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| Benzema celebrates with Mourinho his goal |
SEVILLA FC lost 0 - 1 to REAL MADRID tonight in their 1st leg Spanish Cup clash in controversial fashion for the Sevilla fans & not so controversial for the Real Madrid fans - but more on this later. Real Madrid started with a conservative line-up with three defensive midfielders ( Lass, Khedira & Xabi) to halt the expected initial onslaught from Sevilla who had been heating up the match days before & were charged. The atmosphere was full of tension as Sevilla FC had encouraged their fans to back them with some aggressive marketing the included videos & pre-match statements that lead authorities to call this a "maximum tension level" Football match. That encouraged supporter with over enthusiasm which spilt onto the ground with strong , near unlawful tackles & a end of match incident that may cost Sevilla FC dearly in coming days - but more on this later.
As expected Sevilla started the match attacking fiercely while Real Madrid defended & did all it could to halt the waves of Sevilla players with Jesus Navas very dangerous. However, in a surprise counter-attack KARIM BENZEMA finally showed everyone that he does have some class & ran 25 mts taking out of action two Sevilla defenders to score the Real Madrid goal in the 16th min. This goal took out all the fright & steam from Sevilla & Real Madrid slowly took control.
Then in the 46th min of the 1st half Sevilla forward LUIS FABIANO shot at goal & Real defender RAUL ALBIOL "stopped" the ball on the goal-line to avoid the equalizer. Sevilla claimed ( & still claimed post-match) that it was a goal, while Real Madrid claims that the WHOLE Ball did not go over the line.
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| Albiol stops a certain goal? Image:Canal + |
Here are some images from Canal + TV ( thanks guys) that seem to give the reason to Real Madrid, but from another angle (below) it rises doubts, thus this "Phantom Goal" is now the talk of the town & will be in tomorrows papers. The referee considered that the ball did not go fully over & thus there was no goal. Leave you to decide for yourself.
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| Albiol stops goal in 46th min? Image Canal + |
The 2nd half saw Real Madrid take further control while Sevilla felt the tiredness of their 1st half efforts & plenty of their players had gained yellow cards which stopped them from over exerting. Real Coach Mourinho saw this as an opportunity to change from a "conservative" field set up to a more "attacking" system ( Di Maria, Granero, Marcelo) which nearly paid off had Cristiano Ronaldo & Ozil put in an almost goal that for some unexplainable reason they both missed. They had the semi - final right there but failed which allowed Sevilla of the hook. Real Madrid tried up till the end while Sevilla did everything to keep them out with some chances also included. The end result 0 - 1.
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| Iker Casillas hit on the head with a plastic bottle at the end of the match |
But the game was destined to finish on a terrible note as Real Madrid goalkeeper IKER CASILLAS received a plastic bottle to his head straight after the final whistle take brought him down on the turf. The match was too over heated thanks to Sevilla FC aggressive pre-match messages & were warned that something terrible may occur. The above incident will certainly cost the Club a sanction when the "Spanish Football Anti-Violence Comission" looks at it for study & will almost certainly give a punishment.
Thus, the stage is definitely set for the 2º leg semi-final clash at Madrid were Real takes a handy away goal. A match not to be missed!
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| Messi scores against Almeria : Spanish Cup 2011 |
FC BARCELONA won 5 - 0 ALMERIA comfortably with the their 1º leg Spanish Cup semi final with fabulous Football & plenty of goals. No pre-match aggressive marketing or comments from both teams that concentrated on Football & nothing but Football.
The damage on Almeria was all done in the 1st half thanks to brilliant play from Iniesta & company plus some woeful Almeria defending. MESSI scored first in the 10th min followed by DAVID VILLA in the 11th min, MESSI again in the 15th min & PEDRO in the 30th min.
The second half Barça relaxed & gave players a rest (eg Xavi) & basically controlled the match with Barça defender & 2º half sub Maxwell hitting the post. It was smooth "riding" for Barça right till the end with another sub KEITH scoring the fifth in the 89th min.
This victory virtually gives Barça a Spanish Cup Final ticket. A miracle will have to occur in the 2º leg semi-final not to think that FC Barcelona will be a finalist. Tweet
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