Good Day, Bad Day - Round 23

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Good Day

Manuel Pellegrini

Cristiano Ronaldo may have been elevated into sun-shining-from-his-waxed-posterior deity status by the Madridista press after SundayâÂÂs fine display against Villarreal, but La Liga Loca is so sick of the sight of the pouting ponce that it is going to give its Monday pat on the back to the more deserving Manuel Pellegrini, instead.

The Madrid coach has been through a heck of a week with his very absent superstars letting him down against Lyon and Marca doing their damnedest to poke the Third Choice Chilean in the back with a journalistic breadstick at every opportunity, since.

SundayâÂÂs pre-match editorial blasted Pellegrini for responding to his critics by opining that, statistically speaking, he was leading MadridâÂÂs finest team for 15 years and by noting quite rightly that âÂÂin the last six years, [Real Madrid] has changed coach seven or eight times and have not got past the last 16 in the Champions League and have only managed two titles from a possible 15.âÂÂ

Marca responded to such uppity impudence from a manager that Florentino Pérez is desperate to see the back off by plonking José MourinhoâÂÂs face on FridayâÂÂs front cover and claiming two days later that calling for Pellegrini to be sacked âÂÂis not an insult, nor an attack on something so subjective as football.âÂÂ

SundayâÂÂs headline in the Pérez-run paper also called the Villarreal clash âÂÂPellegriniâÂÂs Judgement.âÂÂ

The six-goal reply is PellegriniâÂÂs two-fingered response to his cretinous critics.

The 6-2 win sees the side move to the top of MarcaâÂÂs âÂÂAlternative League Tableâ with a two point lead over their Catalan rivals.

WhatâÂÂs more, the paperâÂÂs resident referee Rafa Guerrero writes that both of MadridâÂÂs penalties against Villarreal were great decisions from the man in the middle, despite the second being a complete dive from Ronaldo and the first being more than a little questionable.

But La Liga Loca will allow it due to Gonzalo Higuaín's general brilliance.

PepâÂÂs Goal-Shy Dream Boys

Racing may have shown as much resistance as Ever Banega watching a Giselle Bundchen bath time web cast on Saturday, but that should not prevent some kind words from the blog to support BarcelonaâÂÂs four scorers.

Andrés Iniesta had not done it since May, Thierry Henry and Rafa Márquez had only managed it four times between them this season, whilst Thiago was doing it for the first time in his life on his debut - scoring goals for Barcelona, that is.

The latter was so excited by the event that he ran to the bench to celebrate with his Barça buddy Jonathan Dos Santos, an action that Guardiola has since punished by dropping Thiago from the squad travelling to Stuttgart in the Champions League.

âÂÂHe should just embrace his colleagues and get on with the job,â warned the Catalan coach. âÂÂWe have to bring him back to earth.âÂÂ

Jesús Navas

Sevilla had been reduced to 10 men after the rather harsh sending off of Alvaro Negredo, but Navas pulled through by responding to MallorcaâÂÂs opener with a goal of his own and a late assist for Diego Perotti.

Málaga

Thanks to Espanyol being wetter than pretty much anywhere in Spain at the moment on their travels this season, Málaga grabbed their third victory in four and made it an admirable run of just one defeat from 14.

Cheered and championed by the Athletic Bilbao fans like a three-legged-dog fetching a stick, the former Alaves and Eibar man is a bit of cult hero in San Mamés.

On Sunday, the forward won a penalty and scored his sideâÂÂs second in the 4-1 win over Tenerife that moves Athletic tantalisingly close to the top six.

The young Almería striker had been stuck in La Liga LocaâÂÂs shoe box marked âÂÂflimsy Argentinean that came far too early to Europeâ and like Gonzalo Higuaín and Ever Banega before him, has scrambled out.

Piatti has benefited from new Almería boss Juanma Lillo taking advantage of his extra-ordinary pace and scored for the second successive game - this time the late winner in the narrow victory over Atlético Madrid.

Atlético Madrid

The poor old nearer-the-relegation-zone-than-Europe Rojiblancos expended so much luck and energy in last weekendâÂÂs 2-1 win over Barcelona, that the rest of the campaign could well see a string of ever-so-unfortunate events such as Diego Forlán turning into a block of Red Leicester - an improvement to his current form - and the Vicente Calderón stadium being buried under a glacier.

Atleti were passable and decent enough against Almería but fell to a late goal from Piatti and saw Quique Sánchez Flores being sent off for some rag-losing touchline action.

âÂÂI want to apologise to my team, the fans and the management,â blubbed Quique who normally has the phrase âÂÂon behalf ofâ rather than âÂÂtoâ in that particular statement to the press.

WerenâÂÂt as bad as the 6-2 scoreline suggested but appear to have done something, somewhere, to rub the referees up the wrong way this season, with Villarreal having conceded nine penalties in the current campaign.

The former still can't win away. The latter still canâÂÂt win, although are by no means the worst bottom-of-the-table side to have graced the Primera in recent seasons.

The Mallorca goalkeeperâÂÂs pre-match tactic of having his brain replaced with a yo-yo didnâÂÂt quite come off as well as Aouate was expecting.

The Israeli goalie had a shocker in MallorcaâÂÂs 3-1 defeat to Sevilla having coming flying out of goal only to miss the ball for SevillaâÂÂs equalising effort and completely misjudge Ivica DragutinovicâÂÂs floaty free-kick.

The red-carded Sevilla midfielder was unfortunate enough to come up against a linesman who fully understood his charming English insult of âÂÂf*ck your motherâ after a contentious decision.

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