Pre-match

Pepe Mel - Real Betis Manager

"Once it went very well and on another occasion it went very badly [5-1 defeat last November]. There are variables that a Coach cannot control and that can affect the game."

"We have to go out with the same intensity, in what we do. Too many words about the game are emotional, you become stressed."

Three goals in five minutes ensured Betis beat fellow Andalusians Granada 5-1, Mel made three changes to this team with Antonio Amaya covering for the injured Mario in the middle of defence. Key players Beñat and Joel Campbell were back in the starting eleven.

Unai Emery - Sevilla Manager

"We have a lot of confidence, although with little reason so far, because in 15 games on the road we have just the one win, but we are convinced that we will turn this situation around, with loud and clear recognition that we have not done well so far and that we now must do better."

"This is a game to be playing on the pitch and one for the fans. And it is the duty on two fronts to win, one for European qualifying and one for the supporters."

Fernando Navarro's red card against Athletic Bilbao means he was replaced at centre-back by Albert Botía, whilst Jesús Navas returned in place of Manu Del Moral on the right-wing.

1st Half

What stood out from the opening five minutes involved referee Carlos Del Cerro; Paulao's flying boot and Alberto Moreno's scything challenge on Joel Campbell were both worthy of bookings, yet it was Beñat who took a resulting free-kick without the referee's permission that received the first caution of the match. As the home side Betis started the stronger, their best chance of success looked to be through Arsenal's on-loan winger Campbell, twice in the opening 15 minutes Beñat played diagonal balls down the channels in the space behind Moreno. The full-back is no slouch, but they were clearly trying to utilise Campbell's pace, this was a tactic that they were unable to exploit further until later in the match.

What quickly became apparent was how exposed Betis were in the transition. Sevilla took advantage of Pepe Mel's decision to field Cañas and Beñat in a midfield pivot, both players are creatively good, but neither offer protection defensively. With Geoffrey Kondogbia and Gary Medel closing the two midfielders down quickly in possession, they weren't afforded much time on the ball, whilst when Sevilla countered, the back four was completely exposed as was displayed in the opening two goals. José Antonio Reyes was superb at drifting in between the lines and playing in runners such as Ivan Rakitić and Jesús Navas. As seen by the diagrams, although he was playing left-wing he was able to pick up positions across the attacking areas of the pitch, misplacing few passes by his standards and controlling the match. Sevilla were good value for their 3-1 lead at half-time, with Gary Medel's error allowing Betis some hope with a consolation through Dorlan Pabón.

2nd Half

Whilst Sevilla were comfortably the better side in the first half and Betis defended woeful at times, neither team dominated possession. Two individual mistakes gave Betis a chance that they should never have got; first it was Federico Fazio blocking substitute Jorge Molina off the ball to concede a penalty, which was dispatched by Rubén Castro. Secondly, Medel's handbags with Cañas gave the referee no alternative, but to send him off as he raised his hand to his opponents face, even if the contact was minimal.

Emery had to drop Rakitić back into midfield and move to a 4-4-1, it was always going to be a matter of time before Reyes was removed. While he was the games outstanding performer in the first half, he can't be relied on to track back and work off the ball when down to ten men, bringing on Diego Perotti made perfect sense. The Argentine allowed Sevilla to maintain their shape, ensure they still had a threat on the counter and offer fresh legs. As Sevilla naturally dropped deeper, Cañas was able to dictate the tempo and the ball, for the first time in the match one of the sides were able to hold on to possession. In the opening 55 minutes he attempted 24 passes, yet in the final 35 minutes he had made 27 passes.

With momentum on his teams side, Pepe Mel removed defender Paulao and put on midfielder Nosa, the substitute headed in the equaliser seven minutes after arriving onto the pitch through sheer persistence.

Conclusion

It's not hard to see why Sevilla have not won away since September, 3-0 up they should have been able to control the ball and see the game out. Unai Emery got his starting eleven spot on, along with the teams plan to press high and stop Betis playing. Unfortunately for him, his side made individual mistakes and lacked discipline. Whilst Pepe Mel will lament his decision not to play a 4-3-3 with Rubén Pérez sitting in front of the defence (as they did against Granada), his substitutions helped shift the game back in their direction. Molina and Nosa were both directly involved in their final two goals. Both teams were aggressive and created a high number of chances in a fully entertaining game that ended 3-3.

Post-match

Pepe Mel - Real Betis Manager

"The 0-3 so early was because we did not put into practice, that we had tried not to leave Rakitić on his own. We have done that wrong."

"From the bench we have solutions and they have done exceptional. Jorge Molina has given us an out ball and held it up, Álvaro Vadillo was requested to pin back Coke and he has done so, and then we tried to connect Nosa with Beñat and reach the area with his power."

Unai Emery - Sevilla Manager

"In a normal situation, the game would be ours, but you have to say on all the hard work we have done as a result of the expulsion of Medel."

"We have to master a game ranging from playing to the emotional. This I said after Atlético Madrid, is a day we need to be much used too. So, I feel responsible, not to anticipate what might happen."

The rest of this weekends La Liga matches have been previewed at Who Scored

Dominik Francis-Conway is back on LaLigaUK to ask whether José Mourinho's time in Madrid has met expectations.

