Wesley Sneijder

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REAL MADRID: Casillas; Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Marcelo; Robinho (Higuaín, 77’), Gago, Guti, Sneijder, Baptista (Robben, 62’) and Raúl.

VALENCIA: Hildebrand; Miguel, Albiol, Marchena (Iván Helguera, 32’)y Canería; Maduro, Banega (Baraja, 64’), Silva, Arizmendi, Mata (Morientes, 64’) and Villa.

GOALS:

0-1. Min. 35. Villa

1-1. Min. 36. Raúl

2-1. Min. 55. Raúl

2-2. Min. 67. Villa

2-3. Min. 88. Arizmendi

REFEREE: Carlos Clos Gómez. Booked Marchena (19’), Pepe (83’), Cannavaro (83’), and Marcelo (90’).

NOTES: Matchday 29 of La Liga played at the Santiago Bernabéu.

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Player Ratings: Real Madrid 2-3 Valencia

Casillas — 5: Made a great save from Villa and was powerless to stop the first goal. Had put in a good shift up until the 88th minute, when he came out carelessly, allowing Arizmendi to beat him at his near post for the match-winning goal.

Ramos — 7: Back like he'd never been gone. Ran tirelessly, looked a threat going forward and took care of ex-Madrid man Mata fairly well.

Cannavaro — 3: Caught napping practially every time he needed to be awake. More crucially, his individual, unforgivable and basic errors gifted Valencia not only their equaliser but their match-winner. The defender, who once rightly held the title of the best in his position in the world, has had a very inconsistent time in Spain, but this has to go down as his worst performance yet. Shocking!

Pepe — 6.5: Like his defensive partner, was caught out from time to time. His size, athleticism and strength coming out of defence with the ball meant he provided much more than the Italian.

Marcelo — 4.5: Like the man he replaced in the team, Gabriel Heinze, he is prone to errors - but at least he offers something going forward. Was caught out and played David Villa onside for the goal and was lax marking Arizmendi for much of the game - which included falling asleep when the forward broke up the right for the match-winner. A decent contributor in attack, but clearly needs to learn how to defend.

Sneijder — 3.5: Squandered possession and looked uncomfortable from time to time, even when given a free role on the edge of the area, he failed to make any sort of impact. Was dreadful from his supposed trademark set-pieces as well. Very disappointing.

Gago — 5: Didn't play much of a traditional pivot role as he was found wandering from time to time. Passed well but lacks the size and presence of Diarra, which was somewhat exposed by the likes of Maduro in the midfield battle. Toward the death when Madrid had to push for a goal he was lacking.

Guti — 6: Had a few good runs with the ball and trademark passes, particularly in the first half. However, his lack of defensive ability was exposed when his side were without the ball. Nevertheless, a good assist for Raul's second.

Baptista — 5.5: Put in an hard working shift being played out of position wide right. Chased everything down and even did his best to beat his man when coming inside. But not enough bite.

Raul — 8: Did his best to lead the line though it's not his natural game. Showed strength and awareness to grab the equaliser as well as his second that put Real Madrid ahead. Played brilliantly and had chances to grab his hattrick, which would have been well-deserved. Definitely led by example and, for those looking for a scapegoat, today it was not Raul. Would have probably been Man of the Match had his team at least drawn the game, and certainly if they had won it.

Robinho — 6: Flattered to deceive mostly on what was a below par evening for him, but delivered a beautiful cross for Raul's equaliser to save his rating. Was substituted by Robben.

Substitutes: Robben — 5.5.

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Real Madrid vs. Sevilla

Goalkeepers: Casillas & Dudek.

Defenders: Torres, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo & Heinze.

Midfielders: Diarra, Gago, Robinho, Robben, Guti, Baptista, Sneijder & Drenthe.

Forwards: Higuain, Raul & Saviola.

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3 - Real Madrid: Casillas; Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Marcelo; Gago, Guti (Diarra, 72'), Sneijder, Robben; Higuaín (Baptista, 83') & Raúl (Robinho, 85').

1 - Sevilla: Palop; Alves, Mosquera, Prieto, Adriano; Crespo (Navas, 27'), Poulsen (Renato, 45'), Keita, Capel (Koné, 72'); Kanouté & Luis Fabiano.

