Legia 3-3 Real Madrid: Another Cristiano Ronaldo stamp

The Portuguese forward did not score and he took his anger out on a Legia Warsaw defender in the final stages.

Real Madrid stumbled to an embarrassing 3-3 draw away at minnows Legia Warsaw and what's more, Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in another incident where he committed violent conduct. 

The Portuguese player, who was desperate after not being able to score in the game, stamped on a Polish player in the 90th minute, while Madrid were looking for their fourth goal.

The referee, however, missed the aggression and Cristiano ended the game without even seeing the yellow card, let alone red.

Madrid had taken the lead when Bale battered in a volley from distance and then Karim Benzema made it two after the Welshman set him up.

However former Norwich midfielder Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe curled home a strike for Legia that got them back in it, before Keylor Navas made a mistake which allowed Miroslav Radovic to get on the scoresheet.

Thibault Moulin then sent the unfancied Poles ahead with just a few minutes to go, before Mateo Kovacic scored a late equaliser to save Madrid's blushes - well, to some extent.

More games: friv

Real Madrid legend Luis Figo: Cristiano Ronaldo could move to Barcelona

REAL MADRID legend Luis Figo believes Cristiano Ronaldo could one day make a shock switch to fierce rivals Barcelona.

Players rarely move between the two La Liga juggernauts with their rivalry established as one of the fiercest in world and European football. 

However Figo was one player who did when he sensationally left Barcelona for Madrid for a world record fee of £37million back in 2000. 

Ronaldo is expected to sign a new deal with Madrid, but Figo believes inserting a release clause in his contract could open the door to a shock move to the Nou Camp in the future.

“We are in a free market. If there is a termination clause, anything can happen," Figo told Portuguese newspaper Record.

“[For me] the first reason was the recognition by the president of Real Madrid.

“So things were getting more serious and I received the offer and I reported it [to Barcelona] with a view to improving my contract.”

Ronaldo himself has failed to rule out a move to Barcelona in the past.

Speaking last year, the former Manchester United winger appeared to hint that such an act of treachery was not out of the question. 

“It’s a little more difficult, but …,” he said. 

“There are things that you kind of already have an idea, that to play one day for Barcelona would be almost impossible, or to play for another English club other than Manchester, it’s very complicated.” 

“But that’s not 100% guaranteed. As I said before, there are no certainties in football.”

No room for half-measures in Cristiano Ronaldo’s gilded world of 110% Simon Burnton

Awhile ago Watford’s German-born Greek left-back José Holebas went into a tattoo studio, raised his fists and asked for the words “Don’t hate, care love” to be tattooed across his fingers. It is not easy to create a message of optimism and unity in a foreign language using no punctuation and while restricted to words that are four letters long – perhaps replacing “care” with “only”, “just” or even “make” would have been slightly better – but this was not a disastrous attempt.

The problem was that, despite being heavily tattooed across his torso, Holebas was not prepared for the pain involved in inking his fingers. For a while he suffered in silence but with the job only halfway through he decided he could bear no more, told the artist to lay down his needle and departed. And so it is that Holebas’s hands now carry the considerably less inspiring legend “don’t care”.

In sport, both on the field and off it, abandoning an enterprise when it remains incomplete can often prove embarrassing, as Chesterfield discovered to their very great humiliation this week, when they were profoundly ruffled by a half-run raffle. The club had offered as a competition prize a five-day trip with the team on their pre-season tour of Hungary, including lunch with the players and dinner with the manager (there were no breakfast-based pledges), only for so few people to buy the £20 tickets it was decided to quietly abandon the contest and award the prize to the entirely fictional “Surrey-based Spireite James Higgins”.

When real-life supporters in Hungary found no sign of Higgins, the club released a statement saying “illness prevented him from travelling” and that though he was “naturally very disappointed” he would instead be “treated to hospitality” at a future game. Finally they gave up on the pretence, sacked their marketing manager and apologised “unreservedly to the four fans who entered the competition”.

It is more than simply cliche that in sport it is best never to do things by halves. Success demands total commitment, the infamous 110%. “I always try to improve,” Cristiano Ronaldo once said, summing up the ideal attitude. “Tomorrow I will be better than today and next year will be better than this one. To be the best you can be, you have to be focused.”

