Real Madrid & Atletico Madrid play to draw in Derby, Ronaldo Scores.

Atletico Madrid all but ended Real Madrid's slim La Liga title hopes as Antoine Griezmann cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo's opener to earn a 1-1 Madrid derby draw at the Bernabeu.

Hosts Real were left frustrated as they passed up chances in the first half, with Ronaldo drawing saves from Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak and Marcelo hitting both the post and bar with the same effort.

Ronaldo - who has been on red-hot form in front of goal in 2018 - finally made the breakthrough for Real after 53 minutes, volleying home a Gareth Bale cross as Atletico failed to clear their lines.

The goal meant Ronaldo has scored in each of his last 10 games, with the Portuguese star netting an incredible 20 in that time - a rate of two per game.

However, Real's lead only lasted for three minutes as Griezmann equalised with a low effort after Keylor Navas parried Vitolo's shot.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane then sprang a surprise by substituting off Ronaldo with 26 minutes left on the clock, and Diego Simeone's Atletico sat back to preserve a derby draw.

A point apiece was the result La Liga leaders Barcelona would have wanted before kick-off, and leaves Ernesto Valverde's unbeaten Blaugrana 11 points ahead of second-placed Atletico with seven games remaining.

As for Real, they sit 15 points off the pace - only a third straight Champions League triumph looks likely to save Zidane's job.

via Evening Standard

Comments

Zidane: “We will not give Barcelona a guard of honour”

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane revealed that his team will not give Barcelona a traditional guard of honour if the two teams meet right after Barcelona become La Liga Champions. “We will not give a guard of honour, this is my decision,” said Zidane when asked about the matter. “Barcelona didn’t follow the tradition when we won the Club World Cup. This is my decision,” he added. Zidane is clearly stating that this is not something decided by the club in order to protect Real Madrid from potential criticism. Barcelona gave Real Madrid a guard of honour back in 2008 but they said that they would not do the same thing this past winter when Madrid conquered the Club World Cup. Nobody knows whether Los Blancos will finally face Barcelona under the circumstances which could make Madrid give said guard of honour, but it’s now clear that Zidane and his men will not hear anything about it.

Neuer back to training

Luka Modric, His Mentor and the Perjury Case That Has Divided Croatia

This is the story of two men. One of them is Luka Modric. His name is known all over the world as Real Madrid 's midfield lynchpin, orchestrator of the side that has won three of the last four UEFA Champions League titles and is gunning to retain its crown this season. The other man is a mentor to him. His name is Zdravko Mamic, the most powerful man in Croatian football. Part of the story involves a transfer between Modric's former teams—Dinamo Zagreb, the most successful club in Croatian history, and Tottenham Hotspur , one of England's grandest outfits—and a court case that has captivated Croatia. The transfer, for a fee reported by Marca to be €21 million, happened in 2008, four years before Modric was bought by Real Madrid. The transfer saga is a sticking point in a legal case brought against Mamic, a former director of Dinamo Zagreb and ex-vice president of the Croatian Football Federation. Mamic was arrested in July 2015. He is accused of corruption a...

Search This Blog