Pepe recovers but needs to get a good physical condition

Pepe is in the final stages of his recovery and about to return to normal training with the rest of his companions. The center defender, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle on January 2, is already healed in terms of surgery is concerned, but he still has to take the physical tone enough to get back in shape and one hundred percent to the pitch.

Pepe is already healed

The Portuguese center defender has had a very thorough treatment and he has responded well each time the workload was intensified. The idea is to be ready to play in the first leg of the Champions League knockout round against Manchester United on February 13 (8:45 pm CET). Pepe has set a goal for that date and Mourinho will have to decide whether he plays in the starting lineup or not.

Because Varane is also another injured defender. The Frenchman, who had been summoned by Deschamps to play with the national team of France, had to resign the call due to a muscle injury (hamstring) grade I in his right leg. It is a mild illness and he will be out for seven or ten days. Although it is a problem, the Frenchman will also be ready for the match against Ferguson's guys. Varane is at his best sport moment and does not want this injury stops his upward progression.

Xabi Alonso also missed out on the Spanish national team for problems in the pubis. The midfielder suffered discomfort and decided to stop and rest for a few days with specific treatment this week. He probably will not play the match against Sevilla (Saturday, 10 pm CET), but will be ready for the Champions League clash.

Benzema and Higuain: Neither dog nor cat

One day the dog and the cat another day. The formula to switch Higuain and Benzema in attack was one of the great successes of the great season Real Madrid had last year. Mourinho was able to create a battle for the goal between his two forwards which proved extremely profitable for the white team.

Benzema and Higuain

Did not matter the striker who was at the starting lineup, the goal was more than assured. The two were very focused and were lethal in front of goal. The level reached was so spectacular that even Mourinho was encouraged to start with both together in the odd game. At the end of the season, the numbers said it all. Higuain and Benzema scored 26 goals and 32 respectively. They two achieved 58 many that together with those of Cristiano Ronaldo, converted to Real Madrid on a team virtually unstoppable.

Real Madrid's season at stake next month

The whole Real Madrid season at stake next month. The white team is lost into an abyss of points in the Spanish League, so Mourinho has decided to make an all-in bet. The team is focused on passing the last-16 round of the Champions League against Manchester United and reaching the Spanish Cup final after defeating Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

Jose Mourinho with the Champions League Trophy

The Portuguese coach is planning the work to get the best physical condition to the first important meeting, on February 13 against the Red Devils at the Bernabeu stadium. With that goal Mourinho is thinking about give a rest to three or four starter players against Sevilla on Saturday (10 pm -CET-). The coach is particularly concerned about four names; Pepe, Xabi Alonso, Marcelo and Varane. Mourinho knows that their various physical problems can prevent them to play against Manchester United. A match for which the squad has been waiting for from the draw. "For the Champions League competition the players do not need motivating" said Mourinho at press conferenece last Saturday.

But whites players know the season will be at stake in a single week. First the February 27, in the Spanish Cup semifinal round at the Camp Nou (1-1 in the first leg). Three days later they will repeat the Classic, but in the League competition (March 2), and on March 5 Real Madrid will travel to Manchester to play at Old Trafford in the first knockout round of the Champions. Team continues to aspire to the dream of the Tenth, the major target of the season.

Real Madrid fans are optimistic about the first round of Champions against Manchester because of the Mourinho's statistic in the European competition. Since the Portuguese caoch arrive at Madrid, white team has played two consecutive Champions League semifinals: in 2010-11 against Barcelona and in 2011-12 against Bayern. Mourinho broke the curse in the Champions League, in which Real Madrid had six straight years falling in the last-16 round.

Real Madrid has problems on the left side

Jose Mourinho does not know what else to do to get a good performance from Fabio Coentrao and Marcelo. It has reached a point where both do not deserve to play for Real Madrid because their level is far below what is required to play for a top team of Europe.

Fabio Coentrao and Marcelo

The coach's anger with the two left sides is huge. Coentrao and Marcelon did not play a minute in the Classic and Mourinho hoped that, between the two, can impose their football against Granada. They did not, what was a disappointment for the coach, who at the end of the match said: "I do not know why some players were tired if they did not play on Wednesday" he said in the press room at the stadium in Los Carmenes.

Fabio Coentrao was a starter. He played the first half of the match against Granada that the coach described as "horrible". The Portuguese side had no lungs to attack the right side of the opponent team. He is asked to accompany the team on the attacking moves, in a field zone where he has to associate with Cristiano Ronaldo. He must break from behind, find the second plays and unbalance. Impossible. He suffered in defense and did not participate in attack.

Mourinho: "I do not know why there were some player tired because they rested last Wednesday"

Jose Mourinho appeared for the media after the league match against Granada. The Whites’ coach made no excuses for his team's defeat and praised their opponents: "I think the result is fair. There have been too many defeats. Granada did their job, they scored their goal. They defended in the second half with all of their heart and soul. They have a new coach, new players and had a great night of football here with Real Madrid in front of them. They did everything that they could to get this result. We should have scored a goal but because of the great effort that Granada made, I think that the three points have gone to the team that deserved them".

