In the latest Merengue Bites podcast, we talked about the Gonzalo Higuain rumour situation, laughed as we had won the league with a 3-0 victory over Bilbao and had luckily won 2-1 v Granada too. Bassam Dgheim rocked Queens' "We are the champions" in full glory to start the show off. Opinionated on the season as a whole and in the end contemplated who deserved the award for being the most drunk Madridista!

Merengue Bites: Campeones Edition is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

Real Madrid lead Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at HT in the penultimate game of the season with goals coming from Gonzalo Higuain and Mesut Ozil. Barcelona, 4 points behind, won 4-1 against Malaga earlier.

Real Madrid started the better off with a penalty shout turned down within a minute of start as Gonzalo Higuain was brought down near the edge of the box but referee waived it off. Fabio Coentrao also had a penalty shout turned down a few minutes later.

In the 12th minute as Mesut Ozil took the corner, Sergio Ramos headed it in but Javi Martinez's leap struck his hand for a penalty to be given to Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up but his penalty wasn't the best as Iraizoz saved it with ease.

The goal did arrive three minutes later courtesy Gonzalo Higuain who received a pass from Mesut Ozil and somehow got past defenders and unleashed a curling effort in the corner with three defenders around him to put Real Madrid a goal ahead.

Mesut Ozil added to the scoreline with a gorgeous counter attacking move. Cristiano Ronaldo found himself with space on the right hand space and he delivered an inch perfect pass in the box for Mesut Ozil to score from with his first touch.

Athletic Bilbao had a penalty shout turned down when the ball hit Arvalo Arbeloa's hand to go out for a corner but it wasn't given.

Real Madrid XI: Casillas, Pepe, Ramos, Arbeloa, Coentrao; Alonso, Khedira, Ozil, Callejon, Cristiano, Higuain

Athletic Bilbao XI: Iraizoz, Aurtenetxe, San Jose, Llorente, De Marcos, Susaeta, Perez, Muniain, Ekiza, J. Martinez, I. Gomez

HT Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Real Madrid is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

Real Madrid made light work of their early day out at the Bernabeu with a comfortable 3-0 win over Sevilla with goals coming in from Cristiano Ronaldo and two from Karim Benzema.

Sevilla came into the game with high expectations or at least that's what the president believed. President Jose Maria del Nido said, "If a poor Chelsea can beat Barcelona, then why can't Sevilla get a win at the Bernabeu?". Instead Sevilla barely had anything going for them in the final forty five minutes.

Both sides had plenty of chances to score in the first half and most of the attacking moves were counter attacks as the defence was stretched for both sides. Sevilla had an early goal ruled out for a foul by Alvaro Negredo on Pepe but replays suggested it was too soft to be given.

Real Madrid came close on plenty of instances with Cristiano Ronaldo trying to play Benzema inside the box and then the Frenchman trying to return the favour but Sevilla defence along with Varas in goal were there to prevent any goals. The attempts failed in the 19th minute when Benzema fed Cristiano inside the box and the Portuguese cut from his left foot to the right foot and get past Coke's sliding block attempt. His shot found its way inside the right hand side of the goal to make it 1-0 to Los Blancos.

Sevilla had their own chances to score with Jose Antonio Reyes playing Jesus Navas through on the 27th minute. Navas manages to get beyond the Real Madrid defence and is one on one with Casillas but shoots over. Same happened two minutes later but Negredo was the guilty party this time around. The Spaniard tries to chip an on rushing Iker Casillas but his chip is not up to the mark and goes over the goal.

Cristiano hit the post in the 35th minute from an indirect free kick inside the box but unluckily for him, it doesn't go in.

The second half was dominated completely by Real Madrid with Sevilla looking like a side which had given up completely.

Benzema bagged his 19th goal in La Liga with much help from Coke. In the 48th minute as Di Maria tried to assist Benzema on the far post, Coke went to clear the ball away but his attempted clearance hit Benzema on the thigh and had enough pace to get past Varas in goal.

