::  News

It was somewhat chilly on Tuesday night in Minsk, but not quite as cold as expected for the match between Belarusian champions BATE Borisov and La Liga winners Real Madrid. The temperature had dropped to just three degrees below zero but still made it mandatory for the Real Madrid first eleven – Christoph Metzelder remained on the bench – to keep moving. And so they did.

In minute 7, Raúl scored the first and only goal of the match – his 62nd Champions League goal overall. Madrid kept controlling the game, with BATE only defrosting after the interval and putting the guests under pressure, but in the end, nothing came of that. Juventus Turin, already qualified for the next round, only managed a goalless draw in St. Petersburg and are now joined by Real Madrid in the final 16.

Real Madrid won their Saturday night home match against Recreativo de Huelva in a somewhat unconvincing way. Dutchman Wesley Sneijder scored the only goal of the evening in minute 39 with a deflected shot from outside the box. While Recre did not manage to create any real danger, Madrid showed nerves and lacked the verve and concentration that would have been more sorely missed against a stronger rival. They were very lucky in minute 71 when the referee failed to notice Pepe's handball in the box, but their luck ran out minutes later, when striker Gonzalo Higuaín had to be carried off the pitch with a foot injury. Despite earning three important points that promote Madrid to 2nd place for the night, Bernd Schuster's team was whistled off the pitch by the frustrated Madridistas in the stands. Real Madrid next face BATE Borisov on Tuesday.

Our Christoph Metzelder gallery has been updated in more than one way today: Apart from adding a number of EURO 2008 photographs, we have revamped the gallery itself as well, using a lightbox technology. Have fun trying it out!