All is not well at Real Madrid

What a difference a few days - along with, more importantly, a positive performance - make.

Until Wednesday, all was doom and gloom in the camp of Real Madrid after a 2-1 home loss at the hands of archrival Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey. Coach Jose Mourinho was under fire and at his pouting best as the teams prepared to tangle last Wednesday in the second leg.

Lo and behold, all was sweetness and light, even though Barcelona scraped through on aggregate after barely holding on for a 2-2 draw in the second game and a 4-3 aggregate victory.

Except, perhaps, in the mind of Mourinho, who suggested his players felt "it was impossible to win" at Barcelona. But that might have been a dig at referee Teixeira Vitienes, who sent off Real's Sergio Ramos for a second yellow card with a couple of minutes remaining to end any Madrid hopes.

Ah, yes, Ramos. The long-haired Spanish international fullback provided the evidence that all is not sweetness and light in the Real dressing room after the newspaper Marca reproduced, word-for-word, a confrontation between him, goalkeeper Iker Casillas and Mourinho.

That came after Ramos suggested Real had lost the first leg because of poor tactics.

"We follow the coach's tactics," Ramos said after the game. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."

A couple of days later, on the practice field, Marca reported the following conversation:

Mourinho to Ramos: "You killed me in the mixed zone" (where reporters interview players).

Ramos: "No, mister, you only read what it says in the papers, not everything we said."

Mourinho: "Sure, because you Spaniards have been world champions and your friends in the media protect you . and because the goalkeeper ."

At that point there is a shout from Casillas, 30 metres away: "Eh, mister, round here you say things to our faces, eh."

Mourinho: "Where were you on the first goal (by Barcelona in game one), Sergio?"

Ramos: "Marking (Barcelona's Gerard) Piqué."

Mourinho: "Well, you should have been marking (Barcelona's Carles) Puyol," (who scored on the play).

Ramos: "Yes, but they were blocking us off with Piqué and we decided to change the marking."

Mourinho: "What? So now you're playing at being coach?"

Ramos: "No, but depending on the situation in the game, sometimes you have to change the marking. Because you've never been a player, you don't know that that sometimes happens."

Ouch.

There was a change in tune after the second leg, which saw Real abandon its defensive style and attack Barcelona. Real gave up a pair of goals in the first half after dominating, but came back to tie 2-2 and could have won.

Sergio Ramos said he was "super proud" of his team. They had been, he said, "very superior."

"We leave with the feeling that today we have stood up to them," Casillas said. "We feel like we played well and that we deserved much more. We played well. We gave them hardly any opportunities and we depart proud and happy of our team. This is the way we have to carry on. Playing like this, we can achieve a lot."

Casillas also admitted that he had confronted the referee in the tunnel, telling him: "Now go and party with Barcelona."

It was, Casillas said, a moment of madness, quickly forgotten. Alvaro Arbeloa did not forget so fast.

"We got as far as they would let us," he said.

At Barcelona's El Prat airport, Madrid fans chanted: "Hands up! This is a robbery," as they waited for their team.

Refereeing can be a shield for underachieving teams to hide behind, but it wasn't necessary for Real to hide.

"Barcelona went through, Madrid came back," said the Madrid sports newspaper AS, while Marca's headlines said: "They had it . Barcelona knock out a Madrid side that were, for the first time, very much the better team."

On the night, yes. But what will the future hold? There is increasing discontent among the Madrid fans at Mourinho's inability to get a win over Barcelona (one in 11/2 seasons at Real) and persistent reports the Portuguese manager is unhappy.

Still, the team is playing well in the Champions League and leading the Spanish league.

Win those and, once again, all will be forgiven.

Barcelona's Victor Valdes admits: We have no more room for error in La Liga

The Catalans are now seven points behind Real Madrid at the top of the table following Saturday night's disappointing 0-0 draw with Villarreal at El Madrigal

Victor Valdes believes Barcelona must win all 18 of their remaining fixtures if they are to have any chance of holding on to their La Liga crown.

The Catalans are now seven points behind leaders Real Madrid after their dismal 0-0 draw with Villarreal at El Madrigal and the Spain goalkeeper admits that Pep Guardiola's men are now in a precarious position.

"We have no more room for error," Valdes is quoted as saying by Sport. "We have dropped two important points against Villarreal. We have to win all the points that remain. 

"And that's what you get. If we want to fight for the league, we can not fail anymore because there is a rival in front of us that is very strong."

Trying to work out the reasons behind Barca's inconsistent form of late, particularly on the road, Valdes believes that fatigue has become an issue for a side which travelled to Japan for the Club World Cup in December.

