Match Day 1/31

In. Morning, frickers.

Well...that was pretty obvious (blatant handball by Hull City's Elmohamady).

Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad in 50 minutes. BeIN

Gareth Bale leads RM in absence of Cristiano

Real Madrid’s Welsh forward Gareth Bale features on the front cover of this week’s edition of the British publication ‘Sport Magazine’. In the interview, he said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is an amazing player – just look at this goals-per-game here. I knew coming here that Cristiano was the main man”.

Bale, a versatile player: “It’s important to have variety: we all bring different strengths to the team. We have a strong squad, but more than that we have the right mixture as well. I think that is showing more and more this season, now that we’ve all started to gel together.”

Differences between England and Spain: “It is more tactical, a lot of passing – whereas the Premier League is very fast, very physical.”

Languages: “On the football pitch, I always feel comfortable. A new language was probably the biggest challenge, to be honest. The important thing is that I now understand the team talks and what people are saying. It’ll still be a bito f time before I’m able to speak Spanish better, but I have lessons every week and I’m improving all the time. But when it comes to football, I’ve always had confidence in myself and my ability.”

Trophies: “It was incredible. After the Copa del Rey, we came back late in the night and the whole city was alive, even at that hour. I remember a few of us in the team speaking and saying: ‘Imagine if we won the Champions League, what it’ll be like – it will be 10-times bigger.’ We came back after we did it andi t felt like there was about a million people in Cibeles Square. It was an amazing feeling to celebrate with all the fans.”

Ancelotti: “Carlo is quite laidback. He gives us the confidence to go on to the pitch and express ourselves. But it’s the closeness and connection that he has with the players that’s really special.”

Ancelotti losing his calm: “Yeah, [it’s happened] a few times actually. We’ve ahd some games where we’ve been in the lead and we’ve almost given it away – and after the game, Carlo has given us a good bollocking. But every good manager needs that side to him – and he’s shown over the years what a great manager and what an amazing person he is.”

The squad: “It’s actually no different to any other dressing room I’ve been in. We all get along and have a laugh. Marcelo is probably the biggest joker – he messes around a lot. But we have a good team spirit in the dressing room and I think that’s shown in the performances we’ve had.”

Cristiano Ronaldo: “I knew coming here that Cristiano was the main man. He’s an amazing player. Just look at his goals-per-game here (288 goals in 276 matches). I respect him, so we’ve got on very well since I’ve been here, on and off the field.”

Pressure in Madrid: “There’s a lot more focus on Real Madrid. Being here is like being under a microscope. They have whole newspapers that are dedicated to Real Madrid. But that’s just part of being a Real Madrid player – you get used to it.”

Ballon d’Or: “Being nominated shows that you’re doing something right on the football pitch and people are seeing it as well. I hope that in the future I can be one of the favourites to win it. But at the moment, I’m on the right track, progressing well. Hopefully I can get to the top one day.”

Champions League: "Whichever tournament we’re going into, whether we’ve won it in previous years or not, we want to win it. We’ll be trying our best to do it, and I believe that we can.”

Sturridge on the bench

Won't be able to watch this morning. COYS!

Hull should be embarrassed on that Gouffran goal. No effort or heart at all. Have to think they are going down.

Missed 1:30 of the Real Madrid game. Real Madrid down 1-0 already

And James scores at 2:30

Marcelo, James, holy shite!

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