Real Madrid's La Liga title chase takes them to Real
Sociedad on Saturday, but trips to Anoeta have proved fruitless for many this
season.
Carlo Ancelotti's men bounced back from back-to-back
league defeats with a 5-0 demolition of Rayo Vallecano last weekend, before
cruising to a 3-0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their UEFA
Champions League quarter-final tie in midweek.
They sit third in the three-way battle for the title,
three points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and two adrift of Barcelona, but
Sociedad are a difficult nut to crack on home soil this season, losing just two
of 15 league fixtures in front of their own fans.
Barca and Athletic Bilbao are among those sides to come
away from Anoeta empty-handed so far this term, as Sociedad continue to eye
Champions League qualification for a second successive season.
Jagoba Arrasate's charges are six points short of
fourth-placed Bilbao, with seven matches left to play, and will take confidence
from their 3-3 draw against the men from the Spanish capital in this fixture
last year.
Cristiano Ronaldo was booed by his own supporters during
last week's win over Rayo, but showed few ill effects as he regained their
backing by finding the net in his 100th Champions League appearance on
Wednesday.
The Portugal captain was, however, withdrawn by Ancelotti
10 minutes from time, although the Bernabeu coach has since moved to allay
fears of a serious knee injury, calling the problem a "minor
annoyance".
And midfielder Xabi Alonso praised Ronaldo for his
discipline in coming off before the issue developed into something more
serious.
"Cristiano did the right thing in coming off as a
precaution but I don't think he'll have any problems for Saturday," he
told the club's official website. "I think he could progress well and be
ready to play.
"He has a small niggle. It's not surprising that
there are so many injuries. We have to be careful with the calendar because
everything's very close together."
Alonso also stressed that the team would not favour the
Champions League over La Liga, adding: "It's not a question of choosing,
you have to fight for everything and we have a great opportunity in all
competitions.
"In the Liga we are doing better than last
year."
In addition to the slight question marks over the fitness
of Ronaldo, Madrid are likely to have to do without the services of Marcelo
once again after the full-back was confirmed to be suffering from a torn
hamstring earlier this week.
Culled from Soccerway
0 comments:
Post a Comment