Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Real Madrid 3-0 Galatasaray

Reklam


The Champions League is finally back! Not a moment too soon since an important match might get Los Blancos back in the right state of mind. Real Madrid hosts Galatasaray at the Santiago Bernabéu in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Madrid will look to turn around from a lackluster performance at the weekend and refocus its sights on a tenth European title.

Galatasaray vs Real Madrid 
UEFA Champions League Football/Soccer
Date: Wednesday, 3rd April
Time: 20:45 GMT +1


Madridistas will certainly welcome the return of Champions League football on Wednesday. There's no doubting that the squad's minds have been set on Galatasaray since at least Saturday, evident from the lethargic team performance at La Romareda in Zaragoza. While the matchup with Galatasaray is the one Real Madrid would have favored at the time of the draw, it still comes with its set of formidable challenges. Fatih Terim, the excellent manager dubbed The Emperor, brings with him a confident side with vast Champions League experience into the Bernabéu on Wednesday.

Burak Yilmaz
With eight goals in eight games, Burak Yilmaz is the joint leading scorer in the Champions League.
If the 27-year-old striker can add an away goal at the Bernabeu to his portfolio on Wednesday night, Gala fans may just love him more than they already do.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Also with eight goals, Cristiano Ronaldo is the man who ties the top spot for goals scored with the Turkish forward.
He scored two out of the three goals against Manchester United and will once again be Madrid's main man against Galatasaray.

 Interesting Facts
Galatasaray players have been offered a €25,000 bonus by their president Unal Aysal should they prevail against Real Madrid (via Marca).
The same story suggests Los Blancos players will pocket €500,000 if they go on to win the competition.
For any number geeks, the Turkish side don't have any first-team players with No. 1- No. 3—Hamit Altintop is No. 4.
If Madrid make the semifinals, Mourinho would equal Sir Alex Ferguson's record of reaching that stage of the tournament seven times.

 Probable Teams
Real Madrid: Diego Lopez, Alvaro Arbeloa, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao; Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso; Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo; Gonzalo Higuain

Galatasaray: Fernando Muslera; Emmanuel Eboue, Semih Kaya, Dany Nounkeu, Albert Riera; Hamit Altintop, Felipe Melo, Selcuk Inan; Wesley Sneijder; Didier Drogba, Burak Yilmaz