The time has nearly come for the ‘Special One’ to part ways with Real Madrid after almost three years in charge. The Mourinho-Madrid love affair began in the summer of 2010 when José left Inter Milan to join what is regarded as the biggest club in the world - Real Madrid. I am not sure if it was fate all along for Mourinho to join Los Blancos as he had become only the 13th manager in history to win two UEFA Champions League campaigns and lift ‘Old Big Ears’ to the stars with Internazionale in the Santiago Bernabéu after a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in the final. Two goals from Diego Milito claimed Inter Milan’s second win in Champions League history and the victory was made all the more sweeter after Mourinho triumphed over his old master, Louis Van Gaal. After successes with FC Porto, Chelsea and Inter, Real Madrid selected their man and only time will tell if Mourinho leaves the Bernabéu with a tick or a black mark on his record.

During the 2011/2012 season, Mourinho managed to overcome Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona (regarded as the greatest team in history) to claim Real Madrid’s 32nd league title. One would say this is an obvious reason to believe Mr Mourinho’s time at Real Madrid has been a huge success, but others will not be convinced unless Mourinho is able to deliver Europe's most prized possession back to the Bernabéu after 12 years since their last triumph.
Real Madrid must now look to the future.

Many respected journalists and fans of the club claim that in the short space of time that Mourinho has been in charge, he has dragged Real Madrid’s squeaky clean name through the gutter, it is hard to argue with them on this subject. José Mourihno has always been a controversial figure, ever since he had his first press conference after being unveiled as the new Chelsea manager, claiming he is the 'Special One,' that tag has been stuck to him ever since. Mourinho has the ability to absorb any kind of criticism thrown at him and his team in an almost perfect manner.

His first El Gran Clásico at the Camp Nou, saw Barcelona come away with a thumping 5-0 win. Fans, pundits and journalists were eager and excited to see how Mourinho would react to the loss in the press conference, but in typical Mourinho fashion, he waved away any talk of disaster out of the window, calming everybody and explaining how this will be insignificant in the long run of his Real Madrid career, and that he would need some time to mould his team into the perfect anti-Barça machine. Real Madrid knew exactly what they were getting when they hired him. He is a master at creating an 'us against the world' mentality at every club he has been in charge of; this is one of Mourinho's trademarks and huge part of his ethos in bringing the ultimate success to clubs. At times Mourinho has gone over the top with his accusations of conspiracy theories against him and Real Madrid.

In the spring of 2011, after the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, Real Madrid had been thoroughly outplayed in their own backyard by Barcelona. In the end, Lionel Messi was impossible to stop as he scored two goals late in the game to give Barça a fantastic advantage going into the second leg. However, Mourinho claimed that his team lost because of the referee, and because of the mentality of the Catalan clubs players making as big a deal as possible with every challenge. In reality, the Barcelona players were simply responding to the anti-play tactics with which Mourinho had set up his team in his quest to reach the final at Wembley.

A perfect example of the controversies Mourinho has stirred up within the football world was during the Champions League group match against Ajax in the Amsterdam Arena. Madrid were cruising at 4-0 thanks to goals from Ronaldo, Arbeloa and Karim Benzema. It was in the final minutes of the game that Real Madrid had a goal kick. Xabi Alonso deliberately wasted time in order to get a yellow card so he would be unavailable for the insignificant home match against Auxerre and then have his slate wiped clean for the knockout round of the tournament. Was this just a very clever tactic to give his team the best possible chance for a Champions League trophy? Or was it an immoral and non-sportsmanship way of gaining an advantage over his opponents?

At the start of the title winning season in 2011/2012, José Mourinho poked Tito Vilanova in the eye during the Spanish Super Cup. Barça came out on top with a 3-2 win, but the occasion will forever be remembered for the incredible action Mourinho took against the then Barcelona assistant. These sharp ways of Mr Mourinho is clearly not keeping true to his sides mentality that the club has gained during its illustrious history, but it seemed Florentino Pérez wanted to give Real Madrid the best chance possible by overcoming Barcelona and reinstating his team on top of the Spanish football perch.

In the last couple of years, Real Madrid has been branded as pragmatic and uses a style of play that wears down the opposition. Calls for a more creative approach like the Vicente Del Bosque years have been thrown into the works. These accusations do not seem to hold much water. Real Madrid has scored a whopping 443 goals so far under Mourinho and has an average possession of 58% which shows they have a very creative and attack-minded mentality. It would seem that Real Madrid has failed to defend their La Liga title this season, as Barcelona have a 13 point lead over Los Blancos at the top of La Liga.

In my opinion, the progress made by Real Madrid under Mourinho is unquestionable. Their record against Barcelona has improved dramatically since Mourinho took charge at the Bernabéu, they have beaten Barça five times, lost six and drawn six. Not a bad record against possibly the greatest team ever in world football. Cristiano Ronaldo averages six more goals every season since Mourinho’s arrival. Ronaldo is currently on 43 goals for the season, but with two months left to play, this figure is very likely to keep rising.

There have been plenty of voices in the press claiming Mourinho does not spend enough time at clubs to create an everlasting legacy in the Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger fashion. We have to look at the reasons for Mourinho’s short stays at the clubs he has managed. The demands Mourinho will place on his players to reach an incredible peak outweigh more than any other manager in world football, with the possible exception of Pep Guardiola. Tactically, mentally, physically and emotionally, he will obligate his players to have 100% focus, exceptional spirit and the approach necessary to overcome any opposition. This is one of the reasons that José Mourinho is regarded as one of the greatest football managers ever, and if that means fleeting appearances in a bid to transform clubs fortunes, then it is a small price to pay for his huge success.

