Draw for the knockout stages of the Champions League is out now. Fans of real Madrid must be very optimistic about the chances of their side to conquer the Europe again after a decade. And there is every reason for them to be so positive ai??i?? their team has got a relatively comfortable draw against German side Schalke and more importantly, they have got the squad which is arguably best in the whole continent.
Real Madrid shall have no complaints about the Champions League draw, having been paired with anything but fearsome opponents in Schalke 04. The tie will be dominated by talk of Raul, a ‘Los Blancos’ legend who also won over the Schalke fans during a two-year stint in Germany.
Oddly, the two sides have never played each other before. In fact, Schalke was the only team out of Real’s seven potential opponents that it had never met.
Real Madrid concluded their Champions League group stage with a comfortable win against Copenhagen on Tuesday. If their performances during the six matches have anything to go by, La Decima is a realistic target for Los Blancos.
The true value of Real Madridai??i??s win will be known if we consider the home record of Danish side. Copenhagen had not been beaten at home in the group stages, not until Carlo Ancelotti’s men, already having booked their qualification for the knockout stages, rolled into town.
Goal of Luka Modric was an excellent solo effort while Cristiano Ronaldo smashed yet another record as he became the first player to bang nine goals in the group stages, taking his tally to 15 for the calendar year (which is yet another record), helped make Madrid’s record thus far almost-perfect one.
While Ronaldo was breaking all possible records, Madrid as a team was also not far behind. They became the first club to score in 31 successive Champions League matches, beating Barcelona’s record of30, and were just one goal away from breaking the competition’s group stage scoring record.
Carlo Ancelotti has certainly made an impressive start in quest of the most coveted trophy of all the Madridistas: La Decima.
Real Madridai??i?? record so far in Europe, along with their consistent displays in La Liga, has raised the belief of Madrid fans across globe that this is the year to end their 10 year trophy drought in Europe ai??i?? by winning their 10th title in Europe.
The key reason of these high hopes of fans is Madrid’s strength in depth, they have an experienced Champions League winner as their coach and more than one world class player for every area of the pitch. Watch out Europe.
Ronaldo is back from injury and red hot favourite to win the Ballon d’Or. Isco continues to prove that Real management was absolutely right in selling Mesut Ozil for 50 million (this author believes it was a deal of the century in favour Madrid) and Gareth Bale is proving an equal nuisance on the right flank.
Real Madrid struggled against German sides Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund last year and even more importantly, Los Blancos has been knocked out by German teams in the last two editions of its darling competition. Bayern Munich won the penalty shootout in the 2011-12 semi-finals, while Borussia Dortmund didn’t need spot-kicks to go through at the same stage last year.
Two closest rivals of Madrid in Europe, namely Barcelona and Bayern Munich has got tricky oppositions as their second round opponents: Manchester City and Arsenal respectively.
Arsenal has paid the heavy price for failing to win their group and at the moment, nobody can beat the Germans over two legs in Europe. But Bayern under Guardiola are not the same side which was under Jupp Heynckes and Madrid can arguably overcome them at any point of time in future rounds.
Cracks on the current Barcelona side are visible pretty clearly too and they are light years behind their own pinnacle of 2010-11 season. On the other hand, Madrid are looking like a team to beat since past few weeks and under experienced coach like Ancoelotti, are the most worthy team ai??i?? at least at this point of time to win the most prestigious title of club football.
Ai??Pepe rescues point for bellow par Madrid: Having considered the title credentials of Los Blancos, Madrid almost suffered a loss against Osasuna on Saturday. Pepe headed home a late equalizer for Real Madrid to clinch a point against Osasuna as the home side held the Liga giants to 2-2 at Estado Reyno de Navarra.
Real were struggling in the first half and they went two goals down after Oriol Riera scored two free headers before Sergio Ramos sent off. With draw, Madrid are now five points behind leaders Barcelona who won against Villareal thanks to excellent display of Neymar.
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