What is true of footballers is also true of hoteliers, as Ronaldo should know, being both. Plenty of leading sportsmen have dabbled with hotels, largely seeing it either as a mildly diverting mid-career sideline or a method of funding a retirement of rural golfing bliss but Ronaldo has approached his with a familiar sense of complete self-obsession.

When Andy Murray bought Cromlix House, the hotel near his childhood home in Dunblane which he reopened in 2014, he announced it would “attract new visitors to the area, create a number of jobs and focus on supporting other local businesses”; when Ronaldo revealed his move into the industry, he said: “I’ve always dreamed of having my own hotel. I’m sure this investment will be one of the best things I could do for my future.” His is a world like, and with, no other.

This is not a man who leaves dreams unrealised. “I always dreamed of becoming a father when I was 25,” he said, after becoming a father when he was 25. “I always dreamed of playing for Real Madrid,” he said, after signing for Real Madrid. “I’ve always dreamed of winning the Champions League with this club,” he said, shortly before winning the Champions League with that club. “Creating my own fragrance is something that I have always dreamed of doing,” he said, after creating his own fragrance. “I have always dreamed of winning for Portugal,” he said, after winning for Portugal, adding: “Dreaming is free, so let’s keep dreaming.”

Dreaming is not free when it happens in the CR7 hotel, which opened in Madeira a few weeks ago. According to the publicity material it is “powerful, exciting and unique”, offers “a sophisticated, smart casual feeling and the ultimate digital technology” and allows you to “open the doors to your room and to CR7’s lifestyle, like a true digital pioneer”. There are transparent saunas, in-room yoga mats and access to “Cristiano Ronaldo’s personalised training program”, as well as to the CR7 Museum, just around the corner. Residents are expected to end their day “with a glass of champagne and an unbelievably winning feeling”.

When launching his fragrance last September, Ronaldo said that “it’s important to me to give something that is 100% myself. It’s about creating a lasting impression and something that people remember you for.” Better swish hotels and fancy underpants than, say, knowing winks to his bench after helping to get Wayne Rooney sent off, an incident that defined him in Britain for some time after the 2006 World Cup and which he appears not to have entirely forgotten.

The CR7 hotel website features a gallery of photographs, to give the potential visitor an idea of what they may see when they arrive in Funchal. It appears that inside the £575-a-night suite there is a coffee table, on which there is a magazine. The magazine is called Wink. And so it is that the last thing a guest will be reminded of before grabbing 40 of his own, is one of the owner’s. And there is little doubt which of the two is going to end the transaction once again enjoying a – hard-fought, no-half-measures, 100% committed – unbelievably winning feeling.

A new position for Cristiano Ronaldo

Primeria Liga champions' boss on where CR7 should play for his country, Renato Sanches' bright spark, and how Portugal can lift themselves out of Group F.

Rortugal entered the first half a little anxiously, they had difficulty finding their level in the opening 15 minutes.

After a while, they improved their game and managed to dominate the ball.

Two opportunities, from Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo, preceded the goal that put us ahead.

I have no doubt that the first half was much better than the second.

In the second we came out eager, Portugal should always win this game because they are a better team; Iceland has tactics and defensive qualities, but individually do not offer much

The protagonist

Cristiano plays out wide for Portugal.

Individually, the players are all of a very high level, but did not play well. Iceland were not an attacking threat, but their defensive organisation caused us problems.

It is the first game and things like this always happen, anxiety is normal. Portugal will improve in the second game, but the coach must change things to help us improve and become stronger.

I do not know what changes he will make, but Fernando Santos knows perfectly. I will not say what, but after this match, it is clear that we have to make some.

Portugal have many options to qualify because we are the strongest team in the group.

Of the three teams - Hungary, Austria and Iceland - the Nordic side they are best in defence and cause the most problems when it comes to creating chances and scoring goals, even though we scored in the first half.

In the second half, we were at our worst tactically and were found out of position a lot. In the second game we'll be better because I am sure Fernando will correct some issues.

Cristiano seems fine, but I don't know if he is 100%.

Watching the game I thought everything was normal. He plays as a striker and that is different to how he plays at Real Madrid.

Ronaldo has to adapt to Portugal's style of play, which is different from that at Real Madrid.

In future he will be a pure striker and will not play out wide, he will adapt and in the second game he'll be better.

