Madrid: Mesut Oezil scored twice in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Real Betis on Saturday as the Spanish side warmed up for their Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund. Oezil worked a clever one-two passing combination with Karim Benzema to net Madrid's opener in the 45th minute, before the France striker polished off a counterattack in the 57th from a pass by Cristiano Ronaldo. Oezil struck again in stoppage time...
12:21 AM, Apr 21, 2013
Jose Mourinho's star-studded squad struggled to overcome two first-half goals by Manucho, who dominated both areas in attack and with his defensive help on set-pieces. ...
02:22 AM, Dec 09, 2012
Gdansk: Watch out for a blast on the field the next time Germany play at the European Championship. Germany coach Joachim Loew says playmaker Mesut Oezil will "explode" in the quarter-finals against Greece. The Real Madrid midfielder has had a quiet tournament so far, but Loew expects Oezil to improve dramatically on Friday in Gdansk. "The big explosion of Oezil will still come," Loew said. "At the 2010 World Cup...
10:39 PM, Jun 19, 2012
Basel, Switzerland: Germany suffered for resting their Bayern Munich players as Switzerland forward Eren Derdiyok scored a hat-trick in a wild 5-3 victory over the European Championship contenders in a friendly on Saturday. Derdiyok exploited unusual disarray in the German defence to convert assists from the outstanding Tranquillo Barnetta in the 21st, 23rd and 49th minutes. Defender Stephan Lichtsteiner and midfielder Admir Mehmedi added goals in the 67th and 74th...
09:28 AM, May 27, 2012
Madrid: Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 3-1 on penalties on Wednesday to secure their place against Chelsea in the Champions League final following a memorable contest between the long-time European rivals. Cristiano Ronaldo looked to have put the home side on their way to the final with two early goals, but just like their Spanish rivals Barcelona the evening before, Madrid faltered. Hungarian referee Victor Kassai awarded Bayern a penalty...
03:40 AM, Apr 26, 2012
Barcelona: Cristiano Ronaldo's late goal dealt Barcelona their first loss in 55 home games and put Real Madrid on the cusp of breaking the Catalan giants' three-year hold on the Spanish league crown with a record-setting 2-1 win on Saturday. Sami Khedira opened with Madrid's league-record 108th goal of the season and Ronaldo sealed the deserved victory with his own league-record 42nd goal moments after Alexis Sanchez levelled for Barcelona....
01:53 AM, Apr 22, 2012
Munich: Mario Gomez scored in the 90th minute to hand Real Madrid their first loss in the Champions league this season and give Bayern Munich a 2-1 win in a pulsating first leg of the semi-final on Tuesday between two sides with a combined 13 titles. Gomez's 12th goal of this year's competition boosted Bayern's hopes of becoming the first team to play the Champions League final at their own...
02:51 AM, Apr 18, 2012
Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties to lead Real Madrid to a 4-1 comeback victory over 10-man Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, keeping the Spanish leader five points clear despite Barcelona's 4-1 win at Malaga that featured a hat-trick from Lionel Messi. A youthful Bilbao went ahead through Fernando Llorente's 13th-minute opener in an electric start for the Basques at Santiago Bernabeu stadium, before Marcelo charged into the area to level...
08:25 AM, Jan 23, 2012
Madrid: Barcelona got the better of archrivals Real Madrid again on Wednesday as Eric Abidal scored a rare goal to give his team a 2-1 win in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. Abidal chested down Lionel Messi's scooped pass inside the area before flicking a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the 77th minute for just his second goal with the Catalan club. The Frenchman's...
04:55 AM, Jan 19, 2012
Barcelona: Spanish league leaders Real Madrid turned up the pressure on Barcelona on Saturday when the in-form Karim Benzema scored a brace to lead their 5-1 win over Granada. The victory extended Madrid's advantage over their fierce rivals to six points ahead of Barcelona's Catalan capital derby at Espanyol on Sunday. Benzema opened the scoring at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the 19th minute. Granada equalized three minutes later, but Madrid...
09:28 AM, Jan 08, 2012
Madrid: Real Madrid eased into the last-16 of the Copa del Rey with a 5-1 win over third-tier Ponferradina, while Sevilla, Espanyol and Mallorca also advanced after victories on Tuesday. Spanish winger Jose Callejon led defending champions Madrid's attack in the second-leg match, marking his third straight start with the opening and closing goals at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium to complete a 7-1 aggregate victory. Callejon was played through by...
10:57 AM, Dec 21, 2011
Madrid: Karim Benzema and Jose Callejon scored two goals each as a rampant Real Madrid, without their full cast of stars, crushed Dinamo Zagreb 6-2 to win Group D in the Champions League on Tuesday. It was never a contest at the Santiago Bernabeu as Benzema netted after just 84 seconds before Callejon and Gonzalo Higuain put the already-qualified Madrid 3-0 up inside nine minutes from their first three shots....
05:48 AM, Nov 23, 2011
Madrid: Karim Benzema scored one goal and made two more against his former club as Real Madrid claimed a third straight Champions League win with a 4-0 home victory against Lyon on Tuesday. Benzema tapped home the opening goal after Cristiano Ronaldo flicked on a corner in the 19th minute and provided assists for Sami Khedira in the 47th and Mesut Oezil's effort that went in via goalkeeper Hugo Lloris...
02:16 AM, Oct 19, 2011
London: Germany swept to the brink of a place in the 2012 European Championship with a seventh straight qualifying win Tuesday, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic's hat-trick in a 5-0 rout of Finland kept Sweden in the hunt for top spot in its group. Real Madrid playmaker Mesut Oezil scored one goal and set up another as Germany beat Azerbaijan 3-1 in Baku, leaving Joachim Loew's side needing two points from its...
09:33 AM, Jun 08, 2011
Madrid: Real Madrid will play fierce rival Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final for the first time in 21 years after Spain's biggest teams both recorded comfortable two-legged wins on Wednesday. Madrid beat Sevilla 2-0 for a 3-0 overall win, while Barcelona earlier defeated Almeria 3-0 to complete an 8-0 aggregate victory. Mesut Oezil scored in the 82nd minute for Madrid with a cool finish before Emmanuel Adebayor hit...
08:19 AM, Feb 03, 2011
