Rayo Vallecano-Real Madrid

Whites look to emulate their best run of consecutive victories on the road in La Liga

Alberto Navarro / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

Real Madrid will face Rayo Vallecano on the road this evening for the first time in nine years with a chance to emulate their best run of consecutive away victories in La Liga and to consolidate their 10-point lead over the runners-up.

The Whites have won their last 13 derbies against neighboring sides (seven against Getafe, five against Atletico, one over Rayo) and haven't lost in Vallecas since 19 January 1997. The Madridistas are also the least scored upon side on the road (0.55 per match)

TEAM STATS
			HOME				AWAY
	Place	Points	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L
Rayo	8th	31	11	4	1	6	12	5	3	4
Real Madrid	1st	61	12	11	0	1	11	9	1	1

Jose Mourinho has included youth teamers Joselu and Jesus on his 20-man squad list. Altintop, Lass, Di Maria and Benzema are injured, while Sahin will also miss the match due to having viral gastroenteritis. Casillas, Alonso and Arbeloa are the only men on the squad who have faced Rayo at their stadium, and the match could also be special for Pepe, who turns 29 years old today and has a chance of making his 100th appearance with the team.

Rayo won their last three league games and are currently only one point from Europa League qualifying positions and two shy of making it to the UCL next year.

Coach Sandoval won't be able to count on the injured Michel but has recovered the services of top scorer Michu (11 goals in 2,049 minutes), Arribas and Casado. Real Madrid will have to keep an eye on Diego Costa because he's been scoring goals ever since he made his debut with the team through a loan transfer with Atletico.

PREVIOUS RAYO VALLECANO-REAL MADRID MEETINGS
	P	W	D	L	GF	GA
Rayo	12	3	1	8	14	24
Real Madrid	12	8	1	3	24	14

Reyes: "It's special to celebrate a title we haven't won in such a long time"

"We're proud to celebrate the title with you all and to see you enjoy it us much as we do"

Realmadrid.com / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

The Real Madrid roster and staff thanked fans for their support in their Copa del Rey success during the celebrations in the Spanish capital.

Felipe Reyes
"It is very special for us to celebrate this with the Mayor and the President because we haven't won it in 19 years, which is a lot for Real Madrid. We're proud to celebrate it with all of you and to see you enjoy it as much as we do."

Pablo Laso
"We're proud to bring you this Cup title and we're delighted to celebrate with you all. There's even greater merit to winning the title against a great opponent like Barcelona. To win this tournament you have to defeat three teams and we played a high level in all games."

Sergio Llull
"Nineteen years were too many. It was about time we won this title. We deserved to and we expect to return at the end of the season to celebrate more titles."

Carlos Suarez
"We'll play a very important game on Thursday against Unicaja in which our future in the Euroleague will be at stake. We want your support in such an important clash."

Emiliano Rodriguez, Presidential Aide for Basketball
"We were so excited about winning the title that it may not have sunk in yet. It was an amazing game in which the coach devised a great system. We deserved to win from the opening minute. It was key to have a solid defence."

Clifford Luyk, Technical Advisor
"The victory was important because we had three important handicaps in the game: playing three games in three days, not having the home advantage, and having a much younger roster. We gave a great performance. All our players performed at a high level. This is symbolic and we should use it to make people aware of the greatness of this club. We're optimistic about our chances in the Euroleague despite having an average start to the Top 16. We hope to overcome this with the morale boost the Copa del Rey has given us."

Real Madrid offer Copa del Rey title to citizens of Madrid

Mayor Ana Botella: "You have drive and valour to win, and you're here thanks your excellent team work"

Realmadrid.com / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

Real Madrid offered their recent Copa del Rey title to the citizens of Madrid at the City Hall, where they were greeted by Mayor Ana Botella. The expedition then attended a reception given to them at the Government of Madrid headquarters by Madrid President Esperanza Aguirre. Real Madrid Premier Florentino Perez presented each institution with a replica of the trophy and gave a speech in both acts.

Ana Botella, Mayor of Madrid
"As a sports follower I can simply congratulate you, and as a citizen of Madrid I wish to thank you. You have drive and valour to compete and win, and you're here thanks to your excellent team work."

"It gives me great satisfaction as the Mayor of Madrid to welcome you as the Copa del Rey champions. You have earned a very important victory 19 years after winning your last Copa del Rey title, and this is the club's 23rd."

"You are ambassadors of the Madrid and Spain brands. You play an essential role in our city's Olympic bid because you embody sport values, you always strive to improve yourselves, and you showcase true team work."