Was it worth all of this hassle with the Portuguese coach? Or has the football world hypocritically taken the moral high ground against him? Where do Real Madrid go from here? Is it in their interests to establish themselves as the role model club and wipe away the reputation Mourinho has apparently given them? These questions are difficult to answer, we will have to wait and see what the future holds for Real Madrid and José Mourinho, but one thing is sure, the club, and the man, will keep on winning.

You can follow Dominik Francis-Conway on Twitter here.

New Co-Editor Gary Linton tells how good Atlético Madrid's number one is and about his career to date.

He's only a baby, at the young age of just 20 years old, standing at a towering six foot six inches, with over 100 first team appearances under his belt for clubs, past and present, making his senior debut at the age of just 16. Having been called up to his national team, debuting with the Belgium senior side at just 19. He's won the Belgian league, the Belgian cup, UEFA Europa League and of course the UEFA Super cup. This campaign he set a new Atlético Madrid record of 820 minutes without conceding a goal at the Estadio Vicente Calderón, breaking what had been in place for over 20 years.

That man is of course - Mr Thibaut 'Nicolas Marc' Courtois.

At the age of 16 most of us are still in school, or at least I'd like to think so. Courtois, well he was debuting with one of Belgium's top sides in Racing Genk. He was only 16 years and 341 days old, as he made his introduction into the footballing world with Genk on 17th April 2009 against Gent, starting the match that finished 2-2.

The following season, the 2010-11 in the Belgian Pro League he was Racing Genk's first choice shot-stopper. That season he helped guide them to their first title in nearly 10 years. In the 40 games he played for the club that year, he conceded just 32 goals, an astonishing feat for such a young keeper. He managed to keep out the opposition on 14 different occasions as well. Ending the league campaign as champions, he was also voted 'Goalkeeper of the Year' and Genk's 'Player of the Year'. What a way to introduce yourself in your first full season.

The downside for Genk being the attraction of all major European teams wanting the young stopper.

Just seven weeks after his first full season had ended; Andre Villas-Boas and Chelsea football club announced on their website that they had signed the young goalkeeper on a five-year contract. Reports at the time suggested the fee could be as much as €9m (£7.9m). Days later Chelsea stated that their new signing would be shipped out on loan to Atlético Madrid, who had just four weeks prior sold their number one to Manchester United for a British record fee for a goalkeeper of around £17 million.

Now this was either going to turn out to be excellent business from Atléti or just a damn right mess. Thankfully for all involved it was the former.

Upon his move he was handed the number 13 shirt, which was previously worn by the departed David de Gea, but unlike De Gea it didn’t look likely that Courtois was going to step right into the first team spot. He had made his debut in the Europa League against Portuguese side Vitória de Setúbal; he then made his La Liga debut not long after, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 with Osasuna.

Within just six La Liga games, Courtois and his defence had kept four clean sheets, an impressive start that had now seen him promoted to number one goalkeeper permanently, ahead of Sergio Asenjo. Not only that, but after being called up to his national team a couple of times and never getting any minutes, the moment finally came. On the 15th of November 2011, Courtois made his international senior debut starting a friendly match against France, making him the youngest keeper to ever play for the Belgian national side, the game ended in a goalless draw.

It really couldn't have been going any better. That was until his first 'Madrid Derby' late November 2011. Against Real Madrid the youngster received his first red card of his professional career bringing down Karim Benzema as the last man.

In January 2012 rumour spread that he would be sold by Chelsea or return to England. There was talk he'd join another English side to gain experience of the league. But Courtois had stated that he'd like to spend another season on loan at Atlético Madrid: "I would like to stay here one more year and I have said this to Villa-Boas (the Chelsea manager at the time)."

During 2011/2012, Courtois was clinical in Atlético Madrid’s capture of the Europa League. Shutting out Vitoria Guimarães, Udinese, Celtic, Lazio, Beşiktaş, Valencia and of course, not conceding in the final as his side smashed Athletic Bilbao 3-0. Ending the season with 23 clean sheets in 52 games. Another excellent season for the young Belgian.

This time around it's been much the same, he has continued being Atlético Madrid’s number one, setting the record for the most minutes without conceding a goal at home (820 minutes), a record that had stood since he was just baby. In La Liga, he has kept 15 clean sheets in 27 games and made 52 saves. The talk of a return to London has gathered momentum by the day and him, being the professional that he is, continues to work for the team where he admits he is happy.

In recent weeks Chelsea have slapped a £20 million tag on Courtois, a fee that if I was a club looking for a goalkeeper, I’d snap up in a minute. The reason I say this is, with Courtois there really are only minor things wrong in his game, not even so much wrong, just in need of sharpening. With age, experience and practice will come things such as his distribution, long passing and at times his claiming of the ball from set pieces (I must confess, this is only at very infrequent times). None of which he is ‘bad’ at, just something he could maybe improve on.

