Ray Parlour ranks Van Persie as good as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

The former Arsenal midfielder, Ray Palour, appears to be one of Robin van Persie's biggest fans, as he was quoted saying that theDutchman is as good as Real Madrid's ace,Cristiano Ronaldo and Barça's prodigy, Lionel Messi. Van Persie has been one of the most prolific strikers in Europe for the past couple of years, but he still falls short to Ronaldo andMessi when we look at their goal scoring stats.

Ray Parlour, an all-time legend of Arsenal, granted an interview to Goal.com earlier this week, where he disclosed his deep admiration for the Dutch forward, Robin van Persie. Parlour is aware of how good Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are right now, but nonetheless, he claimed that Van Persie is right there at the top, also in the fight to become the best player in the World. The Dutchman has been a massive player for the Gunners this season, with 26 goals in the Barclays English Premier League and 33 in all competitions. This accomplishment is already enough to set a new career personal record, by sweeping his previous best mark of 22 goals (in all competitions), obtained in 2010/11.

Robin van Persie - Who needs Batman when you got Robin?:

Ray Parlour's opinion on whatever matter concers Arsenal will always be susceptible of being a biased one, due to the strong connection the former English player has with the club. Parlour played for the Gunners between 1992 and 2004, a period on which he had 339 appearences and 22 goals for the club. He was still at the club during the epic 2003-04 season, when Arsenal won the English Premier Leagueunbeaten, with 26 wins and 12 draws, and got named "The Invicibles". Now working as a football commentator, the Gunners unsung hero didn't even attempt to save his words when the time came to praise Robin van Persie and his importance forArsenal.

Parlour: "Robin van Persie is quite simply a wonderful player. In my opinion, he's right on the top of the chain, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He's one of the best players in the World", started by noting the former Arsenalplayer, cutting straight to the chase.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi vs Van Persie (Goals: 2011-2012)
#	Player Name	Club	League		Cup		Europe		Other		TOTAL
			Games	Goals	Games	Goals	Games	Goals	Games	Goals	Games	Goals
1	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	27	34	6	2	7	12	5	6	45	54
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	28	33	5	3	6	6	2	1	41	43
3	Robin van Persie	Arsenal	29	26	2	2	8	5	-	-	39	33

*Stats collected on the 23-03-2012 | Source: wikipedia.com

However, Parlour ended recognizing that van Persie might still need to improve a bit, if he ever wants to surpass Ronaldo and Messi as the best football player in the World. Whether or not that means the Dutch forward needs to make a move toSpanish football in a near future, it remains unanswered.

Parlour: "I wouldn't go that far and say that van Persie is the absolute best player in the World right now. But I can tell you that he isn't very far from Messi andCristiano Ronaldo's level".

The Dutchman is playing his 8th season for the club (2004-2012) and scored 128 goals out of 269 games so far. The stats might seem impressive at a first look, but it's important to note that Messi and Ronaldo scored 53 and 54 goals respectively last season (2010-11) and this year, they are already set and prepared to crush those records.

Even though the Dutchman numbers are still far from Messi's and Ronaldo's marks, it has to been taken into account that Arsenal isn't as dominating as Real Madridand Barcelona are in La Liga and Europe these days, which may naturally make it a harder task to hit the back of the net when you are playing for the Gunners. Parlourunderstands that, but he also spotted a leadership personality and attitude in van Persie, that makes him a truly important asset for Arsenal.

Ray Parlour: "Robin van Persie has been in an impressive form this season. IfArsenal are where they are today [fighting for a UEFA Champions League spot in theEPL], that's because of van Persie's contribution in terms of goals."

Parlour: "He's having an amazing season and I must say he has taken Arsenal into a total different level this year, not only because of the goals he scores, but also due to the way he has been leading this team. Van Persie is having an immense impact as a striker. I watched the warm-up in the game against Tottenham and the way he got his teammates around him, to talk and encourage them, was just brilliant. That was for me the confirmation that his importance for the club surpasses what he brings in terms of goals, since he's also a true captain now", noted the formerArsenal player.

