Stars shine bright for Real Madrid
Real Madrid coach Wanderley Luxemburgo could not contain his delight at his team's 3-0 win in the local derby at Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid coach Wanderley Luxemburgo could not contain his delight at his team's 3-0 win in the local derby at Atletico Madrid.
His team went to the top of the Spanish first division for the first time since he took over last December, although Real may only have a short spell at the top as both Getafe and Celta Vigo can overtake them on Sunday.
"Tonight we played like galacticos," said the Brazilian coach, referring to the phrase often used in connection with Real's expensive superstars like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham.
Many pundits thought it had been a below-par performance for a team that had a man advantage for nearly all the game, after Atletico's Antonio Lopez had been sent off just eight minutes into the game.
But Luxemburgo shrugged off all criticisms in the post-match press conference.
"How can I be disappointed?" grinned Luxemburgo, whose team has now won their last four games.
"This victory was important because we had players coming back from World Cup and international matches with all sorts of minor niggles. They had hardly trained together for two weeks. This win showed our true qualities."
It also showed some of Luxemburgo's true qualities although he still has plenty of critics among the Real fans and Spanish media.
No longer is Luxemburgo's position in doubt, which it was a month ago after three consecutive and emphatic losses.
Ronaldo got two of Real's goals on Saturday but left the field on a stretcher after being accidently cut down by Atletico defender Luis Perea.
Perea was trying to cut out a pass between Robinho and his fellow Brazilian but only succeeded in putting the ball into his own net and clattering into Ronaldo, who was left clutching his left shin and writhing in agony.
However, Ronaldo soon dispensed with the stretcher and made do with the supporting shoulder of a member of Real's coaching staff.
The manner of his final transport to the dressing rooms suggests that the injury is not serious although his participation in Wednesday's Champions League match against Rosenburg may be in doubt.