we showed tonight that we can win the league. We had to win this game and that's what we did, so we are happy."

Real Madrid are now six points clear at the top, and the surprise of the weekend is that it is Villarreal now leading the chase.

Questioned about who he thinks to be their main title threat, Gago was evasive: "We do not have to worry about the others, only about ourselves. The key is now to think one match at a time."

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Real Mallorca vs. Real Madrid

Goalkeepers: Casillas & Codina.

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

Midfielders: Diarra, Gago, Guti, Baptista, Sneijder & Robben.

Forwards: Higuain, Saviola, Robinho & Raul.

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REAL MADRID: Casillas, Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Marcelo, Sneijder (Torres, 75’), Guti, Gago, Robben, Higuaín (Diarra, 69’) and Raúl (Baptista, 81’).

RCD MALLORCA:.Moyá, Fernando Navarro, Ramis (David Navarro, 27’), Nunes, Héctor (Webo, 79’), Basinas, Varela (Valero, 68’), Ibagaza, Jonás, Arango and Gúiza.

GOALS:

0-1, min. 42. Sneijder

1-1, min. 72. Borja Valero

REFEREE: Arturo Daudén Ibáñez. Booked Fernando Navarro (39’), Heinze (75’), Casillas (84’), and Borja Valero (89’) and sent off Sergio Ramos (46’ & 65’).

NOTES: Matchday 31 of La Liga played at ONO Estadi in Mallorca. Attendance: 20,000.

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Player Ratings: Real Mallorca 1-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid were out-fought at the ONO Estadi and, when reduced to 10 men, were lucky to escape with the draw. Goal.com analyses the individual performances...

Casillas - 7: Did everything he could with all the balls that came his way. One fine reaction save to stop an unfortunate deflection going in. Powerless to stop the goal.

Ramos - 6: Unlucky to be sent off for an alleged second bookable offense but, uncharacteristically, had a shaky game. His energy was an asset, but his final product was lacking.

Cannavaro - 7.5: Well, things are looking promising for Cannavaro, finally. Madrid's best player on the night, his positioning was on-point and though Madrid's defence was unlocked by the goal, it's not something that can be blamed on the Italian or any other individual.

Heinze - 6.5: At times he had the energy and awareness that was reminiscent of last week and the week before's performances, but today, quite like Ramos, he showed the most uncertain side of his game and almost proved to be a liabiliry at times.

Marcelo - 6.5: A quiet game, and he will probably be happy with that. Was caught out a few times in the first half but made amends on all occasions. Willing to fight more in a defensive capacity these days. Slowly improving.

Guti - 5.5: Not good enough. It was another one of those days for Guti. There was the odd inspired pass, but he proved to be a liability in midfield. Not a scrapper, so that was not expected, but with no significant muscle backing him up, his lack of work rate in particular was exposed.

Gago - 7: Madrid's best mdifielder. Did all the little things right and attempted the odd extravagant pass, none of which came off. Showed good energy and was as strong as he could be in the challenge.

Sneijder - 6.5: His goal saves his score without question. Dreadful set-pieces; looked quite promising when running with the ball but his passing and shooting left quite a lot to be desired. Was last week a one-off?

Higuain - 5: Thoroughly underwhelming. Like Sneijder, can look okay when on the ball and running but his end product is found wanting.

Raul - 6: Put in a decent showing, but there was very little service and when he drifted deep he did have much of an influence as it was often overcrowded.

Robben - 7: Promising. Did magnificently to set up the first goal and he was a genuine wide threat, something Madrid had lacked all game.

Substitutes: Diarra - 6, Torres - n/a, Baptista - n/a

[LuNo]

[Chic_Raul_ista]

LOVE Gago, his a great player and I think his such a cutie!

[Chic_Raul_ista]