 

Real Madrid next game is for La Liga against Real Sociedad, this next Saturday (24-03-2012). In the meanwhile you can watch Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad, Mallorca vs Barcelona, Chelsea vs Tottenham and Arsenal vs Aston Villa, all from our football live streams section. Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be on the line-up when Real Madrid hosts Real Sociedad, this next Wednesday.

Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad kick-off time (24-03-2012):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 02:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 20:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 19:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 17:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 14:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 11:00
Beijing (China) | GMT-8: 11:00

Sources: ronaldo7.net / goal.com / wikipedia.com

Cristiano Ronaldo: "When we don't score, we suffer"

Cristiano Ronaldo answered a few journalists questions at the post-match interview, after the game against Malaga and had no problems in admitting that Real Madrid shouldn't have missed so many goal scoring opportunities, in such a difficult game as it was the one withMalaga.

After the disappointing home draw against Malaga, Cristiano Ronaldo had a quick look back at what happened and not only he gave credit to Pellegrini's side, but he also noted that Real Madrid will always struggle in games where they fail to take their goalscoring opportunities. The Merengues had plenty of occasions to extend the lead to 2-0 during the 2nd half, but neither Ronaldo nor Benzema managed to apply the final blow that would have given the 3 points to Real Madrid. ThePortuguese star tried to avoid making judgements on the referee's performance, but ended pointing out a couple decisive plays inside Malaga's penalty area, which in his opinion, should have been ruled differently.

Cristiano Ronaldo statements after the game between Real Madrid and Malaga:

Not only Real Madrid saw their lead over Barcelona being shortened to 8 points, but also Messi took the chance to get closer on Ronaldo, in the Pichichi standings. The Argentinian scored against Sevilla his 31th La Liga goal this season, whileCristiano Ronaldo ended his 7-game streak always scoring, by failing to hit the back of the net against Malaga but remains leading the rankings with 32 goals. However, this fact doesn't seem to worry the Portuguese player and as he said several times in the past, what matters the most is that Real Madrid keeps fighting for the titles.

Cristiano Ronaldo: "We still have an 8 points lead over Barcelona, which is indeed a big advantage and we just have to move on now. There's no reason to alarm, since there are still plenty of games left to be played and we are in good form. We also have to realize Malaga is a good side and really difficult to beat. We weren't expecting to drop 2 points at home, but this is football...", sighed Ronaldo when giving his first statements to the journalists.

Looking back at the game, Ronaldo believes that Real Madrid lacked a bit of luck in a few occasions, but assumed that a big part of the blame should rely on themselves, since they failed to take several good chances over the second half of this last Sunday's match.

Cristiano Ronaldo: "We didn't have much luck, specially by conceding that equalizing goal already in added time and after having dominated the game. However, we won't let that affect us and we'll be ready for the upcoming games. When we don't score goals, we suffer. That's what happened this Sunday night", remarked the Portuguese player, assuring his team will be able to put this game behind and move on to the next match with the usual winning attitude.

Regarding a few controversial decisions in Malaga's penalty area, one concerning an alleged foul over Marcelo and the other involving Ronaldo himself, the Portugueseplayer preferred not to criticize the referee, even though he noted that some decisions could have very well gone differently.

Cristiano Ronaldo: "The referee was a bit soft taking calls and seemed to be afraid of ruling those fouls. But I don't want to judge him, because he's also giving his best to make the right decisions. However, t's true that he didn't have a good night in this game", said CR7, just before leaving another note regarding his confidence about his team's success in the Spanish League.

Ronaldo: "There's still a long road to walk until the end of the league, as we have 11 games left to play, but I'm excited and convinced that we'll win La Liga", concluded the Real Madrid forward.

 

Real Madrid next game for La Liga is against Villarreal, this next Wednesday (21-03-2012). In the meanwhile you can watch Benfica vs Porto, Barcelona vs Granada,Juventus vs Milan and QPR vs Liverpool, all from our soccer live streams section.Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be on the line-up when Real Madrid visitsVillarreal this next Wednesday.

