04.05.2014 » Real Madrid 2-2 Valencia. Ronaldo rescues a point with a Zlatan move!
It was far from being a well achieved performance by Real Madrid last night, as Carlo Ancelotti and his men couldn't go beyond a 2-2 draw against Valencia. Nevertheless, the point earned this Sunday night might end up being crucial to determine La Liga's standings at the end of the season, as it will allow the Merengues to go only 2 points behind the league leaders Atletico Madrid by next Wednesday, when they take on Real Valladolid in a delayed league fixture. Valencia were on the lead in two occasions this evening, but the hosts managed to get back in the game first through a goal from Sergio Ramos (who had already scored twice in mid-week against Bayern Munich), and later on the night with another magical moment produced by Cristiano Ronaldo. With Real Madrid trailing by one in the 92nd minute, Ronaldo decided to pull off a "Zlatan Ibrahimovic" backheel move and equalized the match in great style! What's certain now is that we're up for a thrilling finish in La Liga...
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Real Madrid vs Valencia
Real Madrid 2-2 Valencia goals and highlights video:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Valencia:
With Luka Modric declared unfit for tonight's game against Valencia, Carlo Ancelotti knew he had to do a few changes to his team, whether he wanted it or not. The former Chelsea and AC Milan manager went a bit further though and decided to also give some rest time to other pivotal players such as Angel Di María, Pepe or even the very in-form Fábio Coentrão. The changes in midfield led to Illarramendi taking Modric place and Isco stepping in for Di María. At the back, Varane replaced Pepe and formed a partnership with Sergio Ramos, while Marcelo filled in for Fábio Coentrão. Coincidentally or not, Illarramendi, Isco and to some extent Marcelo as well, ended up being the weakest links this Sunday evening and the first two even got substituted during different moments of the game.
Valencia were the ones drawing the first blood at the Bernabéu and they've found a way to score the opening goal following a great stop by Diego López, which earned the visitors a corner-kick. We were a couple minutes away from hearing the referee's whistle for half-time, but Valencia were clearly determined in leaving to the dressing rooms carrying at least a narrow lead and they got rewarded for that attitude. Parejo took a corner on the left attacking side and Mathieu, who seemed to be glued to Varane, surprisingly managed to head the ball into the back of the net without being disturbed by any opponent and keeping both foot on the ground. Diego López should have gone for the interception of the cross, but at the same time, Varane should have also done better than he did with his poor man-to-man marking.
The second half started with Ancelotti showing clear signs of wanting to change the pace of the game and in order to do that, he decided to bring in Angel Di María for Asier Illarramendi's place. It would be precisely from the Argentina international's feet that the 1-1 was born, right after a great cross sent to the far post that found a Cristiano Ronaldo completely free from marking. The 29-year old forward didn't have a great angle to score from where he stood and so he decided to head the ball back and assist Sergio Ramos for an easy close-range finish with his header. Just like he had done in Munich last Tuesday and against Osasuna a week ago, the Spanish defender scored again and showed the growing taste for goal that he has been earning lately...
There was still more than half of an hour left to be played and few could have guessed that Valencia still had what it takes to bounce back from the equalizer and regain the lead. However, that's exactly what happened and the visitors got in front of the scoreline for a second time on the night. This time, it all started on a great play from Feghouli, who had little trouble in exploiting Real Madrid's weaknesses through their left corridor just before he sent in a low cross for Daniel Parejo to finish off with class. Bale seemed to be the man who forgot to mark his opponent at that occasion and there was not much Diego López could have done to reach out to the ball when it came off the former Getafe and Real Madrid player's foot.
Nerves started taking over the Bernabéu and Real Madrid gradually seemed to be going into desperation mode. The frustration of knowing that their league hopes could go down the drain in front of their own fans and in a weekend where both Atletico Madrid and Barça had already slipped, was definitely not helping much in calming down Carlo Ancelotti's men. Valencia's goalkeeper, Diego Alves, had already denied the goal to Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates for quite a few times and it certainly didn't seem like this was a good night to any of Real Madrid's players on the pitch...
However, the highlight of the night was yet to arrive and we had to wait until the 92nd minute of the game to finally see Cristiano Ronaldo getting the better of Diego Alves. The former Manchester United winger responded to a Di María cross with an instinct backheel move, very similar to a karate gesture that PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimovic is used to present us with. His shot went past Alves and Real Madrid got to rescue a crucial point that can very well turn out to be decisive when the top 3 contenders in the league this season will cross the finish line. It was also Cristiano Ronaldo's 50th goal this season, his 31st in the Spanish League!
With tonight's point, Real Madrid continues 2 points under Barcelona and 5 below Atletico Madrid. However, the Merengues have one fixture less than their direct opponents and they can already move up to second next Wednesday, when they visit Valladolid. After that game, only two fixtures will be left in La Liga (Celta and Espanyol). Real Madrid just needs to concentrate in winning their own games and hope that Atletico drops at least 3 points, either by losing against Malaga (next weekend) or against Barcelona (in the last league fixture of the season). If that happens, the treble can still happen for Real Madrid this year...
Real Madrid line-up vs Valencia:
Goalkeeper: Diego Lopez
Defenders: Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Carvajal
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Illarramendi, Isco
Attackers: Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
|---|---|---|
Real Madrid
|
vs
|
Valencia
|
2 |
Goals |
2 |
31 |
Shots |
9 |
11 |
Shots on goal |
5 |
10 |
Corner kicks |
1 |
11 |
Fouls commited |
10 |
1 |
Yellow cards |
3 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
60% |
Ball possession |
40% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be against Rayo Vallecano, for the Spanish League 'La Liga', on May 4 of 2014. You can watch Juventus live stream, Real Madrid vs Valencia, Atletico Madrid vs Malaga, Crystal Palace vs Liverpool, and Sunderland vs WBA, all matches provided from our sports streaming pages.
Real Madrid next game:
Valladolid vs Real Madrid kick-off time (07-05-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 02:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+2: 21:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+1: 20:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-3: 15:00
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 14:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7 11:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 03:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com / goal.com / bild.de
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