"Injuries can never be used as excuses," he argued. "That would be small team that does that. There is enough [strength in depth] to deal with all of the games.

"[But] I have the feeling that we are tired. But we are facing opponents who are also playing a lot and nobody here ever said that this would be easy.

"I cannot say exactly what is happening, really. The important thing is that the team is working hard but we must continue giving our all - and more if necessary."

Barcelona return to La Liga action against Valencia at the Mestalla next weekend, while Madrid are away to Getafe.

Kevin De Bruyne undergoes Chelsea medical as he completes a £6.7m move from Genk

The Belgian youngster will sign a five-and-a-half-year contract and then be loaned back to Genk for the rest of the season, as the club continue their youth recruitment policy

Kevin De Bruyne is at Chelsea’s training ground this morning undergoing a medical as he completes a move from Genk, The Stamford Bridge club have agreed a fee of £6.7 million with the Belgium outfit and he will then be loaned back to Genk for the rest of the season.

It is understood that the 20-year-old attacking midfielder will sign a five-and-a-half year contract with Chelsea.

De Bruyne will become the third Belgian youngster to join Chelsea in the last six months, following the arrivals of Romelu Lukaku and De Bruyne’s former Genk team-mate Thibaut Courtois last summer.

The two clubs came to an agreement last night following weeks of negotiations and the winger flew into London in the last 24 hours to put the finishing touches to the move.

Andre Villas-Boas revealed last week that the pursuit of De Bruyne was being driven by others at Stamford Bridge as part of the club’s policy to target and recruit young players for the future.

“It’s not within my immediate projects. It’s a target that’s decided by the club, that I knew about for quite some time,” said Villas-Boas. “He was under the scrutiny of the club for some time, we’ve been following this player.

"Romelu Lukaku the same, and Petr Cech was the same when we arrived in 2004. In the sense that the club policy for the future, it’s the right thing [to buy him] and I’ll do everything in my power for him to reach maximum potential.”

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic retains title

The Serbian won an epic encounter 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7(5/7) 7-5 in five hours and 53 minutes, beating the previous record of four hours and 54 minutes set by Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander at the 1988 US Open. The win in what was also the longest match ever at the Australian Open meant Djokovic became just the fifth man to win three successive grand slam titles following his victories at Wimbledon and the US Open last year. It was Nadal who made the first move of the match, breaking for a 3-2 first-set lead, a development which caused Djokovic to hurl his racquet to the floor in frustration. And although the Serbian hit back to level it at 4-4, Nadal came again, reclaiming the advantage and then serving it out to edge a set ahead. Djokovic responded well in the second as he finally started to find his range. The punishing forehand had returned as he started to control the rallies from the centre of the court. He broke for 3-1 thanks to a low volley which landed on the baseline and seemed to be cruising until Nadal hit back to break with Djokovic attempting to serve the set out. The pressure swung back Nadal s way and he failed to cope, a double fault on Djokovic s fourth set point levelling matters. The feeling the match was turning Djokovic s way strengthened at the start of the third as he continued to bully his opponent, who was relying on errors for points. It was inevitable a break would finally arrive and it did as a whipped winning forehand enabled Djokovic to move 3-1 up. And with the top seed now in full flow, he threatened again on the Nadal serve at 4-1 only for the French Open champion to cling on. But there was to be no reprieve with Nadal 5-2 down. Djokovic surged to 0-40 and claimed another break and the set with a blistering forehand down the line. Nadal is a renowned fighter and he started the fourth set with renewed resolve. Also, perhaps sensing the match was getting away from him, he started to go for more on his forehand. But Djokovic was not for moving. The favourite was still displaying the look of a confident man and made his move in the eighth game with some stunning tennis bringing up three break points. Again Nadal fought, saving the first with a crunching forehand winner, the second with a big serve and the third with a backhand behind his opponent. And from deuce he completed the comeback with two big serves to level it at 4-4. At that juncture, the forecast rain arrived, forcing the players to take a short break while the roof on Rod Laver Arena was closed. When play resumed, Djokovic held for 5-4, finishing the game with a brilliant forehand down the line. And with Nadal not troubled on serve either, the set went to a tie-break. The breaker ebbed and flowed until Nadal set up a set point at 6-5 and he clinched it when Djokovic put a forehand into the tramlines. It was rapidly turning into another classic. Both men had worked hard to get to the final - Djokovic requiring four hours and 50 minutes to get past Andy Murray and Nadal three hours and 42 minutes to see off Roger Federer. Crucially, though, Nadal s match had taken place 24 hours earlier and in the early stages of the fifth the Spaniard seemed to have a greater spring in his step. And so it proved as he claimed the first break of the decider to move 4-2 up as Djokovic sent a cross-court forehand long. But the match swiftly took another swing, Djokovic breaking back straight away to get it back on serve. The sheer physical effort required by both players was evident in the first point of the ninth game when a 31-shot rally ended with Djokovic sending a backhand long before dropping to the floor in exhaustion. Despite his obvious fatigue, the Serbian still conjured up a break point only for Nadal to escape with a superb swinging serve out wide and eventually hold for a 5-4 lead. Djokovic had another two at 5-5, the first saved by a booming Nadal second serve but on the second he made the breakthrough as the Spaniard netted a sliced backhand. Inevitably Nadal was not done and he had a break point himself with Djokovic serving for the match. By now though there were no more miracles left and having staved off the danger, Djokovic set up a match point which he took with a winning forehand to complete a remarkable win.