Lead was extended further four minutes later with Karim Benzema getting his 20th goal in La Liga. In a quick counter attacking move which started from Marcelo clearing his lines in defence, Ozil played the ball for Ramos on the edge of the box and the former-Sevilla player fed an unmarked Benzema in the box with an inch-perfect cross. The Frenchman made no mistake in heading the ball in from 3 yards out.

With the game already in the bag, Cristiano turned on the charm with some of his jugglery skills, which almost failed!

As the referee blew for full time whistle, Real Madrid edged ever closer to the La Liga title. If Barcelona lose today to Rayo Vallecano, La Liga will be ours!

Real Madrid entered the game having exited the UEFA Champions League on penalties to Bayern Munich. Jose Mourinho made a single change to the lineup from the weekday with Sami Khedira sitting out and Esteban Granero coming in.

FT Real Madrid 3-0 Sevilla is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

Real Madrid are leading Sevilla by 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu for their second noon kickoff in La Liga this season. Cristiano Ronaldo with the solitary goal, his 43rd in La Liga and 57th overall.

There has been a flurry of attacks from both sides but neither have been able to score from those chances. Cristiano also managed to hit the post from an indirect free kick inside the box having been played on by Xabi Alonso.

Sevilla on the other side have been able to get behind the Real Madrid defence with ease on more than one occasion with Jose Antonio Reyes being the instigator. He played the pass for Jesus Navas and Alvaro Negredo but neither of them scored from their one on one opportunity.

Sevilla had a goal ruled out early in the game when referee adjudged Negredo to have fouled inside the Real Madrid box but TV replays suggested it was a rather soft one.

Real Madrid have been quick on their counter attacking movements as well with Benzema, Ozil and Di Maria all coming close.

Before the start of the game, Real Madrid players wore "Animo Canales" shirts to show support for Sergio Canales who is out for 6 months due to a twisted knee. Fans also supported the players with a banner reading - "With you in good times and bad times" to reflect how far the fans have come from the handkerchief waving a few seasons ago.

Real Madrid XI:Casillas; Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Granero, Xabi Alonso, Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo; Benzema
Sevilla XI:Varas; Coke, Fazio, Cala, F. Navarro; Trochowski, Deivid, Navas, Reyes, Rakitić; Negredo

HT Real Madrid 1-0 Sevilla is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

1445 - Number of days it had been since we had last gotten three points out of Barcelona in La Liga. The last time was a 4-1 victory on 7 May 2008.

1581 - Number of days it had been since we had won at Camp Nou in La Liga. A 1-0 victory thanks to a Julio Baptista's thunderbolt.

These numbers are difficult to fathom for Madridistas with fierce rivals Barcelona winning trophies each year and rolling past us in tournaments. All this changed last night, thanks to a 2-1 victory with goals from Sami Khedira and Cristiano Ronaldo. Alexis Sanchez had restored parity for Barcelona within minutes of coming on in the second half.

STARTING XI

Real Madrid - Iker Casillas; Alvaro Arbeloa, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao; Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema

Bench: Antonio Adan, Marcelo, Gonzalo Higuain, Esteban Granero, Raul Albiol, Jose Callejon, Kaka

Interestingly, Mourinho went for Coentrao on the left despite the criticism he received after his lacklustre performance against Bayern Munich in midweek. He was brutally exposed by Lahm late on in the game which resulted in the second goal for the Bavarians and he also had a difficult time coping with Robben in the first half. Therefore most predicted for Marcelo to return to the LB role but Mourinho had other plans. There are both positive and negative signs to the choice. Positive - Coentrao is a better defender than Marcelo is AND Negative - Coentrao doesn't offer much in attack while Marcelo does in the form of link up play, goes past players and has the ability to score. Given what was at stake and how exposed we are usually in defence in a Clasico, Coentrao made for a better choice in comparison.

Another player who was criticised for his performance was Sami Khedira. Honestly, I didn't understand why Khedira was criticised because as far as I am concerned, he had an average game. Not exceptional but not woeful either.

Other than that, there were no real surprises as far as the personnel were concerned. In terms of strategy, there was a double pivot employed than a trivote giving a hint that the team would try to go for attack as and when possible, rather than sit back and defend.

