Ronaldo confident Real will beat Barca to title

With five games left and Real Madrid standing one point behind leaders Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo is sure that he will finish his first season in Spain with a championship medal. The Portuguese forward, signed from Manchester United last summer, has been overshadowed in recent weeks4 by the sparkling form of Barca’s Leo Messi, but he feels that it will be Real who will come out on top in the fight for the title.

Outlook

The outlook is certainly rosier than it was a week ago for Real following their victory over Valencia and Barca’s draw against local rivals Espanyol.

“We are in a much better position now and in football, with just one point the difference, it means that anything is possible,” said Ronaldo.

“We have to fight until the end and all the players at Real Madrid must think that it is possible to win the league.

“I am confident that we will win our five remaining games and I am confident that we are going to win the league.”

This weekend Real face a Real Zaragoza side who are fighting for their survival, just two points above the relegation zone after failing to win in their last three games.

“The motivation will be at a maximum to try and win this game. We know what the errors are that we have been making and we can correct them,” said Zaragoza striker Javier Arizmendi.

Barcelona must put to one side their Champions League preoccupations to concentrate on the league. They play Xerez on Saturday with attacking midfielder Andres Iniesta the only absentee through injury.

While Barca are already examining ways to turn around a 3-1 deficit when they meet Inter Milan in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final next week, they cannot afford to ease up domestically.

“Each game left for us now is like a final. Madrid are going to make it difficult for us and I am sure they are not going to drop points, so we have to be focused on the game against Xerez,” said goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

MADRID, AFP