REFEREE: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes. Booked Crespo (6'), Heinze (22'), Mosquera (50') and Raúl (56').

GOALS:

1-0: (7'): Heinze.

1-1 (37'): Kanouté.

2-1 (39'): Raúl.

3-1 (65'): Higuaín.

HIGHLIGHTS: Matchday 30 of La Liga. Venue: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Attendance: 80,000. One minute's silence was held in memory of the recently deceased former Real Madrid basketball player Sergio Luyk.

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Player Ratings: Real Madrid 3-1 Sevilla

Real Madrid produced both a fluid attacking performance and defensive solidarity to produce a priceless result against Sevilla to extend their lead, and put their opponents out of contention for Champions League qualification. Goal.com analyses the individual performances...

Casillas - 6.5: Was rarely called upon but looked sharp and assured as usual.

Sergio Ramos - 8: Showed just what an asset he is up and down the right hand side. Did brilliantly to subdue Capel and got forward to good effect throughout the entire game.

Cannavaro - 7: Is a shaved head all Cannavaro needs to produce his A-game? He won the World Cup with one, but for much of his hapless Madrid career has let a little grow through. Today he was back to his bald best and besides one unpunished error, put in an accomplished and solid performance.

Heinze - 7.5: Quite like his defensive partner, surprised everyone this evening. Made a few errors but always atoned for them almost immediately. Made some crucial blocks and of course threw himself at the ball to score the crucial opener.

Marcelo - 6.5: Was not outstanding individually. He was well protected and supported by his team-mates and in that comfort zone he was able to put in a competent showing. Still room for improvement.

Sneijder - 8.5: Yet another on the long list of shocking performances today - shocking because they were much better than expected. Sneijder has looked lost for so much of the season, but his fantastic free-kick set up the first goal and his wonderful pass was the prelude to the second; he also played a crucial part in the third and final goal as well. Was all over the place, spraying accurate passes and doing well to cover and assist Marcelo in defence in the second half.

Gago - 7: Put in a performance that will inspire confidence within him and many Real fans who were losing faith in the young Argentine. Proved relatively solid up against the physical threat of Poulsen and Keita in the first half and his passing game is always a delight to watch. A slightly more sturdy Guti in the making.

Guti - 7.5: And Guti himself did a good job on the night. Setting up the third quite brilliantly and did well to keep things ticking over in midfield.

Higuain - 7: Eventually managed to take a chance he'd have struggled to miss. Cannot be faulted for his work-rate, and some of his runs were promising, but was too wasteful in front of goal to warrant a higher score.

Raul - 8: Another trademark performance from the captain, who put himself about from the first minute until the last and made things difficult for the entire Sevilla backline. Scored the goal of the game; a fantastic effort which put Madrid back in front less than two minutes after Sevilla had equalised. Indispensable.

Robben - 7: Constantly a thorn in Sevilla's side early on and his running was always a danger. In the second half, he by and large flattered to deceive and did not produce enough end product.

Substitutes: Diarra - 5.5, Julio Baptista - n/a, Robinho - n/a.

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Real Mallorca vs. Real Madrid

Goalkeepers: Casillas & Codina.

Defenders: Pepe, Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo, Heinze & Torres.

Midfielders: Diarra, Gago, Guti, Baptista, Sneijder & Robben.

Forwards: Higuain, Saviola, Robinho & Raul.

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REAL MADRID: Casillas, Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Marcelo, Sneijder (Torres, 75’), Guti, Gago, Robben, Higuaín (Diarra, 69’) and Raúl (Baptista, 81’).

RCD MALLORCA:.Moyá, Fernando Navarro, Ramis (David Navarro, 27’), Nunes, Héctor (Webo, 79’), Basinas, Varela (Valero, 68’), Ibagaza, Jonás, Arango and Gúiza.

GOALS:

0-1, min. 42. Sneijder

1-1, min. 72. Borja Valero

REFEREE: Arturo Daudén Ibáñez. Booked Fernando Navarro (39’), Heinze (75’), Casillas (84’), and Borja Valero (89’) and sent off Sergio Ramos (46’ & 65’).

NOTES: Matchday 31 of La Liga played at ONO Estadi in Mallorca. Attendance: 20,000.

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