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FC Barcelona Gaining on Real Madrid |
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Written by Martin Bishop
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Saturday, 23 February 2008 |
A seemingly safe lead of nine points in the Spanish League has dwindled to five for Real Madrid. FC Barcelona is rolling over everyone and is looking like a serious threat. Madrid has 56 points in first place, Barcelona has 51 and sits in second with Villarreal at 43 points in third and Atletico Madrid with 41 points in fourth. Soccer Betting at SBG Global.
Barcelona has not lost this year in 11 games including a 3-2 Champions League win at Celtic on Wednesday. Barcelona has some serious talent with Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o. The win against Celtic was impressive. "It was one of our best games of the year," captain Carles Puyol said. "We've rediscovered the pressure in our play that we did well in other seasons, and you can see the difference." Barcelona has the leading scorer in Europe in Lionel Messi. Henry and Ronaldinho are also looking good.
 The pressure is starting to mount on Real Madrid. "A week ago, everyone was saying the league was ours," Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze said. "I don't care about Barcelona. I have a lot of work to do on my team, which is the only one I think about." Madrid is coming off a loss to AS Rosma and they are dealing with injuries. They were missing Robinho and Wesley Sneijder upfront and Pepe on defense. Madrid has to play their rival, Getafe on Sunday. "We are leaders in the league and we are still in the Champions League . If that shows we are an easy side to beat then I don't know what shows the opposite," Heinze said. "I'm not worried about the defeats because I have faith in this team." It is unlikely that Robinho and Pepe will play this weekend, especially with a Champions League game against Roma coming up early next month.
In other league action, Atletico Madrid will be without Sergio Aguero, Raul Garcia and Pablo Ibanez for Sunday's match at Osasuna. All three are out with suspensions. Valencia and Sevilla are both trying to take the final two Soccer Betting Champions League places. Valencia is home against Recreativo Huelva while Sevilla is home to Zaragoza. Sevilla is coming off a Champions league loss to Fenerbahce on Wednesday. They should get some help though as striker Frederic Kanoute and midfielder Seydou Keita are back from the African Cup of Nations. It is also worth noting that Espanyol has lost two straight and is missing leading scorer Raul Tamudo.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 23 February 2008 )
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