Ronaldo back as Real close in on knockout stage

November 26, 2009

Cristiano Ronaldo ended two months of injury torment with a 20-minute appearance as Real Madrid put one foot in the Champions League knockout phase with a 1-0 Group C home win over FC Zurich on Wednesday.

A 21st minute goal from Argentine Gonzalo Higuain secured a narrow victory for Real who now lead the group, two points ahead of AC Milan who drew 1-1 with Marseille, and need just a point in the final game at Marseille to secure qualification.

“I am scoring some goals which is nice but the most important thing is we are winning,” said Higuain. “This win boosts our chances of qualifying for the next phase of the Champions League and also gives us confidence for the Barcelona game at the weekend.”

Ronaldo, top-scorer in this season’s Champions League with four goals in two games, came on in the 69th minute after eight weeks out with an ankle injury and is now ready for ‘El Clasico’ against Barcelona on Sunday.

Real lead the Spanish table by one point from champions Barcelona going into the duel at Camp Nou.

The Zurich match was a landmark game for Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas who was making his 100th Champions League appearance putting him third in the all-time list led by captain Raul on 129.

Raul had been on the substitutes’ bench for the past three consecutive league games but returned for the Zurich game with French striker Karim Benzema making way.

Just four minutes into the match Brazilian Kaka showed quick feet to create a shooting chance and his left-footed drive was tipped over.

Zurich had caused a major upset by beating AC Milan 1-0 on their own patch but were cautious at the Santiago Bernabeu putting numbers behind the ball and playing on the counter attack.

Real probed and got the early breakthrough they craved on 21 minutes with Kaka stealing possession and threading a pass to Higuain who finished with aplomb to enhance his claim for a starting place against Barcelona.

Xabi Alonso, celebrating his 28th birthday, almost scored his first Real goal with his 26th minute drive pushed wide by goalkeeper Johnny Leoni.

A training ground routine almost provided the second for Real with Higuain cutting a corner back to the edge of the penalty area and thundered a volley against the post in the 36th minute.

Zurich had offered little and a decent long distance shot from Alexandre Alphonse was their only effort of note but Casillas always looked in control.

After the break Real went in search of a second goal while Zurich continued to offer little from an attacking point of view.

Ronaldo warmed up on the touchlines to draw applause from the home crowd.

However, Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, playing for his future at the club, was the first substitution replacing Alvaro Arbeloa close to the hour mark.

Real were struggling to create chances and Zurich grew in confidence with the impressive Alphonse causing some problems with his running from deep.

After 69 minutes Real coach Manuel Pellegrini delighted the home crowd by introducing Ronaldo – missing for the past ten games – with Raul coming off.

Ronaldo, who showed some nice touches, came through the match unscathed which was the most important thing from Real’s point of view.

The former Manchester United man almost scored in the final minute after a good one-two with Esteban Granero but his left-footed shot lacked the power.

All in all the second half display was below-par from Real and they will have to raise their game for treble winners Barcelona on Sunday.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: 28th birthday, ac milan, Alexandre Alphonse, Alonso, ankle injury, aplomb, Barcelona, camp nou, captain Raul, consecutive league, Esteban Granero, fc zurich, final game, Gonzalo, Johnny Leoni, kaka, Karim Benzema, landmark game, league games, MADRID, Manchester, manuel pellegrini, Milan, minute goal, narrow victory, Rafael van der, real madrid, ronaldo, Santiago, spanish table, top scorer, xabi alonso, ZURICH

Ajax and Feyenoord through in Dutch Cup

September 25, 2009

A narrow victory was enough for Ajax to secure a spot in the next round of the Dutch Cup, while Feyenoord earned an easy win to advance as well.

Ajax faced first division side AGOVV in the city of Apeldoorn and needed until minute 51 for Vernon Anita to break the deadlock. Martin Jol’s men were then helped by an own goal from Hesdey Suart ten minutes later.

Nacer Chadli pulled one back from the penalty spot on 77 minutes but AGOVV couldn’t complete the upset, as Ajax escaped with a 1-2 win.

Feyenoord had a much easier night at amateur side Harkemase Boys. Diego Biseswar, Leroy Fer and Ron Vlaar scored in the first half and Roy Makaay added another in the second.

Jonathan Roorda

Tags: Ajax, anita, Apeldoorn, chadli, deadlock, dutch cup, feyenoord, martin jol, narrow victory, ron vlaar, roy makaay

Liverpool´s strike duo can KO Chelsea says Torres

April 7, 2009

LIVERPOOL, April 7, 2009 (AFP) – Fernando Torres believes his lethal partnership with Steven Gerrard will help Liverpool hand Chelsea another dose of Champions League misery in Wednesday’s quarter-final first leg.

After watching Robbie Keane struggle to gel with Torres earlier this season, Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez decided to move England midfielder Gerrard into a move advanced position just behind Spain striker Torres.

The switch has transformed Liverpool as an attacking force. For much of Benitez’s reign they have focused on a safety-first philosophy that delivered results but few thrills.

But with Gerrard in tandem with Torres, Liverpool’s two best players have formed a formidable double act which has provided the firepower to keep the Reds hot on Manchester United’s heels in the Premier League title race and set up yet another European showdown with Chelsea.

The two English powerhouses will be meeting in the Champions League for the fifth successive season and, for once, it is Benitez’s men who have painful memories to avenge.

After eliminating Chelsea twice at the semi-final stage in 2005 and 2007, it was Liverpool’s turn to suffer the heartache of a last-four exit when the Blues won 4-3 on aggregate last season.

That narrow victory kept up the pattern of tight ties between the increasingly bitter rivals and Torres knows it will be hard to separate them again, making the potency of his partnership with Gerrard even more important.

“Stevie has been getting a lot of praise from some of the best players in the world,” Torres said.

“That is quite right because I think he is the best in the world. He is a great team player but he can also win a game on his own when maybe we are not playing so well.

“I cannot think of a player I would rather be playing with. We know it is not going to be easy against Chelsea but both Stevie and I are happy with our form.”

While Manchester United’s dramatic victory over Aston Villa on Sunday took some of the wind out of Liverpool’s sails following their own late win against Fulham on Saturday, Benitez’s side still have a realistic chance of winning the title.

For Chelsea, who sit four points behind United with a game more played, Europe represents their best chance of a memorable campaign.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, who scored in Saturday’s 2-0 victory at Newcastle, is convinced his team are in the right frame of mind to cope with the sound and fury of a European night at Anfield.

“We know how tough Liverpool is going to be. It is going to be a very tight game, both legs, and we are ready. We are in the right mood for it,” Lampard said.

Chelsea’s hopes of taking a positive result back to Stamford Bridge for next Tuesday’s return would be improved if Didier Drogba can recover from the ankle injury that kept him out of the Newcastle match.

Drogba, who terrorised Liverpool in last season’s semi-final second leg, has been in fine form of late after an inconsistent season and Blues boss Guus Hiddink was relieved to see the Ivory Coast striker play a full part in training on Monday.

If Drogba features on Merseyside it will be his first game since he played in the Ivory Coast’s traumatic World Cup qualifier against Malawi, when the collapse of a stadium wall caused the deaths of 19 fans in Abidjan.

Like all of his Ivory Coast team-mates, Drogba has found it hard to come to terms with the tragedy, but Hiddink believes he will be able to put it out of his mind for a while and concentrate on Chelsea’s challenge.

“We’ve talked about the tragedy in Abidjan with the whole squad,” Hiddink said. “Winning and losing are very important but this showed there are other things in life to put them into some kind of perspective.”

Written by: AFP