London, Mar 25: Real Madrid swept away concerns they had lost their edge when they squared up to Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final yesterday.
Real have had a miserable week after a dramatic extra-time defeat by Real Zaragoza in the final of the King's Cup last Wednesday robbed the nine-times European champions of the chance of a historic treble.
The exertions of that defeat, and the defensive frailties exposed during it, were to blame for the 4-2 defeat at Athletic Bilbao which left the 'Galacticos' just a point ahead of Valencia in the Primera Liga after the weekend's action.
But if there is talk of crisis at the Bernabeu, Monaco too have been a pale imitation of the side that sailed through the opening half of the season.
Europe was put on alert by their astonishing 8-3 destruction of Deportivo Coruna in the Champions League in November and by January they held a 10-point lead at the top of Ligue 1.



Last weekend's 1-1 draw at home to Sochaux, however, saw Didier Deschamps's team overhauled at the top of the table by champions Olympique Lyon.


Bureau Report