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| Sunday, 29 November 2009 22:28 |
Defeat for Ronaldo, Pepe in ‘El Derbi’Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid.jpg) Cristiano Ronaldo made his first Real Madrid start for two months at Camp Nou this evening, but was upstaged by Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the Swede’s goal gave Barca all three points and sent the champions back to the top of La Liga.
As expected, Ronaldo joined Pepe in the Manuel Pellegrini’s starting line-up, and the world’s most expensive footballer had by far the best opportunity of the first half. A quick Madrid break saw Kaka find Ronaldo with time and space inside the penalty area, but the Portuguese’s finish was brilliantly saved by Victor Valdes. Despite the missed opportunity, Real did a good job of restricting their opponents during the opening forty-five minutes. However, early in the second period, Barca coach Pep Guardiola introduced summer arrival Zlatan, and the substitute scored the game’s winning goal just minutes later when he connected with a Dani Alves cross with a superb cushioned volley at the back post. Not long afterwards, Pellegrini made the brave decision to withdraw Ronaldo, replacing him with Frenchman Karim Benzema. The 24-year-old appeared to accept his coach’s decision, having had just a brief second-half cameo against Zurich since returning to full fitness earlier this month. Barca had midfielder Sergio Busquets sent off with just under half an hour left to play for two bookable offences, but managed to remain the more dangerous side during the closing stages, before Lassana Diarra picked up a second yellow for Real in the final minute as the visitors were left frustrated by another defeat to their arch rivals. “Cristiano Ronaldo could only play a maximum of 60 minutes,” Pellegrini announced after the match. “It would have been harsh to play him for longer than that. I think he played all he could and we made the right changes.” Keep up to date with all the latest news on Portuguese football with the new PortuGOAL Twitter! |
Real Madrid just dont have it, not yet.