Barcelona: Victor Valdes; Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano, Carles Puyol, Adriano; Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Thiago Alcantara; Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Cristian Tello.

Bench: Pinto, Gerard Pique, Seydou Keita, Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez, Pedro, Martin Montoya

Pep Guardiola made two key changes from the side that faced Chelsea in midweek - Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez were out, Tello and Thiago were in. Powerful changes to put in youngsters in the fray than experienced players in Fabregas and Sanchez, both of whom who provide width and attack to the set up.

Mascherano continued in his makeshift CB role he's been accustomed to and Adriano on the LB role. Pique on the bench having been on the bench against Chelsea too. Guardiola in the pre-match press conference said, "He'll understand my choice". Difficult to understand and explain what is going on behind the scenes at Camp Nou as far as Pique is concerned.

Key moments
6mins - Pepe with a loose pass to Ramos and Alves nicks it in to get past both of them. Thankfully Alves' touch was a tad heavy giving Casillas time to get near the edge of his box to make a crucial save early on. If he had mistimed that save then it would have been a sending off and a penalty.

17 mins - Di Maria's corner from the left was headed towards the goal by Pepe with suspision of handball. The ball fell to Valdes but he failed to hold on to it. Puyol on the line tried to be strong to give Valdes time to recuperate and grab the ball or for the foul to be called. Khedira, however, managed to react quickly and put the ball between Puyol's legs into the goal. KHEDIRA GOAL!

27 mins - Xavi misses a golden opportunity to make it 1-1 to Barcelona. Messi splits through four defenders to send Xavi through with Casillas to beat but Xavi fails to put the ball in the back of the net.

[Video]

43 mins - After winning the ball by Khedira, he sets Ozil through who runs past Thiago down the left hand side only to be stopped by a Mascherano block. He had Cristiano and Benzema in the box to aim for and highlighted Barcelona's weakness down the flanks and their vulnerability on counter attacks as well.

At half time - Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid

55 mins - Barcelona came off quick and strong from the start of the second half. While Ronaldo was rightly adjudged offside from a Benzema through ball, Tello found himself onside and free to score from a Thiago throughball but he tried to go for a tad too much. He was left unmarked by Arbeloa and had Casillas to beat but his right footed shot from first touch went over the top.

70 mins - Barcelona got their goal in the 70th minute, within seconds of Alexis coming on for Xavi. Alexis the goal scorer in rather lucky circumstances but in a game like this, you take any goals, however they come. Messi blazed past defenders in numbers, found Iniesta in the centre who tried to control the ball but lost balance and it touched his heel in the process. The ball made its way to Tello on the edge of the box and his first time shot was blocked by Casillas with his feet, rebound to Adriano and his first time left footed shot wasn't properly cleared by Arbeloa and luckily fell to Alexis on the far post. His first attempt was saved by Casillas but he made it count with the second time taking. Alexis goal!!!

73 mins - It took Real Madrid 3 minutes to get the goal back courtesy Cristiano. His goal scoring prowess in the right stage at the right time. Ozil picked up the ball near the half way line on the right hand side and provided an effortless sublime pass to an onrunning Cristiano who made no mistake in slotting in the back of the net with Mascherano on his side and Valdes charging near the edge of the box. Cristiano Goal!!!

90+4 mins - Cristiano had another chance in the final few seconds of the game to add to his tally but somehow he failed to score from 2 yards out. In his defence, he had a defender breathing down his neck forcing him to shoot wide. Higuain the provider of a gorgeous pass within seconds of coming on.

[VIDEO]

And as the referee blew the final whistle, there was silence aroud the Camp Nou but for Real Madrid fans cheering and screaming in the away section. The lead at the top is stretched to seven points and title aspirations are surely given a huge boost.

Where the game was won?
The biggest mistake which Guardiola made was to take 69 minutes to make the first change despite noticing that the tactics weren't working. Real were ready to defend and play on the counter while Barcelona had attacking players to create chances but no one to convert them. Keeping Alexis out of the starting XI or to take that long to put him on was the mistake.

This forced Messi and Iniesta to play quite deep to get the ball and then make their way into the final third with little support or options to do anything from then on. A few chances fell to Tello who should have done better with the opportunity but that is a hard lesson to take by putting a youngster in a massive game like this.