His strengths are obvious, consistency, concentration, confidence (but not arrogance), shot stopping, decision making, reflexes and team ethic. Away from the pitch, his style, honesty and professionalism in front of the media, conforms to the opinion that is indeed the complete package. The likely scenario is, he will stay for another season at Atlético Madrid or go on loan to another English side, then when Chelsea’s Petr Cech does hang up his gloves, the club will have another world class performer ready to breach the gap.

I say world class, as for me at the present moment. There simply is no better keeper in the world than Thibaut Courtois.

Gary will be featuring regularly for LaLigaUK, you can follow him on Twitter here or read his excellent site AlbaEspana.

A look at other ways of betting on the Spanish League, even with a foregone conclusion title race.

The Spanish league is one of the most popular leagues in world football, both for football fans – due to the quality of the actual football – and sports betting fans. This league usually comes down to a two-horse race between the rival giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, but this season has not followed that script, as Madrid have suffered a fairly horrendous league campaign that sees them trailing Barca by a hefty thirteen points, going into the later stages of the season. So are Barcelona guaranteed to win the league this season?

Certainly it is hard to see anyone else doing it, which is reflected in the odds of around 1/200 or 1/500 on Barca for the championship. The lowest odds you will get on Los Blancos to overturn the deficit are 50/1 or higher. Madrid have just overtook rivals Atlético into second in La Liga. Madrid have odds of around 50 or 66/1 to win the league, but realistically this would seem to be a title that Barcelona have in the bag. Madrid cannot afford to finish behind Atléti in third place, although it looks as if José Mourinho will be leaving the club in the summer regardless of league position or winning the Champions League, due to player unrest and the media campaign to remove him from the club.

Given that Barcelona are virtual certainties for the Spanish league, many sports betting fans will have limited interest in placing a bet on it at this stage, with a football themed slot like Soccer Safari at an online casino like Lucky Nugget likely to offer more interesting football betting. This crazy slot involves a group of animals competing in their own jungle World Cup, and the quality of the graphics is absolutely outstanding – really helping to bring the quirky premise to life. The game is also great value, offering the real likelihood of a payout - thanks to the thirty pay lines and the presence of wild and scatter symbols - and a maximum potential jackpot of $8000, while letting you play with coins as low as $0.01.

Sir Alex Ferguson was "too angry to talk about the referee" according to his assistant manager Mike Phelan, who finally arrived after keeping the packed press conference waiting. He was so angry he didn't want his players talking in the mixed zone either, one who might have had plenty to say protested: "I can't," whilst a younger member of the squad admitted: "We have been told not to talk." The boss had plenty to say in the build-up to the match, but Turkish referee Cüneyt Çakir clearly wasn't listening.

One player who doesn't need to put his hand up and ask permission to go to the toilet is former player Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger felt it was his duty to talk on his return to the pitch where he made his name: "It was an emotional night. To play here and after that it was very emotional, I have to say a big thank you to the stadium, the supporters, to the players, to everyone because it was an unbelievable night for me." Against the thoughts of his current manager he added: "The players played good and we deserved it."

It was ultimately the returning hero's two goals that stopped Manchester United progressing to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, continuing his fairly recently acquired ability to find important goals in the big matches. His performances were good, though never outstanding across the 180 minutes as a combination of Ferguson's shackling tactics and the players rare mental state affected him. That perhaps sounds unfair given his match winning strikes, but that's down to the incredible standards that the forward and his Barcelona foe have now set. He certainly agreed: "The supporters made me feel shy, so I think in the two games I didn't play like I play all the time, at the same level. I feel happy because Madrid are through but a bit sad because United are out."

Real Madrid had struggled to find their flow and were second best until two key decisions turned the complexion of the match. A controversially awarded penalty - though not according to Roy Keane, possibly a thinly unveiled dig at his former mentor - and the introduction of Luka Modrić. Playing with a man advantage sometimes isn't simply enough, you have to tailor your team to play against ten rather than eleven. José Mourinho did this when bringing on Modrić, the play-maker was able to control the match, misplacing only one pass. Within eight minutes of his arrival, his exquisitely curled effort gave David De Gea no chance.

Mourinho's time at the Bernabéu has a very different outlook after eight days that have effectively changed their season. As for Sir Alex Ferguson, he will know doubt be asked questions about this match when he faces the media ahead of the game with Chelsea this weekend, maybe he will have cooled down or simply refuse to discuss it. Just when the Scottish manager is on the verge of implosion old adversary Rafa Benitez is in town to really get under his skin.

Last Friday our Editor sat down and had a lengthy conversation on the phone with one of the best pundits in football, Sky Sports Guillem Balagué took time out of his busy schedule to tell us about his book: 'Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning' and his tour of the country.

Q. What was it that first inspired you to write this book and why not Barcelona as a whole?

A. I did a Liverpool book about Istanbul, the Champions League Final called "A Season on the Brink." It was done with Orion the publishers, for a while we were talking about doing something together and we couldn't find common ground. At the beginning of the last season of Pep Guardiola (at Barcelona), they said: "How about Pep Guardiola?" I thought yeah, he was making history, a lot of what he was doing was fantastic, but also a really big thing why I finally went for it was because there was this perception of him as the 'perfect man' and nobody's perfect. So I thought, let's find out if he is as perfect as people are describing him to be. Mixed with that of course was the fact it was a bit of a challenge, he didn't give any interviews, the players weren't giving interviews and it was way of showing what they were doing. I said to the publishers: "I will only agree if Pep talks to me, but prepared he doesn't do anything with the media," to my surprise when I approached him, I said I wanted to do that and he said: "yes". Then, I said: "I don't just want to talk to you, but everybody" and he said: "yes, no problem." So I thought, let's go for it, after that it just so happened to be his last year in charge and that gave it an extra motivation to concentrate on that season and explain what he had done at Barcelona. Obviously he then went into a (media) free zone - not speaking to anybody - which benefited the book of course, that's when people wanted to read his words, methods and way of working.

