Alves denies Ronaldo and Real Madrid

Sport360 staff 09:22 10/05/2015
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  • La Liga: Barcelona are now four points clear with two games remaining.

    Real Madrid’s title challenge is hanging by a thread after a thrilling draw with Valencia last night. Cristiano Ronaldo had a penalty saved by Diego Alves and while Pepe and Isco gave Real hope after the break, Los Che held on.

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    Barcelona are now four points clear with two games remaining, meaning victory over Atletico Madrid or Deportivo La Coruna will secure the title. Even worse for Madrid, midfielder Toni Kroos limped off with a hamstring injury and is now a major doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Juventus.

    The game was action-packed from the very first minute, when Alcacer had a shot well saved by Iker Casillas. The Spain striker squandered another early opportunity by shooting high, before the hosts’ misfortune began as Gareth Bale crashed a free-kick against the crossbar.

    The woodwork then again denied Madrid as Ronaldo unleashed a powerful header against the bar, and Valencia took advantage of their luck to take the lead. Teenage left-back Jose Gaya was the architect, bounding down the left to deliver an enticing cross which Alcacer steered home.

    Real’s evening went from bad to worse when Kroos had to withdraw from the action, and their misery was completed when Dani Parejo swung in a free-kick, Pepe played Fuego onside, and the midfielder took full advantage with a neat glancing header into the corner.

    After hitting the woodwork for the third time through Javier Hernandez, Madrid were handed a lifeline on the stroke of half-time when Gaya launched into a foolish challenge on Bale to concede a penalty.

    But spot-kick-king Diego Alves guessed correctly and saved Ronaldo’s shot low to his right. Alves made another good stop early in the second half by denying Hernandez with a smart low save, and then leapt to his left to once more frustrate the Mexican following a close-range header.

    But from the resulting corner Pepe got Los Blancos back in the game, meeting James Rodriguez’s inswinging delivery with a powerful header from six yards.

    In a pulsating atmosphere and with tempers fraying, there was no let-up in the drama as Madrid poured forward. Hernandez fired over the bar and Ronaldo crashed a free-kick wide, before Alves produced more heroics to keep out Sergio Ramos’s powerful close-range header with a spectacular reflex save.

    Valencia never lost their attacking threat and Alvaro Negredo could have restored the two-goal advantage but shot over the top after great work from fellow substitute Rodrigo De Paul. Alves made further stops from Dani Carvajal and Hernandez, but he could do nothing to keep out a goal of the season contender from Isco, who curled a thunderous 25-yarder into the top corner to level the scores.

    Ronaldo had a free-kick deflected wide and Bale saw a shot blocked, before De Paul wasted a chance to restore Valencia’s lead on the counter-attack. Madrid had two corners in the final of five injury time minutes, but there was to be no late winner.

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