Real had a perfect blend of defence and play on the counter. We've employed strategies of just defending, playing on the counter and/or attacking in the past but rarely been able to get the mixture right, until last night. The defence stuck in to clear stray balls in the area and marked players well on most cases. Di Maria and Ozil helped out in the middle to win balls back and put in an excellent performance to go on the counter attack. Cristiano did the major job of instigating attacks and building counter attack movements. He played mostly down the left hand side but also dropped deep to regain possession as and when needed. He did really well to score his 4th goal in 5 last Clasico's, clearing claims that he doesn't perform in big games, such as the Clasico.

Special mention for Fabio Coentrao who did wonderfully to contain Dani Alves who clearly was always going to stay in attack rather than be part of the defence. He stuck to his task, got crucial tackles and blocks in to keep the Brazilian at bay.

In the end, a draw would have been a spectacular result before the game but 3 points is just a glorious way to end the week. Real are the first team this season to have gotten 3 points at Camp Nou. The only other team to have managed any points at Camp Nou are Sevilla who managed a draw.

With La Liga looking nice and tidy, focus returns to UEFA Champions League game on Wednesday with the tie standing 2-1 in favour of Bayern.

Clasico is finally clinched! Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

This edition is with Archit Navandar who is Madridista from India and currently studying and living in the Madrid itself. He shares his experience of being a Madridista from the onset, what club means to him and what makes them really special. Also, unlike previous editions of Know Thy Madridista, this one is an audio interview so I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Know Thy Madridista – Archit Navandar is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

With APOEL out of the way in the UEFA Champions League, Bayern Munich will be the opponents in the semi finals up next. This along with La Liga title race getting fiercer by each matchday, April does not look pretty for Real Madrid. It does not look pretty even for Madridistas who would surely go through a lot of nerves in the coming three weeks.

Having had a 10 point lead, it was expected by many that we will drop points at Osasuna in Pamplona but instead we dropped points versus Malaga and Villarreal with two consecutive draws in a space of days, which looked like victories in the bag. This resulted in the lead being reduced to six points and Barcelona right on our tails. April, therefore, becomes a very vital month to determine our fate in both the competitions. April fixture list looks like this:

A total of 7 games in the next 21 days, 4 at the Bernabeu and 3 away to Vicente Calderon, Camp Nou and Allianz Arena. All games of utmost importance and definitely no chance of a slip-up, especially at this stage of the season.

• Valencia at Bernabeu: 
  
  The first game in this list of difficult games is at home to Valencia this Sunday. Valencia last night reached the semi finals of the Europa League at the expense of AZ Alkmaar with a 5-2 aggregate victory. Next up for Valencia are fellow La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid who overcame Hannover's challenge. While Valencia have been going all guns blazing in Europa League, same cannot be said of their La Liga campaign. Up until end of February, they sat comfortably in third place with an automatic qualification for UEFA Champions League confirmed. Since a 4-0 victory v Sporting Gijon, Valencia have won two, drawn two and lost four, 8 points out of twenty four. Now they have Malaga, Levante, Osasuna, Atletico, Sevilla and Espanyol behind them, only separated by 7 points. This performance has also raised concerns over Unai Emery's job with some Spanish newspapers suggesting he won't last until the end of season.Playing at home, Real Madrid haven't lost to Valencia since 2007/08 when we lost 3-2. Last year it was two Cristiano Ronaldo goals which got a victory in a high tempered game which saw David Albelda get sent off.
• Atletico Madrid at Vicente Calderon: 
  
  Derbi Madrileño is always a great occasion, second only to the El Clasico. This despite the fact that we haven't lost to Atletico since Oct 30, 1999 and a sign of
  

  Via UnaMadridista

  "We're looking for worthy rival for a decent derby. Apply here" was necessary last year. This after two years of signs reading "Your worst nightmare: A derby every night" and "This is Madrid". Atletico Madrid have been boosted by the quality they've added with players like Falcao and Diego under Diego Simeone despite Kun Aguero leaving in the summer last year. It is going to be a tricky midweek game because we would be returning having faced Valencia and Atletico would be on the back of an away fixture at Levante.