Q. Do you feel that Pep and the Players were quite open with you?

A. It was always going to be a football book, it wasn't going to be a controversy book or looking for fights. So, I know everybody that I wanted to talk to, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Cesc, Piqué, all these people I have known for years. Most of them know I'm an Espanyol fan, Pep knows I'm an Espanyol fan, I kind of played with the fact that his grandfather was an Espanyol fan. He is not an anti-Espanyol guy, he is very respectful of the professionals of what Espanyol has done for Catalan and Spanish football. The professionals are very respectful of who you support. They were open, I never had one that said: "I don't want to talk about this" kind of answers. It was only perhaps talking about Mourinho that Pep became very guarded. But then you can just address things in a different way. Literally, all the interviews took place in front of the changing rooms.

Q. Why do you think players and managers trust you so much, is it because you have developed those relationships over many years?

A. This book is not a consequence of six months of interviews and three months of writing. It's a consequence of 20 years of professional life, that's why I've never fared for the trap of the here and now, trying to make am impact. You have to be respectful of the developing relationships, you have to be careful with them, like a plant - water them and you have to look after them. At the end if you come out of that road of instant success, you pay a price. When you want to do this kind of thing, they will say: "no sorry, you're not the kind of person we want to do this kind of thing." I have just had a letter yesterday from the president of Barcelona, I had sent him my copy of the book. I was talking to him more when he wasn't the president, now he hardly does interviews. It was an emotional letter, just saying 'thank you for sharing this with us.' He has read the book and I don't say: "Sandro Rosell is the perfect president and he had a wonderful relationship with Pep Guardiola." In fact, I say: "Their relationship could be much better" - the truth. Those 20 years in the profession allow you to tell the truth without being punished for it.

Q. Pep gives off the image of being cool, relaxed and confident, is that how he is really or are their insecurities hiding?

A. He does look very strong, but he has got weaknesses. He is very passionate, but calm at the same time. He is very intelligent, intuitive as well, but at the same time he sometimes takes emotional decisions. As I expected, he is not the perfect man, nobody is. I hope I reflected that in the book, especially when I talk about why he left. He told the world that it was because he was tired and then we scratch the surface and realise it was more than that. He himself wasn't taking the right decisions, and that was affecting the side and his relationship with the players, it wasn't that simple. He is a complex character; as we all are.

Q. In your opinion how much of the success was down to the Barcelona philosophy and how much was down to Pep Guardiola's individual team?

A. How can you separate that? I really don't know. You can analyse from scratch and you will get an answer or from watching games. But it's completely together. Would Barcelona be as good without Messi? Obviously not, but Messi was signed by people who were in charge of the academy, and why? Because of his talent and because he figures well in what they were developing. He was a club signing, a philosophy signing and a coach signing. A coach that was taking decisions to take the club that way and not another way.

Remember when they were thinking of a replacement to Rijkaard, they talked to Mourinho, they were thinking of (Ernesto) Valverde as well, now at Valencia and they talked to Pep. So it could have gone either of three ways. Instead, they choose Pep, it was a club decision based on an idea and not what everyone thinks. That pushes the team into a new dimension, I think it goes completely together and I know fans and media don't have much of a memory. To suggest now that anyone can coach this team that Pep wasn't needed or look Tito (Vilanova) is doing well, is just forgetting what happened. In a way the book is a reminder of what happened, there were a lot of decisions taken.

Q. Do you think some of Guardiola's tactical tweaking was so subtle that he sometimes didn't get the full recognition?

A. No, I don't think there was that much tweaking, but there was key tweaking. 75% of the time he was very successful, again if your talking about the last season, yes there were decisions that were wrong. Three at the back made the team weaker, but he wanted Cesc Fàbregas in the team. To put Isaac Cuenca against Real Madrid and Chelsea were a mistake. But you have to go again to the whole period, in every Champions League Final he made a decision after 10 minutes of each game that changed the games completely and that's a manager's decision. Players wouldn't have done that, Messi wouldn't have done that by himself. He was just a coach taking a decision, tweaking if you like. It's funny, how if it goes right we call it a decision and if it goes bad we call it tweaking. The same happened with Claudio Ranieri and Rafa Benitez, they are tinker-men and Sir Alex Ferguson is a genius, which he just so happens to manage Manchester United the team that changes formation more often than anyone else. We have to be careful with words I think.

Q. Have you got plans for a sequel, are you going to spend time in Germany?

A. I'm going to go in the summer, I've got to write another chapter for the paperback, but that will be done by April. It will be telling the story of how the German move happened and after that, I will leave the book altogether, but I will obviously follow Pep closely. There's another project in my hands, which you will see if I take or not, which will be as big if not bigger.