Mourinho at the bench in Granada

When asked about who was responsible for the defeat he was clear: "The buck stops with me. You lot always say that same thing. When we win and we play well then it happens on its own but when we don’t it is the coach’s responsibility. Today we lost and did not play well. Today it didn’t happen on its own, today I'm the one responsible".

Mourinho spoke about the result and was disappointed that his team could not go away from the Nuevo Los Carmenes with points: "The negative result is always the most important. We didn’t even manage a draw. That is what bothers me about the result, but the team’s first half performance bothers me a lot, it was horrible. In the second half we dominated and we had a chance to equalise but it was not enough to satisfy me".

Real Madrid came into the match having not had very much rest since playing against Barcelona on Wednesday. "There is one thing that has been clear for a long time and that is that there are teams that do not have any control over their schedules and the planning of the matches. Wednesday was an important match and tremendous physical effort for both teams but one plays today and the other tomorrow. But this team had to respond in a different manner. Some of the players who played today played on Wednesday and others didn’t. There are some of them who were tired because worked hard on Wednesday and there are others that I do not know why they were tired because they were on the bench or in the stands".

Mourinho spoke about the passage of play in which Di Maria went to ground: "I am not going to say much more. With an injured player, if the is team losing and there are only a few minutes left then, if the injury is not serious, the physios do not have to go on, he has to make a sacrifice and play on even if he is in pain".

Cristiano Ronaldo's first own goal

Cristiano Ronaldo scored in Los Carmenes Stadium the first own goal in his career according to official statistics. He has played for Sporting Lisbon, had a long way through the Premier League playing for Manchester United and even in his years at Real Madrid, where he is playing from 2009-10 season, had not found misfortune. Nor in the national team of Portugal.

Cristiano scored the first own goal of his career

But yesterday at Granada, Cristiano Ronaldo was placed in the first post to try to clear a rival corner kick but touched the ball towards Diego Lopez's goal who could not save the shot. Granada 1- Real Madrid 0.

It was not a good day for the Portuguese player, who played at low level and just approached the opposite goal a couple of times. In the first part missed some free-kicks. After the break a shot on goal saved by the Granada goalkeeper, Toño.

Granada 1 - 0 Real Madrid (Spanish League, Day 22)

Real Madrid did not deserve to lose in Granada. The Whites, who had all of the dangerous chances in the second half, could not beat Toño with any of them and wipe out the home team’s advantage from Cristiano Ronaldo’s initial own goal which came from the home team’s first and only shot on target of the whole match. Benzema had the clearest chance of the match in the 84th minute, but he shot wide from inside of the area with the home team’s goalkeeper out of position and one defender on the goal line. Lady luck was not with Real Madrid.

Real Madrid slip up in Granada

Real Madrid began the second month of 2013 with the intention of continuing the good run of results and style of play that had left them undefeated this year and also meant that they had three wins and a draw from the four league matches played prior to today. There was no time for speculation against Granada and the match began with the Whites on the front foot and their opponents trying to spring the counterattack. It was the home team that could have gone ahead in the 20th minute had it not been for Arbeloa’s goal line clearance following Aranda’s precision pass that just needed Nolito to touch the ball into the net. From the resulting corner the Andalusian team pushed forward. It was the same player, Nolito, who was responsible for taking it and Ronaldo, attempting to clear the danger, put the ball beyond Diego Lopez with his head. Granada had scored with their first and only shot on target in the entire match.

Real Madrid needed to come from behind and have already clearly shown this season that they are not afraid of adverse situations. Ronaldo had an attempt from a free-kick in the 29th minute and the Whites were constantly pushing their opponents closer to their own goal line. In spite of how the match was going, the break arrived with the scoreboard against them. There were 45 minutes left to turn it around.

Mourinho was looking for alternatives and decided to give bring on Benzema and Callejon for Higuain and Khedira after the break. The Portuguese coach was once again brave as his team tried to alter the match’s script. Ronaldo brought the best out of Toño in the 57th minute with a shot from the edge of the box and two minutes later tried his luck again, but the home team’s goalkeeper had another more than adequate response. Marcelo came on for Coentrao on 65 minutes and the Whites, who deserved more from the second half, put the home team’s goal under relentless pressure.

They came close to getting the equaliser in the 84th minute. Callejon won the ball near to the penalty area and, following a one-two with Benzema, was left one-on-one with Toño. The goalkeeper successfully saved, but the block fell to the feet of the Frenchman, who shot wide from inside the area with the home team’s goalkeeper out of position and with one defender on the goal line. Lady luck was not with the Whites, they did not deserve to lose in Granada.

Summary

Stadium: Los Carmenes
Attendance: 22,000
Goals: 1-0, m.22: Cristiano Ronaldo (o.g.)