  If Atletico do indeed go for the push for the fourth UEFA Champions League spot, they would treat the game with importance making the derby an even more exciting one than it usually is.

• Sporting Gijon at Bernabeu: 
  
  This, by the look of things, is the easiest of the fixtures in the month. Sporting Gijon currently sit at the bottom of the La Liga table with 25 points so far, same as Racing Santander. Both clubs are most likely going to get relegated and play their football in the Segunda Division next season. Sporting's last victory came at home to Sevilla last month. Since then, they've lost to Granada, Mallorca and Zaragoza while drawing at the forever hostile San Mames v Athletic. Last time Gijon were at the Bernabeu they were in the limelight after the final whistle. Manuel Preciado's side had managed to end Jose Mourinho's managerial record of 150 unbeaten home games spanning 9 years with a 1-0 victory. Even though Sporting Gijon currently sit at the bottom of the pile, they cannot be taken lightly, just like Villarreal who did the damage when they were 19th in the table. Under an experienced manager in Javier Clemente, Gijon wouldn't want to go down without a fight.
• Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena: 
  
  First leg of the Champions League semi-finals would be played at the gorgeous Allianz Arena in front of an expected 70,000 fans. Both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are two of the biggest clubs in Europe and have a rich and illustrious history when it comes to European competitions. While Real Madrid have 9 UEFA Champions league trophies, Bayern have 4 with last victory in 2001 and a runners up finish in 2010 against Jose Mourinho managed Inter Milan. The final incidentally was also Mourinho's last game as Inter Milan manager. Last time these two sides met was in the 2006/07 season with Bayern coming out on top on the away goals rule (4-4 on aggregate). Bayern have reaches the semis having been through the "group of death" involving Napoli, Manchester City and Villarreal and then overcome Basel and Marseille in the next stages. Bayern would have the chance to set a huge advantage in the first leg if they can manage a shutout.
• Barcelona at Nou Camp: 
  
  One of the biggest sporting rivalries in the world, a footballing spectacle, a historical event...Yada yada yada. If we reach this stage with a lead of six points or more, La Liga title picture would be much more clearer. Barcelona's next three opponents are Zaragoza away, Getafe at home and Levante away, none of which look like a difficult team to overcome. So either the points gap would remain the same or worse, reduce even more. So, the Clasico which some weeks back with a ten point gap intact didn't seem like a big deal and a moment of possible Pasillo, has turned into a massive season deciding game. Many still speculate the six point gap is big enough to get us the title, there are some who think the nerves will eventually get the better of us and hand the title, again, to Barcelona. To make it an even more daunting task, the game is at Noucamp which is never an easy place to go.
• Bayern Munich at Bernabeu: 
  
  Bayern Munich away, Barcelona away and Bayern Munich home in a space of eight days! Things cannot get much crazier than this! By now, it is expected the players would be worn out after two massive games so making sure we use our players carefully and smartly would be key. Thankfully, Mourinho has setup a very talented squad and there is reasonable backup for all positions. The second leg could prove decisive in our La Decima aspirations. If successful, it would push us towards possibly another El Clasico tieup in the UEFA Champions League final. But, there is still a long way to go before that is decided.
• Sevilla at Bernabeu: 
  
  Mad month of April gets over with Sevilla visiting the Bernabeu. Currently Sevilla sit eighth in the table and are in contention for the fourth Champions League qualification spot with five points separating them and fourth placed Malaga. Sevilla are not an easy opponents and with their abilities on the wing and most importantly in the air, they can cause a lot of damage. And as has been visible so far in the season, we have been extremely weak in these two aspects, making them a challenging team to face, especially after Clasico and Champions League semi final in three days time. La Liga picture would also have become much more clearer by this time.

To overcome the expected heart attacks, I've decided to order oxygen cylinders and a lot of beers for myself. (The beer is to drink away the possible pain ;) How do you plan to live on?

P.S. The first game in May is away at San Mames to face Athletic Bilbao but let's get done with April first!