Q. Do you see Guardiola trying to sign some of the players from Barcelona for Bayern Munich?

A. No, I don't think so. He's not going back to Barcelona (to sign players). There are hundreds of players in the world, well thousands that could be useful to Bayern. My only doubt, which is based on pure guess is that will he take a player that has said he is leaving Barcelona. Say for instance Victor Valdés, because his football style prefers the build-up from the goalkeeper. (Manuel) Neuer is a good goalkeeper as well that can play with his feet. I wouldn't say he is going to try to get players from Barcelona.

Q. You have done a lot of dates on the tour, how have you found the experience?

A. Amazing! Absolutely brilliant! The feedback from people, interested and fascinated about Spanish football. I surprised myself, filling two hours in some cases of stories and depending how you tell them, you almost become a stand-up comedian. To attract attention of people, you have to make them laugh, you have to keep them interested, it sharpens you up. For so many different reasons it's been such an amazing experience that I think I'm going to do it all year round.

Q. Have you ever done anything like the tour before?

A. No, I have done 17 years of Sky with Revista. One of the things how my mind works, is I'm not talking to anybody, I'm talking to the guy behind the camera. Nobody's watching, nobody's listening, that's a defensive mechanism that works for me. It was a test on so many levels and I really enjoyed it, once I have done the last three Stoke, Birmingham and London, the 6th, 7th and 8th of March. Then, a charity one on the 11th of April with Rob Palmer and Gerry Armstrong. After that, I don't know in what format, I'm going to plan for next season, 10, 15 or 20 I don't know how many. You get to know people, coaches, get to know what they think and what interests them. You can do networking at the same time, it works on so many levels.

LaLigaUK would like to thank Guillem for giving us this exclusive interview, there are still tickets available for his events in Stoke, Birmingham and London whixch you can find out more details here.

You can purchase his brilliant book 'Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning' here.

Revista De La Liga is on every Tuesday on Sky Sports in the UK.

There were 400 members of the press at the Santiago Bernabéu for the Champions League this week, LaLigaUK was one of them, Madrid based writer Steven Allweis took his seat amongst the journalists to describe the action.

It was a thoroughly entertaining match, an electric atmosphere in an unforgettable stadium and a fair, balanced result to lead into a potentially explosive second leg.

This was the match everyone was eager to see and it didn’t disappoint. Enthralling in the first half thanks to Real Madrid’s endeavour, intensity and quality with the ball, becoming a more intriguing tactical battle after the break, and although Manchester United will be delighted with the result and away goal, there were more than enough promising signs from the Spaniards to fill them with confidence ahead of the return encounter.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s majestic goal, a supremely powerful leap and guided header, cancelled out Danny Welbeck’s opener for the visitors and set the foundations for what is likely to be a memorable encounter at Old Trafford. The tie is perfectly balanced; United, at home, will be expected to push forward, but Real Madrid proved last night, just as they have done all season, how threatening they can be on the counter-attack thanks to the pace and skill of their attacking stars.

As the second best player in the world and a former United player, the majority of pre-match talk was centred on Ronaldo and the Portuguese superstar, for 45 minutes at least, thrived on it. With all eyes on him, he produced a mesmeric first-half display, full of vibrancy, tormenting Rafael down United’s right. There were periods when Ronaldo needlessly showboated – the crowd were treated to a shoulder-pass, the no-look pass and various unnecessary flicks and touches – but when he kept it simple, using his pace, power and quick feet out wide, he was on a different level.

He was helped before the break by United’s tactics, the deployment of Wayne Rooney on the right to supposedly assist Rafael and by the away team’s willingness to commit men forward. Whilst Rooney was nominally aware of his defensive duties, he desperately struggled to provide his fullback with any support, leaving the Brazilian to deal with not just the imposing threat of Ronaldo, but also the dangerous overlaps of Fábio Coentrão and the intelligent movement of Mesut Özil. With the visitors pushing high up the pitch, using both Rooney and Welbeck in wide positions that left considerable amounts of space in front of their defence. It meant that Özil, Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso were key figures in the first half, their ability to move the ball quickly, finding Ronaldo and Ángel di María on the wings or Karim Benzema in the channels, causing United all sorts of problems.

Di María, such a prodigiously talented individual, though equally someone who perhaps hasn’t always delivered on the biggest stage, was tremendous in the first half. His quality on the ball, the capability to dribble at speed, twisting and turning United’s defenders, was excellent, as was his work-rate in tracking back and getting stuck in. He produced the delightful, inch-perfect cross from which Ronaldo scored and it was a surprise when he was withdrawn early in the second half.

After the break, the visiting side opted for a much more cautious approach, deciding to defend deeper, nullifying Real Madrid’s threat on the counter-attack and they made life far more difficult for José Mourinho’s team. With the onus on them to break down United, Real Madrid struggled to find the guile in and around the box. Luka Modrić was introduced to add some creativity in the final third, but United defended superbly, limiting the space and time in which Ronaldo and Özil could work and with Danny Welbeck’s pace over the top, they had a valuable outlet.

