Real Madrid prepares for CDR with Victory

With 2 penalties goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and two goals from Marcelo and Callejon, Real Madrid sealed their victory over Athletic Bilbao, maintaining the number one spot in The Spanish La Liga with Barcelona in second by a margin of 5 points.

The last two matches Athletic played Real Madrid had favorable results for Real culminating in 5-1 win. This time with players like Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain, Athletic did not feel like as much of an underdog and after the mid week 2-1 victory over Madrid, Barcelona Athletic was sure to put up a fight.

The first 15 minutes of the game were in Athletics’ possession. In the 13th minute of play, Fernando Llorante scored on a counterstrike with an assist from Javi Martinez.  Real's defense looked vulnerable as the opposing team continued to have many opportunities. In the 25th minute Marcelo scored in the left corner, tying the game. He was assisted by Karim Benzema. 

When the second half started, Athletic was having a shining game but then, in the 46th minute of play, Iturraspe pulls Kaka down by his shirt, giving Real a penalty shot opportunity Cristiano Ronaldo scored giving them an early lead in the half and opening the door for more Ronaldo goals.  At the 65th minute Benzema was fouled in the box by De Marcos earning him a red card and an ejection from the game Cristiano scored his second smooth goal into the left side of the goal.  This third goal from Madrid became the turning point of the game. 

With one man down and trailing 3-1, Athletic had to battle strong and hard to attack.  Given their advantage, Real had an opportunity to play the counter attack style which they are good at. Athletic seemed to start handing the game over to Real but when they began playing the game at their pace, passing the ball around allowing time to run down, the tables of fate began to turn. After Kaka’s substitution, Callejon had a few minutes to play, allowing him to score the late goal at the 86th minute so that Madrid could walk away with a win. 

Real Madrid coach spoke to reporters, stating:

"In the first half we committed a lot of defensive errors because of our opponent,'' said Mourinho. "But even when losing 1-0 the team kept playing well, and in the second half our defensive errors dropped and we eventually won easily.''

The second round of the Copa Del Rey Barcelona up 2-1 will play Real again on Wednesday. Real is sure they will not give up.

By: Cristina Loza, Matt Tobin