April – No jokes for Real Madrid is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

Real Betis pushed Real Madrid to the edge at Estadio Benito Villamarín but Los Blancos emerged victorious in the end with a slender 3-2 scoreline. Two from Cristiano Ronaldo and one from Gonzalo Higuain.

This was Jose Mourinho's 100th La Liga game as manager of Real Madrid and Higuain returned to the stadium he made his debut in 5 years ago.

The game started off badly for us as Real Betis took the lead in the 10th minute through Jorge Molina. Alvaro Arbeloa was slow to get back to position and then cut back the quick attack. The defense then allowed too much time and space inside the box for Molina to score from. Ruben Castro provided the assist. 1-0 to Betis.

Higuain brought parity to the proceedings 15 minutes later by outrunning the Betis defender having received a ball over the top from Mesut Ozil. The Argentine raised suspicion of offside but replays suggested he was onside. 1-1 in the 25th minute.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance later in the half to extend lead when he was one on one with Betis goalkeeper Fabricio but the Pichichi leader was denied by the quick reactions of the goalkeeper to deflect the shot away for a corner.

This is how the score remained as teams went into the tunnel. 1-1 with Real Betis enjoying the better share of golden opportunities.

Strangely, Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, the referee for the game took the duty of being the fourth official in the second half. It is claimed he got injured in the first half.

We took the lead 7 minutes into the second half with Ronaldo scoring off of Marcelo's assist. Marcelo tried to chip the ball over the defender but overplayed it only for Ronaldo to shoot it in the back of the net with his left foot. Real Betis defense caught napping on that occasion. Real Betis 1-2 Real Madrid in the 52nd minute.

Betis didn't take long in bringing things back to square one. Jefferson Montero the scorer for the team from Sevilla as no one picked up the player inside the box and yet again Alvaro Arbeloa the guilty party for reacting the slowest. Betis 2-2 Real Madrid in the 55th minute.

In the 73rd minute, Real Madrid won a corner. Kaka took the free kick, Ramos headed it on target and Fabricio's save fell on to the feet of Cristiano Ronaldo who made no mistake in lashing it into the net. Betis 2-3 Real Madrid with 17 minutes left on the clock.

Later on Ramos played a fantastic long ball for Ronaldo and the Portuguese controlled it beautifully only for the shot to go just wide off the corner of the goal.

The second half had two instances of controversy with Alonso handballing inside the area but the referee didn't blow the whistle. After the match, Alonso admitted that it was indeed a handball but claimed it wasn't intentional. The other moment came in the final seconds of the match when Ramos tried to block a shot with hints of handball inside the area. To be fair to the referee, the second one was difficult to call because it touched his thigh and hand at probably the same time. Not even TV replays could ascertain it for sure.

One positive of the game came towards the end of the match with Karim Benzema coming on 2 minutes before the 90th minute mark in place of Mesut Ozil. It is a positive sign for the player, the club and more importantly Mourinho to have the Frenchman fit and ready to play with CSKA Moscow visiting the Bernabeu in midweek for the second leg of UEFA Champions League. The first leg finished 1-1.

It was an absolutely horrible game for Alvaro Arbeloa who was slow to react on many instances, failed to get back into his position to maintain formation and his crosses in the first half were poor at best. If the same remains and Mourinho (or the next manager) does not use Dani Carvajal from Castilla, it would be time to buy in a stronger right back because Arbeloa is not the best option.

It was also a pretty bad game for Kaka. The Brazilian played the best game in a Real Madrid shirt last week against Espanyol and today he was invisible. He lacked the pace and the creativity to get past Betis' players. If you saw the game and didn't see him much (but for the yellow card), you would be forgiven to think we were down to ten men.

We were terribly lucky to have 3 points from this game. Betis were unlucky to not have the handball decisions in their favour and a draw would probably have been a fair result given how the game went.