For much of the game, Real Madrid were impressive, their desire to press the away side high up the pitch forced errors from the English side, but with neither Benzema nor Gonzalo Higuaín at their best, they lacked a predator. The Frenchman offered a physical threat to support the trickery of those around him, but he lacked the touch or awareness to bring Ronaldo and Di María into play. Should someone of the calibre of Radamel Falcao or Edinson Cavani join in the summer, it would be the perfect addition – a striker capable of playing on his own with the ability to link up play and score goals himself. It’s the missing link to what, on their day, is a terrific Real Madrid team.

The atmosphere at the Bernabéu on Wednesday night deserves a special mention, the madridistas’ support before, during and after the match for their team a sight to behold. Whilst Mourinho may be under pressure and looking likely to move on in the summer, the fans got behind him throughout the game, cheering his name wildly when it was read out pre-match. During the game, too, the noise reverberated around the impressive stadium, the steep stands lending themselves to a cacophonous atmosphere. It was a privilege to be there.

Overall, the draw was probably a fair result. Real Madrid were outstanding in the first half, but the tempo dropped after the break and they lacked the craft to break down a resilient and organised United back-line. It is perfectly poised for the second leg.

Steven can be found at the Manchester City Blog: A View From A Blue or you can follow him on Twitter at @viewfromablue

All this weekends La Liga Previews are available at Who Scored

A new feature on LaLigaUK, where we ask the experts that know, the all important questions surrounding the amazing world of Spanish Football. We will be asking journalists, writers, pundits, coaches and even players their thoughts on the burning issues.

Can Real Madrid concentrate on the Champions League, despite the distractions at the club and being so far behind in the league?

Guillem Balague - Sky Sports Pundit, AS Journalist and author of 'Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning'

Yeah, that's what they are doing basically, it's not necessarily an instruction from Mourinho, but certainly the mind of the players is geared towards the cup competitions now.

Follow Guillem on Twitter @guillembalague

Janusz Michalik - ESPN Press Pass Pundit and Commentator

The coveted Champions League trophy that has eluded Real Madrid for so long now can be and has to be considered salvation for the Galacticos. Expensively built giants of Spain and Europe will have their eyes on the prize regardless of any distractions. They have underperformed in this competition and were brought in alongside José Mourinho to bring the Holy Grail of European Football back home. Great teams and footballers always find a way to put any problems to the side as their reputation will be in question. With La Liga title gone, this should be easier to accomplish. On their day, the amount of talent on display is frightening and formidable as we witnessed in the recent Clàsico vs Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, even with a makeshift back-line and without their inspirational captain Iker Casillas in goal.

Follow Janusz on Twitter @JanuszESPN

Adrian Clarke - Former Arsenal Player and host of 'The Breakdown' on Arsenal TV

I suspect Real Madrid’s players will view the Champions League as their route to redemption, having performed so unexpectedly badly in La Liga this season. With the title lost, they’ll prioritise the competition, and that could make them even more dangerous than usual. The off-field issues surrounding José Mourinho and his future at the Bernabéu won’t have aided morale in the dressing room, but his personal obsession with creating history in the Champions League will almost certainly ensure his players are completely focussed on beating Man United in the last 16.

Follow Adrian on Twiiter @adrianjclarke

Iain Macintosh - Football Writer for The New Paper and ESPN, co-author of 'Football Manager Stole My Life'

I am by no means an expert on Spanish football, but I've seen this Real Madrid syndrome before. Uncertainty breeds uncertainty and Mourinho's decision to drop Iker Casillas comfirmed that no-one's position is safe. I'd be very surprised if Real Madrid were able to put their problems behind them and defeat Manchester United over two legs.

Follow Iain on Twitter @iainmacintosh

David Cartlidge - Freelance Spanish Football Writer and Daily Mirror La Liga Writer

I was of the belief prior to the season beginning, Champions League would be the focus of Real Madrid this season. I believe that still to be true, but events this season have scuppered plans and make that task more difficult. There is a motivation and momentum issue that goes deeper than simply being behind in the league, and I feel this will impact in the Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo will be more vital than ever, and if he can have one of those special solo nights it could carry them to the final.

Follow David on Twitter @davidjaca

Johanna Garå - Freelance Sports Journalist from Sweden with a passion for La Liga

I am absolutely certain of that. To win ”la décima” is THE big goal for the club, the fans, the players and the coach. The players are professional and hungry enough to put any internal problems to the side while focusing on their common goal. Madrid have not performed as expected this season but when they get their act together they create magic on the pitch. We saw that against Barça in Copa del Rey, when they did not even have their best players available. Also, Cristiano Ronaldo is in great form. He oozes of happiness and harmony, and can carry this team on his shoulders.

Follow Johanna on Twitter @johannagara

We would like to thank all our contributors for taking the time out of their busy schedules and assisting us with this article.

A short feature on where players go after they have completed their playing days, focusing on Santiago Cañizares, Andoni Zubizarreta and Emilio Butragueño.

After retirement, many footballers fade away into relative obscurity and go on to live everyday lives. Some, however, go on to have a second public career, and some go on to continue to contribute to the game of football, but in a different venue. Let's take a look at some former footballers and where they are now.

Valencia fans surely remember former goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares as he appeared in over 300 games with the club over a decade. In addition, he was on the Spanish national team during three world cups and was a member of the gold medal Olympic squad in 1992. After leaving the game, his attention turned to another game, the game of poker. In 2011, he joined online poker site 888 as a sponsored pro. Cañizares signed a deal to promote 888 in Europe and has represented the site in major events such as the European Poker Tour and World Series of Poker Europe.

