Shakyrealmadridlookto regain confidence Ronaldo thirsty for Valencia payback
Inconsistent defending champions under scrutiny ahead of their encounter against AS Roma
MADRID: Just like that, Real Madrid are under pressure again.
One bad loss was all it took to put the Spanish club on the verge of another crisis, quickly erasing the joy that had come with the hiring of coach Santiago Solari.
Solari had put Madrid back on track after taking over from the fired Julen Lopetegui, but the defending European champions head into their Champions League match against Roma on Tuesday heavily scrutinised following a 3-0 loss at Eibar in the La Liga.
Madrid’s potential is being questioned again after a troubling performance in its first match since Solari was given the permanent coaching job.
“We have to take a good look at ourselves. We were not at the level we should be. When you don’t match your opponent in terms of intensity, you are just an average side,” Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said.
Solari, a former Madrid player who understands how volatile everything can be at the Spanish powerhouse, did his best to try to remain positive.
“We have to rethink a few things,” he said.
“But we were coming off four victories in which there were some positive aspects and in which we did things well, we have to focus on that.”
One thing Solari will likely have to focus on going forward is the team’s defensive system. Madrid have one of the worst defenses in the Spanish league, with 19 goals conceded. Only five teams have conceded more goals in the league.
Madrid’s defense looked as soft as ever on Saturday, when Eibar easily got near Thibaut Courtois’s goal. Madrid were unable to keep its opponents from threatening on counterattacks and struggled to clear routine balls crossed into its area.
The team’s numbers on defense aren’t as bad in the Champions League, where Madrid have conceded only twice in four matches.
But another setback would leave the club in crisis again, and with Solari carrying a big target on his back. TURIN, ITALY: Cristiano Ronaldo is in hot form and gunning for revenge going into Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Valencia after seeing red against the Spaniards in the away leg, with Juventus needing a draw in Turin to book their ticket to the knockout stage.
“Happy to have helped the team on another important win,” the 33-year-old wrote on social media after scoring his tenth goal this season for the Italian giants in Saturday’s 2-0 win over SPAL as Juventus opened up a record eight-point lead on the top of Serie A after 13 games.
Ronaldo was purchased by Juventus for €100 million euros from Real Madrid last summer to help their quest for the elusive Champions League title after finishing runners up twice in the past four seasons.
But the Portuguese superstar is also proving to be a key element in the team’s race towards an eighth straight Serie A title, with nine goals and five assists of their 28 goals this term.
No Italian team has ever achieved 37 points from the first 13 games, with Ronaldo becoming the fastest forward in the club’s history to score 10 goals in all competitions.
“I don’t not care about the numbers. I don’t count anything, the important thing is that we take it home in May,” said Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri.
Colombian teammate Juan Cuadrado warned that Ronaldo’s focus remains on the pitch, as he bids to add to his five Champions League titles between Manchester United and Real Madrid.
“Cristiano Ronaldo’s main quality is his professionalism,” said Cuadrado.
“He’s hungry for victory and he’s come to the right place. We all think the same way he does.”
Juventus won the elite European title twice in 1985 and 1996, but have finished runners-up seven times.
LAPORTE EAGER TO PROVE WORTH IN LYON
LONDON: Aymeric Laporte may still be trying to win the confidence of France coach Didier Deschamps, but as Manchester City travel to Laporte’s homeland to face Lyon on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola’s trust in the centreback is indisputable.
On his arrival from Athletic Bilbao, Laporte took time to settle in his new surroundings. However, having had a full summer under Guardiola’s orders in preseason as he missed out on Deschamps’ World Cup-winning squad, Laporte has become the stalwart of a City defence that has conceded just eight goals in 19 games. In an incredibly deep squad with choices aplenty for Guardiola, the 24-year-old is the only outfield player to have played every single minute of Champions League and Premier League.
“I can move the squad but when one player plays good, good and good, it gives me confidence so I give you another opportunity. It is not complicated,” said Guardiola. “Sooner or later Laporte will be selected for France because it is difficult to find a better left central defender than him in the world,” insisted Guardiola.
City are out to avenge the only blip in a near-perfect season so far when they last faced Lyon to open their Champions League campaign in September and lost 2-1. A run of 12 wins and a draw in 13 games since has put them back on top in England and within a point of sealing a place in the last 16.