British skier sets record for solo Antarctic trek

British adventurer Felicity Aston finished her Antarctic crossing on Monday, becoming the first woman to ski across the icy continent alone. She did it in 59 days ahead of schedule pulling two sledges for 1,084 miles (1,744 kilometres) from her starting point on the Leverett Glacier on Nov. 25. "It feels amazing to be finished and yet overwhelmingly sad that it s over at the same time," Aston said in a phone call she broadcast online from her tent while waiting for her flight out. She announced her achievement by Twitter: "  !!!Congratulations to the 1st female to traverse Antarctica SOLO.V proud," after reaching Hercules Inlet on Antarctica s Ronne Ice Shelf. Aston also set another record: the first human to ski solo, across Antarctica, using only her own muscle power. A male-female team already combined to ski across Antarctica without kites or machines to pull them across, but Aston is the first to do this alone. Aston, 34, grew up in Kent, England, and studied physics and meteorology. A veteran of expeditions in sub-zero environments, she worked for the British weather service at a base in Antarctica and has led teams on ski trips in the Antarctic, the Arctic and Greenland. But this was the first time she traveled so far, so alone. She worried beforehand that the solitude could pose her biggest challenge. In such an extreme environment, the smallest mistakes can prove treacherous. Alone with one s thoughts, the mind can play tricks. Polar adventurers usually take care to watch their teammates for signs of hypothermia, which is easier to diagnose in others than yourself, she said. This Antarctic summer is the centennial of Roald Amundsen s conquest of the South Pole, and every Briton knows how R.F. Scott s team arrived days later, demoralized to see Norway s flag. Scott and his entire team then died on their way out, and some of their bodies weren t found for eight months. Aston had modern technology in her favour: She kept family and supporters updated and received their responses via Twitter and Facebook, and broadcast daily phone reports online. She carried two satellite phones to communicate with a support team, and a GPS device that reported her location throughout. She also had two supply drops one at the pole and one partway to her finish line so that she could travel with a lighter load. Otherwise, her feat was unassisted.