The promise: Renato Sánchez

Renato is a young man who has had a great season at Benfica and is trying to step up to the national team, but I think at the moment there are players in position with more experience and therefore do not think it should start .

Adrien, André Gomes, Joao Moutinho and Mario to play in his position, but Renato is a player of great future.

The weak point

The weak point was the second half because the Icelanders knew how to defend.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Swag Is Off The Charts Right Now

The video you’re about to see shows a neat little Real Madrid sequence capped by a deceptively difficult Cristiano Ronaldo finish. But the goal itself isn’t what we’re here for. What we are here for is all the swag dripping off the Portuguese forward after he scores.

You wouldn’t really gather it from watching how coolly Ronaldo struts to the corner flag after giving Real a 3-1 lead over Valencia, and the insouciant, tongue-accentuated smirk on his face as he wheels around for his trademark spinning goal celebration, but there was real tension before that score. The game was literally a must-win for Real to stay in the running for a La Liga title. A draw or a loss would’ve see them out of the three-team race at the top of the table, and wouldn’t have been a good omen for their impending Champions League final, either.

Real jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the match wasn’t ever as comfortable as the scoreline made it appear. A shocking João Cancelo miss kept Valencia from the equalizer they deserved when the game was at 1-0, and Benzema was correctly ruled offside by the linesman on Real’s second goal, only for the head ref to overturn the decision. When former Real youth teamer Rodrigo pulled the visitors within one in the 55th minute, it felt like Valencia might kill Madrid’s title hopes for good.

Just a few minutes later, Ronaldo waltzed through the center of Valencia’s defense and spanked the above shot past the keeper, reasserting a lead Real wouldn’t give up. After scoring, Ronaldo’s face was of a man totally unperturbed by a potential collapse he had no intention of letting happen. (Well, with more than a little assistance from the ref; on top of the head-scratching offside reversal, the ref later sent off Rodrigo right after Valencia grabbed their second goal for the apparently unforgivable offense of calling the ref a “wimp.”) Ronaldo’s face was of a man totally at ease with his body after a recent spell of nagging injuries at the worst part of the season. With his face, Ronaldo said, Yeah, some people think we might lose the league today and the Champions League in a couple weeks, but I’m Motherfucking Cristiano Ronaldo, baby. I got this.

With this win, coupled with Barcelona’s win and Atlético Madrid’s disqualifying loss, it’s now something of a head-to-head showdown between the Blanco and the Blaugrana giants of Spain for the league crown heading into the final round of fixtures on Saturday. If Barcelona win, they’re champions. If Real win and Barça drop points, then the title goes to Madrid.

After that comes the all-Madrid Champions League final. With just a couple breaks, Real Madrid could turn what could’ve been a disaster—and frankly has still been pretty unimpressive—into an unmitigated triumph.

This has been a good season for Ronaldo’s domineering competitiveness, as he—at times, alone—has dragged his group from the brink of calamity to the cusp of glory. Judging from his two goals yesterday, and especially his demeanor after getting the second, he doesn’t expect it to end any time soon.

El Clasico 2016: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo Overshadowed in Fans' XI Vote

A poll asking Barcelona and Real Madrid fans to pick their ideal lineups for Saturday’s Clasico showdown saw Lionel Messi andCristiano Ronaldo overshadowed by some of their illustrious team-mates.

The vote was run by Spanish outlet AS, and surprisingly, Messi received less votes to be included than his attacking team-mates Neymar and Luis Suarez, while Ronaldo wasn't even among the top four spots in the Los Blancos section, which were occupied by Keylor Navas, Marcelo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.

In what’s another curious result from the Real Madrid section of the vote, neither James Rodriguez nor Isco received sufficient votes to make it into the starting lineup, with the pragmatic presence ofCasemiro preferred.

Neither Ronaldo nor Messi were the most popular player in their respective polls.

Here are the starting XIs that would be fielded for the contest if the supporters sampled had their way:

AS Poll Results: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid XIs

	Barcelona	Real Madrid
GK	Bravo	Navas
RB	Alves	Carvajal
CB	Pique	Ramos
CB	Mascherano	Varane
LD	Alba	Marcelo
DM	Busquets	Casemiro
CM	Rakitic	Kroos
CM	Iniesta	Modric
RW	Messi	Bale
LW	Neymar	Ronaldo
CF	Suarez	Benzema

AS

It’s suggested by Alfredo Matilla of AS, whose piece summarised the findings, that the reason for Messi being a little further down thanNeymar and Suarez could be due to his international commitments—Argentina have two FIFA World Cup qualifiers in this international break—and fans want him “rested because of the tough European fixture [against Atletico Madrid] ahead.”