Florentino Perez (at City Hall)"We're back in Madrid's City Hall, the home of all Madrileños, because this team has reconciled us with the history and basketball of this city. This team is full of young talent and is faithful to the principles of Madridismo, rejecting the existence of impossible challenges, showing humility and displaying solid character."
"I wish to conratulate our coach for his work and for the great basketball the team played. Thank you for the victory, which will be a starting point to continue improving and growing as a team. This Copa shows we're on the right path, but there is still much more to do."
"I wish to thank Madrileños and, especially, Madridistas for supporting us on Sunday at the Palau Sant Jordi. Their fath and drive were exemplary. We carry the name of this city throughout the world and we will not let it down. We expect to return to further consolidate the union of our club and the city. Finally, I wish to thank the City Hall for the help it always gives us, and which we want to repay with many successes."

Esperanza Aguirre
"Congratulations. Not just for defeating Barcelona, but for the great performance you gave. You've proven you can win everything and that you are one of the best teams in Europe. Thank you for the joy you've given to all your fans and for giving us this replica of the Copa del Rey, which will now feature on our shelves. The victory also establishes you as the side with the most Copa del Rey titles."
"There is no one better than Pablo Laso to motivate you. Nothing can stop class players like you when you're motivated. I wish to congratulate you all: coaching staff, players, club executives and fans, who gave you their ceaseless support. It is a joy to watch you play and we wish to congratulate you in advance for all the titles you will bring back to this city."

Florentino Perez (at Government of Madrid)
"We reached an agreement with the Government a few months ago allowing us to play at the Palacio de los Deportes this season, a place many regard as a lucky charm for the basketball section at the club. Now that we're here we will not settle for this title because we always want more at Real Madrid. We wish to thank you for your support with it and we're ready to make the name of this city go beyond our borders. Our challenge is to live up to our glorious past and we'll work with all our might to return here as soon as we can."

CSKA Moscow 1-1 Real Madrid

Mourinho's men were far superior to the locals, who drew the match in injury time

Fernando Porrero (Moscow) / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

Only bad luck and the strange things that sometimes happen in football prevented Real Madrid from winning tonight in Moscow. The Whites perfectly adapted to the stadium's synthetic grass and to the city's low temparature, dominating the match from the start, but unfortunatley leaving without a much deserved victory due to a defensive mistake in injury time. The tie will be decided at the Bernabeu.

Mourinho decided to use Callejon, Khedira, Arbeloa and Coentrao in his starting lineup, ready to play a more tactical game against CSKA. Real Madrid found it a little hard to adapt in the opening minutes and the Russians used this to their advantage. Bad luck struck the Whites when Benzema injured himself attempting a long strike  and had to be replaced by Higuain (13'), who had the first chance in the game with a shot that was cleared by Chepchugov. The ball fell at Khedira's feet, but the keepr saved the day again for the local side.

CSKA hardly reached Casillas' goal, but they were well positioned throughout the match. They also fouled whenever they had a chance, but Real scored their goal after Higuain stole the ball, crossed it and Ronaldo netted it with a crossed shot (27'). Only Doumbia troubled the Madrid defence occasionally with his speed after the strike, but no real danger came from CSKA.

The Madridistas tried to seal the match as soon as the second half began, and Callejon missed a couple of good chances (50', 51'). The locals started to look for a goal of their own and left room for Madrid to attack in. Musa shot on target in the 61st minute, but Casillas grabbed the ball easily as it lacked force. Real Madrid continued to dominate the encounter and looked for a chance to counterattack.

Mourinho made Kaka come on for Callejon on the 74-minute mark and a Ramos header was saved by the keeper one minute later. Ronaldo nearly scored again the minute after that, but Chepchugov cleared the shot by an inch. Honda led his side in reaching Casillas' goal more often and Mourinho decided to strengthen the defence by replacing Ozil with Albiol (84'). CSKA tried hard for a draw that would ease things for them in the return leg and eventually found it through Wernbloom in a messy effort in injury time.

CSKA Moscow

• 1S. Chepchugov
• 6Alexei Berezoutski
• 24Vassili Berezoutski
• 4S. Ignashevitch
• 42G. Shennikov
• 3P. Wernbloom
• 22Y. Aldonin
• 18A. Musa
• 10A. Dzagoev
• 21Z. Tosic
• 8S. Doumbia

Substitutes

• 7K. Honda
• 29Kim In-Sung
• 2D. Semberas
• 26S. Oliseh
• 95S. Revyakin
• 89T. Necid
• 25E. Rahimic

Coach

 

Leonid Slutsky

Real Madrid

• 1I. Casillas
• 17Á. Arbeloa
• 3Pepe
• 4S. Ramos
• 15Fábio Coentrão
• 6S. Khedira
• 14X. Alonso
• 21J. Callejón
• 10M. Özil
• 7C. Ronaldo
• 9K. Benzema

Substitutes

• 20G. Higuaín
• 13A. Adán
• 11E. Granero
• 2R. Carvalho
• 8Kaká
• 12Marcelo
• 18R. Albiol

Coach

 

José Mourinho