Pakistan defeated England with a blowout 10-wicket victory inside three days on Thursday. Pakistan stubbornly extended its first innings in the morning to 338 for a lead of 146, then began before lunch dismantling England in its second innings for 160 inside 58 overs. Umar Gul s aggressive bowling for 4-63, coupled with some shocking shot selection by the Englishmen, left Pakistan with only 15 runs to win the opening test of the three-match series, and opener Mohammad Hafeez hit three boundaries in collecting them all. It was top-ranked England s first defeat since losing to Australia in the Ashes test at Perth in 2010. England had won seven of nine since then. Pakistan extended its unbeaten run in tests to eight since May, including six victories. Offspinner Saeed Ajmal, who grabbed a career-best 7-55 in England s first innings score of 192, added three more wickets to be named man of the match. It was second career match haul of 10 wickets. Abdur Rehman showed England why they should have included left-arm spinner Monty Panesar with 3-37, and narrowly missed a hat trick. After Adnan Akmal s gutsy half-century stretched Pakistan s first-innings lead to 146, Gul had England on the mat by tea at 75-5, claiming three wickets. Gul had reduced England to 16-1 at lunch when captain Andrew Strauss was adjudged caught behind off a leg-side delivery after TV umpire Steve Davis upheld onfield umpire Billy Bowden s decision. Opener Alastair Cook (5) and Kevin Pietersen (0) departed from attempting shocking pull shots against Gul. In his second spell, Gul found a thick outside edge of topscorer Jonathan Trott, who attempted an expansive cover drive to try and to reach a half century. Trott was out for 49 off 111 balls. Ajmal undid Ian Bell for 4 with his doosra. The batsman halfheartedly called for a review but started walking back after watching the replay on the big screen at Dubai International Cricket Stadium with the ball striking his back leg in front of the stumps. Rehman struck just before tea when Eoin Morgan on 14 got a faint edge to the wicketkeeper, and was on a hat trick when he dismissed Stuart Broad (17) and Chris Tremlett (0) off successive deliveries with England still 11 runs shy of making Pakistan bat again. Graeme Swann (39) and James Anderson (15) ensured England did not lose by an innings with a 25-run last wicket stand before Ajmal wrapped up the innings by finding the leading edge of Swann s bat and Asad Shafiq making a low catch and roll at short cover. Pakistan resumed overnight at 288-7 and thanks to the diminutive Akmal hitting 61 with eight fours, frustrated England for an hour and a quarter. Akmal lost Gul for a duck when he hit Broad in only the second over of the day to Morgan at point. Akmal gathered a precious 30 runs with Ajmal before Swann had the latter caught close to the wicket for 12. The last-wicket stand of 19 all made by Akmal added to England s frustration as the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman kept the strike from No. 11 Aizaz Cheema for four overs. Akmal played some extravagant strokes that included two reverse swept boundaries off Swann. He brought up his second test half-century with a similar stroke for two runs and pumped his fist in joy while raising his bat toward his teammates in the dressing room. Swann finally closed Pakistan s first innings when Akmal went out of the crease but missed the line and was stumped by Prior down the legside. Swann ended with 4-107 while Broad claimed 3-84. The second test begins at Abu Dhabi on Jan. 25, and the teams return to Dubai for the last test from Feb. 3.

Sania Mirza looks for Olympic gold in mixed doubles

Sania Mirza, the country s top women s tennis player, hopes to help double that total in London this year. India only has one singles player ranked in the top 100 Somdev Devvarman at No. 86 in the ATP rankings but it does have some of the world s best doubles players. Mirza is ranked 11th in the WTA doubles rankings, while Leander Paes is No. 7 in the ATP doubles rankings, Mahesh Bhupathi is No. 8 and Rohan Bopanna is No. 11. Mirza, who lost her first-round singles match at the Australian Open to Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria on Monday, says she s planning to play mixed doubles with one of the three men at the 2012 London Games. It s the first time since 1924 that mixed doubles will be included at the Olympics. "Funnily enough, a medal is a medal at the Olympics. It doesn t matter if you get it in singles, doubles or mixed," she says. "We re a big country, and obviously (the) Olympics is important to us." As for her partner in London, Mirza says she d be happy with any of the three men s players. Mirza partnered with Bhupathi to win the Australian Open mixed title in 2009 and won the mixed gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games with Paes. "I m in a great position to choose from three people who are in the top 12 in the world (in doubles)," she said. "Obviously, the best people will be put forward."

Whatmore to seal deal as Pakistan coach?

Dav Whatmore, the man tipped to become Pakistan’s next cricket coach, arrived for an interview in Lahore Saturday, moving a step closer to taking the sport’s hot seat. The 57-year-old former Australian batsman, who coached Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in 1996, is the favourite to replace Waqar Younis who quit the post in September last year over health issues. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed former opener Mohsin Khan as an interim coach against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh but had to extend his stint in charge for the series against England as the selection process was delayed. Pakistan take on England in the first of three Tests in Dubai from Tuesday. The Tests will be followed by four one-day and three Twenty20 internationals. A new coach will take over during the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March. PCB appointed a three-man committee headed by former captain Intikhab Alam, which shortlisted five candidates for the post. “Whatmore has reached here and we will talk to him on the issue,” Alam told AFP, without giving further details. PCB has also kept silent on the issue so as not to derail the process. Whatmore, who played seven Tests and one one-day international for Australia in 1979, was in talks with the PCB through another former captain Ramiz Raja, who assisted the committee. Whatmore, who also coached Bangladesh between 2003-2007, resigned from his role as coach of the Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this month. Pakistan has a history of sacking its coaches and has had six in the last ten years. It showed the door to its first foreign coach Richard Pybus of South Africa after the 2003 World Cup, and sacked former Australian paceman Geoff Lawson in 2008. But former England batsman Bob Woolmer had a successful stint from 2004 before he died in mysterious circumstances in the West Indies, a day after Ireland upset Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup. England’s former county player Julian Fountain is in contention to take over as fielding coach, while former Pakistan paceman Aqib Javed — already on UAE tour — is the likely bowling coach.