Villarreal vs Real Madrid kick-off time (21-03-2012):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 04:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 22:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 21:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 19:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 16:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 13:00
Beijing (China) | GMT-8: 13:00

Sources: ronaldo7.net / marca.com

Real Madrid were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw this Sunday night, as they hostedMalaga in the Santiago Bernabéu. Cristiano Ronaldo assisted Karim Benzemabrilliantly for the opener close to the 35th minute of the 1st half, but Santi Cazorla, who probably deserves the man of the match award, equalized after scoring from an impressive free-kick with already 1 minute played in the 2nd half added time. With 11 games left in La Liga, the Merengues saw their lead to Barcelona being cut to 8 points and there's a dangerous visit to the "El Madrigal" this next Wednesday waiting for José Mourinho's men, in a promising clash with Villarreal.

Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Real Madrid vs Malaga
Real Madrid 1-1 Malaga goals and highlights:

Real Madrid conceded their second draw of this La Liga season and they have no one else to blame but themselves. Malaga visited Madrid without complexes, outplayed the Merengues on midfield and truth has to be said that they got rewarded with a deserving point near the end of the match. Surprisingly, Manuel Pellegrini's side had a total of 53% ball possession and even though they've only reached their goal in the 2nd half added time, there were several good chances for that to happen throughout the game, as well as there were big opportunities for Real Madrid to extend the lead.

In a similar way to what has happened in a recent past, Real Madrid failed to start the game with the right foot and allowed Malaga to control the tempo of the game with good passing combinations. Pellegrini's side showed that they aren't ranked 4th in La Liga just by chance and players such as Cazorla, Joaquín and Isco all had great performances.

Despite the better start from Malaga, it was Real Madrid who found a way to score the first goal of the night. Cristiano Ronaldo received a pass from Kaká on the left wing, decided to run a few meters with the ball close to his feet, just before cutting inside and making a sudden cross with his right foot. That pass came out being a world-class assist to Karim Benzema, who just had to head the ball to an empty net, easily beating Malaga's goalkeeper, Willy Caballero.

Malaga had been the better side in the first half, but a clinical Real Madrid allowedJosé Mourinho's men to go into half-time with a 1 goal advantage. The Portuguesecoach probably realized there was an urgent need of a big improvement after the break, but unlike many other games this season, the Merengues found it hard to contradict Malaga's dominance on midfield and ended showing visible signs of frustrations in several moments of the game.

Nevertheless, it also has to be said that Real Madrid slightly improved their performance levels in the 2nd half, as they changed their game approach and started to create more danger from counter-attacks. Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzemawere very close to extend the lead in a few occasions, but some of those were superbly denied by Caballero, while others were simply wasted by bad decisions.

There's an old saying in football about a team not scoring from their chances and ending up conceding a goal afterwards. Unfortunately, it proved to be right this Sunday night at the Santiago Bernabéu and the late upset arrived precisely in added time, with already 91 minutes on the clock. Granero fouled a Malaga player nearReal Madrid's penalty area, in a period where the Merengues were already feeling the pressure of holding this 1 goal advantage at home. Malaga's most technically gifted played, Santiago Cazorla, was put in charge of taking the free-kick and pulled off a top notch free-kick that simply froze the Santiago Bernabéu. The final score was set to 1-1 and Real Madrid dropped 2 points from their lead over Barcelona, which now makes it a 8 points gap now.

Real Madrid line-up vs Malaga:

Goalkeeper: Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Lass Diarra
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Khedira
Attackers: Ozil, Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema

Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
Real Madrid	vs	Malaga
1	Goals	1
1	Assists	0
18	Shots	5
6	Shots on goal	2
5	Corner kicks	3
21	Fouls commited	9
2	Yellow cards	1
0	Red cards	0
47%	Ball possession	53%

Real Madrid next game is for La Liga against Villarreal, this next Wednesday (21-03-2012). In the meanwhile you can watch Benfica vs Porto, Barcelona vs Granada,Juventus vs Milan and QPR vs Liverpool, all from our soccer live streams section.Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be on the line-up when Real Madrid visitsVillarreal this next Wednesday.

Villarreal vs Real Madrid kick-off time (21-03-2012):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 04:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 22:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 21:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 19:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 16:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 13:00
Beijing (China) | GMT-8: 13:00

Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com

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