STAT ATTACK: This is Real Madrid's 7th remontada (comeback) this season. They are one away from their record of 8 in 1996/97. (Source)

Mourinho's record in 100 games: 77 wins, 13 draws, 10 losses, 274 goals scored and 81 goals conceded. Pep Guardiola after 100 games: 71 wins, 19 draws, 10 losses, 242 goals scored and 76 goals conceded. (Source)

Betis 2-3 Real Madrid: Betis push Los Blancos to the edge is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

Keeping with the topic of jerseys, spotted a possible/unofficial Real Madrid jersey earlier.

What do you think of it?

Speculated Real Madrid jersey is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!

Real Madrid won 3-1 versus Real Zaragoza with goals from Kaka, Ronaldo and Ozil after we had gone down to a Lafita goal early on.

Starting XI: Casillas ; Altintop, Carvalho, Pepe, Marcelo; Granero, Alonso; Ozil, Kaka, Cristiano, Benzema

Bench: Adan, Higuain, Arbeloa, Lass, Varane, Callejon and Coentrao.

10 Conclusions from the game:

1. The curious case of Nuri Sahin continues. Sahin having been named in the squad for the game wasn't in the starting XI or on the bench. It is difficult for me to figure out why a €10million signing is not playing as many games as he should. Is there an injury worry behind it? If there were one, he wouldn't have been part of the squad to begin with. Even if he is a signing for the future, omitting him completely is not doing his confidence any good.
2. Interesting back line in the absence of Ramos. Albiol not included in the XI or the bench. Looks like Albiol will be offloaded in the summer. Backline of Altintop, Carvalho, Pepe and Marcelo performed well but for Marcelo who looked more of a liability in defence. He was caught out when Zaragoza scored and looked solid in attack than in defence.
3. Mourinho again went with Ozil and Kaka in attack with the usual pairing of Ronaldo + Higuain/Benzema. The pairing of Kaka and Ozil worked beautifully. Both players were practically everywhere, creating chances and having a crack at the goal. And this is clear from the fact that both were on the scoresheet and had an assist each.
4.  Xabi Alonso wasn't his usual self today. Despite having pass completion rate of 96% he was slow on the ball on many occasions. There weren't any brilliant long balls played splitting the defence or long balls to cover the entire width of the pitch. There were hints of injury as he went directly into the tunnel when substituted by Lass.
5. Granero had another stellar game in midfield. He was fantastic in defence and in attack. He was able to do his job without any difficulty owing mainly due to the movement around him by Kaka and Ozil thereby allowing him to stay in the middle and rotate the ball around. Not the best thing to say but injury to Sami Khedira has been a blessing for Granero and for many of us who wanted to see more of the Canteranos in action.
6. Man of the match? It would be difficult to pick the man of the match between Granero and Ozil. Both were incredible throughout the 90 minutes and played pivotal role for the team. But, if I had to pick one I would pick Mesut Ozil. His passing, skills, deft touches and controls were simply mesmerizing.
7. Our injury list may rise with both Marcelo and Alonso looking like they picked up something to keep them out for a few weeks. While Alonso's situation is still uncertain, Marcelo is definitely injured but the extent of his injury hasn't been revealed yet. Thanks to the depth of our squad am not really concerned but the defensive midfield situation may need some covering with Khedira out already.
8.  Marcelo was seen limping near the end of the game. He came back in and stood in midfield to pass the ball around without making any movement. Commendable to see his sportsmanship to stay on the pitch to help his team even though we were 3-1 ahead and in a comfortable situation.
9. While the comebacks are a lot of fun and keep the excitement going, it shouldn't be a regular feature! In the last four games we've gone down first only to rally back and win. It's fun but let's not overdo it please!
10. Not related to the game but after the game there were reports suggesting Jose Mourinho would leave in the summer irrespective of the outcome of the league and/or UEFA Champions League. One side of me thinks it's just another rumour and he will stay but another side of me thinks its going to happen. The source of the story (in this case Duncan Castles) is a credible journalist working for a credible newspaper (The Times) thereby making it hard not to believe.

What did you guys make of the game? Who was your man of the match?

Villarreal hosted FC Barcelona right after we played and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. This helped extend our lead to 7 points with 18 games to go. Great to extend the lead but a long way to go before we can celebrate!

10 Conclusions: Real Madrid 3-1 Real Zaragoza is a post from The Real Madrid Fan!