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During the revolutionary week when the president changed and the players were criticized, Madrid's "Real" crowned victory in the capital's derby. However, this did not help the Royal club get closer to the leaders "Barcelona," who defeated La Coruna's "Deportivo" 3-2 at home on Saturday.
As many "Real" fans hoped, the change of president brought fresh winds to the team - for the first time since the arrival in January, Italian national team striker Antonio Cassano appeared in the starting lineup of the Royal club, taking the place of Brazilian Ronaldo. The latter watched the match not from the bench but from the stands. This was the reaction of the team's coach and perhaps the new president F.Martino to the public criticism expressed towards Ronaldo by the "Real" fans.
However, this decision by coach Lopez Caro proved to be right, as A.Cassano scored in the fourth minute with a header from a cross from Roberto Carlos on the left side. After scoring an early goal, "Real" continued to attack the opponents' goal, and when it seemed that the Royal club would take the initiative into their hands, Serbia and Montenegro national team striker Mateja Kezman equalized the result, receiving a pass from Peter Luccino and outsmarting "Real" goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
However, this goal did not discourage the upbeat hosts, and before the end of the first half, "Real" restored a one-goal advantage when, after an outstanding performance by Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham, the recently heavily criticized Julio Baptista scored from close range.
It is worth mentioning that towards the end of the match, "Real" captain Raul appeared on the field, replacing A.Cassano. For the Spaniard, this was the 400th match in the Spanish championship.
Preparing for the UEFA Champions League eighth-final match against "Chelsea," the championship leader "Barcelona" achieved a great victory against La Coruna's "Deportivo," who played well as visitors.
The hosts started the match excellently when "Barca's" leader Ronaldinho scored a penalty goal in the third minute. However, later "Deportivo" took advantage of the sluggish home defense and went ahead 2-1, with defenders Juanma and Jorge Andrade scoring with their heads from set pieces.
However, before the end of the first half, Swede Henrik Larsson equalized the score with a superb headed goal, and in the second half, Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o scored the winning goal.
In other Saturday matches, Argentine national team goalkeeper Juan Roman Riquelme became a true hero after scoring two goals against Vitoria's "Alaves" and helping "Villarreal" achieve an important victory against a Basque club.
"Cadiz" also achieved a very important victory, defeating a struggling Barcelona's "Espanyol" 2-0 at home and rising from the bottom of the tournament table.
Saturday football match statistics:
Madrid 2 - 1 Madrid 4' [1 - 0] Antonio Cassano 27' [1 - 1] Mateja Kezman 40' [2 - 1] Julio Baptista
2 - 0 Barcelona 74' [1 - 0] Abraham Paz 88' [2 - 0] Jonathan Sesma
3 - 2 Vitoria 11' [0 - 1] John Aloisi 29' [1 - 1] Juan Roman Riquelme 36' [1 - 2] Enrique de Lucas 64' [2 - 2] Juan Roman Riquelme 83' [3 - 2] Guillermo Franco
3 - 2 La Coruna 3' [1 - 0] Ronaldinho 15' [1 - 1] Juanma 28' [1 - 2] Jorge Andrade 34' [2 - 2] Henrik Larsson 61' [3 - 2] Samuel Eto'o