In the 1980's and 1990's, there was no player more active in the game than Andoni Zubizarreta. He once held the record for most caps by the Spanish National team in history. In total, Zubizarreta played in more than 950 professional matches during his career. After finally retiring from the game in 1998, he moved on to work as a commentator in both TV and radio before eventually landing as director of football at Athletic Bilbao. He was there until 2010 when he was named Barcelona's director of football by Sandro Rosell.

Emilio Butragueño was known as 'El Buitre' during his time with Real Madrid in the mid 80s to mid 90s. Over his pro career, he scored over 188 goals in league play and played in 497 games. He also played in 75 games for the Spanish national team, scoring 29 goals for his career and appearing in two World Cups. Butragueño retired in 1998 and went on to become Real Madrid's head of public relations. In 2004, he was named director of football and also served as the club's vice-president until 2006.

Editor Paul Wilkes looks at this second leg of the Copa del Rey, with Real Madrid leading 2-0. 

Pereira better suited to shackling Ronaldo

João Pereira loves to get forward, despite being caught out in one incident, he mainly kept Cristiano Ronaldo relatively quiet in comparison to last weekends match. In the first leg, the Portuguese international and Pablo Piatti were able to overload Marcelo with little protection from Ronaldo. He was sorely missed in the league encounter, where Ricardo Costa was at right-back, the opening four goals all came from that area. Costa returned to central defence for this one, but his decision to attempt a flying interception was punished in the opening goal, as it was for Real Madrid's third on Sunday night. Costa at right-back against Ronaldo was reminiscent of Liverpool's Martin Skrtel occupying the same position against an equally quick Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspur last season.

Aggressive pressing from Valencia in the early stages

Being two goals down on aggregate naturally meant that Valencia had to come flying out of the traps. They pressed Real Madrid and allowed them little time on the ball, overall their work-rate and intensity were much improved. Working as a team they closed down quickly, having eleven players on the pitch that worked hard and looked adequate in their individual positions. By half-time Valencia had three yellow cards, which was further testament to this.

Set-pieces causing concern for Real Madrid

It's not the first time that corners and free-kicks have been Madrid's achilles heel. With the forced changes at centre-back only adding to the uncertainty. With the physical presence of Nelson Valdez causing problems, he was surprisingly picked up by Xabi Alonso. A header from the striker an early warning for Iker Casillas, it was though his own defender that caused him the most discomfort. Following another corner the captain completely missed the cross, only for Álvaro Arbeloa to strike his hand, the referee peculiarly gave the away side a foul. Antonio Adán came off the bench to replace Casillas, who later was at fault for Tino Costa's free-kick in entirely different circumstances.

Valencia's wide players track back

Ernesto Valverde admitted prior to the match that he got his selection wrong in the 5-0 defeat, in that game his wide players in the 4-2-3-1 were Jonas and Pablo Piatti. The Brazilian continually looked to drift in between the lines, but that meant little protection for winger Andrés Guardado playing at left-back. On the other side Piatti was a little better, though still failing to track Fábio Coentrão effectively. For this one Jonathan Viera helped out his right-back more consistently, whilst Guardado having played the position for the last two matches was content to drop deeper and help his team defend.

Ruiz sits in front of the defence

The decision to drop Fernando Gago from the squad entirely, highlighted the problems Valencia had when dealing with Los Blancos counter attacks last time-out. Valverde decided to play centre-back Víctor Ruiz in the holding midfield role and it was relatively successful. Comfortable in carrying the ball, a clever passer and his natural defending ability, helped shore up the defence. At times he was able to drop in between Adil Rami and Ricardo Costa, becoming an extra centre-back. When he kept the defensive midfield shape, he occupied space rather than man-marking Mesut Özil.

Alonso to Benzema

With Madrid unable to make the quick one-twos that were so rewarding on their last visit to the Mestalla, Xabi Alonso looked to hit his striker early. On a couple of occasions the well positioned Los Che defence intercepted the ball, then on the opening goal it was the former Liverpool midfielders feign of shot that gave him the opportunity to pick out Karim Benzema, the mistake by Ricardo Costa allowed the Frenchman to coolly finish and essentially end the tie.

Madrid move to 4-4-1 when down to ten men

After Coentrão was sent off, José Mourinho'steam moved to an expected 4-4-1. Nacho entered the pitch for Özil and Arbeloa crossed sides to become the left-back. The significant change, though was further forward as the previously inverted-wingers Cristiano Ronaldo and Ángel Di María also swapped wings. This was to allow the team natural width in attack and an out ball when under pressure. Though Ronaldo particularly often found himself in more central areas as he craved to be more involved.

Madrid lacking discipline

You could argue that Fábio Coentraõ was a little unfortunate to receive a 2nd yellow card for handball, as he was beginning to turn his back, however, his arm was moving towards the ball. Ángel Di María's decision to kick out at Pereira over an innocuous challenge, was crazy to say the least. There were minutes left and Real Madrid were comfortable. Even down to nine, Xabi Alonso was gesticulating with Pereira (who got under the skin of every Madrid player very easily).

FT: Valencia 1-1 Real Madrid (1-3 agg) - Tino Costa - Benzema