Matilla also ponders whether simply “Suarez (who received the highest number of votes) and Neymar are bigger fan favourites these days.”

Perhaps the Barcelona supporters were voting with the reverse fixture in mind, when Suarez and Neymar ran Real ragged in a 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Suarez and Neymar tore Real apart at the Bernabeu.

The Madridistas seem to have voted with that night in mind, too. Then-manager Rafael Benitez opted for a cavalier team selection, with no holding midfielder in the XI, and Barcelona were able to find so much space between the lines.

Both Isco and Rodriguez featured in that contest and have received criticism for poor form lately. Although the former thinks the pair are being made scapegoats for bigger issues at the club.

"It's been a very difficult season but I do not think everything that happens to Real Madrid is the fault of James and me," said Isco, perCadena Cope (h/t Dom Farrell of Goal). 

Still, players like Casemiro at the expense of Isco or Rodriguez would have helped stem the relentless attacks in the campaign's earlierClasico.

As these figures from WhoScored.com illustrate, in Real’s last away game, a 2-1 triumph at Las Palmas, the midfielder is a multifaceted influence:

He’s the kind of player who is vital when it comes to getting a result from the Camp Nou, as is Ronaldo.

Down the years, the Portuguese has tormented the Barcelona defence, with 15 goals in Clasico matches in total. Only Raul and Alfredo diStefano have scored more for Los Blancos in this fixture for Real Madrid, and if Real are going to get three points from this one, you suspect Ronaldo will have to be at full tilt.

Ronaldo has relished this fixture down the years.

The Portuguese loves to silence the Camp Nou, too, as he did with the winning goal in Real’s last win at the stadium in 2012:

That Messi and Ronaldo are supplemented by tremendous quality elsewhere in their sides makes this fixture an unmissable one. While these two have long dominated this contest, a supporting cast of Suarez, Neymar,Benzema and Gareth Bale adds to the glamour of what has become the most anticipated fixture in world football.

Yet despite the influx of quality and the results of this poll, both Messi, who has 21 goals in Clasico matches, and Ronaldo remain the most decisive figures for their respective sides.

They’ve proved on many different occasions they can thrive in this white-hot atmosphere, and while others have done so recently, finding such consistency in such a big contest should be admired.  

Paper Talk: United target James, Reds eye Williams & Long

Manchester United may move for James Rodriguez instead of Gareth Bale, while Liverpool are considering moves for a pair of strikers. 

UNITED PREPARING JAMES BID
Manchester United are lining up a huge offer for Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, according to The Sun.

The Colombian playmaker has made only seven starts this season and the paper claims United are weighing up the possibility of making a British-record bid.

That would involve a fee in excess of £60million, which seems excessive for a player struggling to get a game in Madrid. Real were handed a two-window transfer ban this week which is likely to have a major impact on any planned exits as well as arrivals. The Sun says United see Rodriguez as an alternative to Gareth Bale.

LIVERPOOL EYE ATHLETIC FORWARD 
Liverpool are said to be monitoring Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams, who has a release clause in his contract of €20m.

The Guardian reports that Jurgen Klopp has been watching the 21-year-old, who came through the academy set-up in Bilbao. Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are also said to be interested but they may have to move quickly, with transfer bans looming for both clubs.

Williams has scored 10 goals as a winger for his club this season but he is employed as a central striker by Spain Under-21s. The Bilbao-born star was said to be the fastest player in La Liga last season after being clocked at 22.2 miles per hour against Deportivo in May.

KLOPP CONSIDERS LONG OFFER
Southampton striker Shane Long could be the subject of an £8million bid from Liverpool.

The Sun claims Long is on Klopp’s list of targets should he decide to do any business this month.

The Reds have a lengthy injury list, with the striking department most heavily depleted. Daniel Strurridge, Danny Ings, Divock Origi are all injured while doubts remain over Christian Benteke’s future.

Republic of Ireland striker Long joined the Saints from Hull 18 months ago for a fee in the region of £12million. The 28-year-old has scored 5 goals in 13 Premier League appearances this term.