NEU » The Red Raiders streak of nine home games with at least 50 point

In his weekly column, Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague reflects on Real Madrids derby defeat to Atletico Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldos controversial post-match comments, as well as answering your questions... I think people have taken the wrong end of the stick on Cristiano Ronaldo. Hes becoming a very easy target because people are not in love with him back in Spain - even a lot of Real Madrid fans.If you listen closely to what he says, hes not saying anything we dont already think. Hes saying he prefers to play with Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and the big names, rather than Jese or Lucas Vazquez. Obviously, there are better players in the squad. People may say is there a need to say that after an Atletico Madrid defeat, and perhaps the timing was not right - hence him tracking back on his words and trying to clarify them by saying he was talking about the physical side and the injuries.But if you keep listening, he is having a dig at the club about the pre-season that they had, in which they didnt prepare themselves properly for this season - which is something that not only Ronaldo but a lot of other players think. Cristiano Ronaldo caused controversy with his comments about team-mates He was having a dig at the way the squad has been built and he was having a dig at the doctors as well so there was a lot that he said but of course, most people kept the line about, If everybody was as good as I had been, we would be top of the table.Im not sure I even agree with that. I dont think hes been that good this season. I think his impact on big games hasnt been great. Antoine Griezmann scored the only goal as Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid The fact Real Madrid havent beaten any top-four team in La Liga for instance is proof of it and he hasnt been as effective as he was last season, even though he may have been scoring a similar amount of goals, he has scored in fewer games.To talk about himself as being much better compared to the rest, that is where he got it completely wrong. He is the star of the team so he should be the one raising his game in the big matches. Nobody else has been raising their game but he hasnt either so thats where he should have perhaps been a bit more humble. To talk about himself as being much better compared to the rest, that is where he got it completely wrong. Guillem Balague on Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrids defeat is basically confirming what we knew at least - and what I thought from the beginning - that Zinedine Zidane is not ready to take this job.Partly because the team he has to deal with is unbalanced and partly because he is not prepared for it. The most disturbing thing about him getting the job is the lack of respect for the process it takes you to become a manager at Real Madrid - as if anybody could do it. Talking points All the major talking points from the Madrid derby Well, Im afraid at the back of the mind of Florentino Perez, thats exactly what hes been thinking all along. I think these kind of results and that they havent improved since Rafa Benitez left - in the same amount of games, Rafas team had more points - all confirms that not anybody can do the job. Guillem Balague doesnt think Zinedine Zidane is ready to be Real Madrid manager It was all lacking in sharpness, lacking in hunger even and lacking in an active attitude that the players should have taken for a derby.All in all, and Ive been saying it all year, it looks like the end of an era here and I think Real Madrid are going to use the summer to make a lot of changes as Zidane said himself in the press conference, there will be a lot of changes in the summer - he said including the manager. Guillem answers your questionsDoes Marc Bartras future lie away from Barcelona or does Enrique have a plan - similar to (Sergi) Roberto? @MarkieHDI think Bartra will leave Barcelona in the summer. We dont know how good he is really, weve seen him play and hes got a touch of Gerard Pique but he hasnt got his intelligence and he doesnt build from the back so well. I think Pique is a much better centre-back and Bartra lacks the physical strength to come to England, or to do well in a top team at England. Balague believes Marc Bartra will leave the Nou Camp this summer Aymeric Laporte has been linked to Manchester clubs and Barcelona. Who is likely to sign him? @Shantanu3196Barcelona will have to decide where to put their money. If its in the renewal of contracts, then they may not have 40-50m to pay for a player like him. I know both Manchester clubs want him so it might be a matter for him to decide because they will be willing to pay the buy-out clause. It doesnt mean he will go because he has been linked to them in the past and he has decided to stay and renew his contract with Athletic Bilbao, so we will see.Could Riyad Mahrez become a Barcelona player? @stevemarriott67Definitely not, he is not a target for Barcelona.Do you think there is any area where Barcelona will look to strengthen in the summer? @domcox1990I think the centre-back position for sure and as I say, most of the money will go towards the renewal of the contracts so Im not sure how much money they will have. If they had 100m, they could go for Paul Pogba but they definitely dont have that kind of money.Do you think Valencia have a chance of winning a UCL place? @ODeolekar Valencias four game winning run came to an abrupt halt on Sunday No chance. It is too far away and the target should be to not get relegated and to do well in the Europa League. Will Zidane last until next season? Who are the candidates to replace him? @MADRIDISTABefore the Atletico Madrid game, the club said off the record that the plan was for Zidane to stay on and to start signing players, but after the derby, the message has changed a little bit and now it all depends on the Champions League so its not guaranteed that he will stay, but it is not easy to find a replacement either. Real Madrid are a manager eating machine. Also See: Atletico clinch historic Real win Ronaldo backtracks on criticism Madrid derby talking points Barca win to equal Real record NHL Jerseys 2020 . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. NHL Jerseys . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. https://www.cheapnhljerseysjustwholesale.com/ . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. NHL Jerseys China . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. LUBBOCK, Texas -- Skyler Howard and his West Virginia teammates have had a goal all season to score at least 40 points.They did it and then some on Saturday as the 20th-ranked Mountaineers shut down Texas Tech 48-17. Howard ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to keep the Mountaineers unbeaten and in the hunt for the Big 12 title.It shows that we can do it, Howard said. It all goes back to the confidence.The Mountaineers (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) held Texas Tech (3-3, 1-2) to its lowest offensive output this season, just 379 yards, and harassed quarterback Patrick Mahomes most of the day. He threw for 305 yards, his second-lowest passing total of the season, and was replaced in the fourth quarter by Nic Shimonek.A 14-point turnaround in the second quarter helped the Mountaineers gain momentum. Sean Walters interception at the West Virginia 11 led to a TD pass from Howard to Justin Crawford at the other end of the field to put the Mountaineers up 17-7.We made some plays, got a good lead, Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said. We were able to control the ball and shorten the game. Thats, in a perfect world, what we wanted to happen and thats what happened.Howard completed 21 of 31 passes for 318 yards. Rushel Shell, who finished with 104 yards rushing for West Virginia, scored two rushing TDs in the fourth quarter as the Mountaineers pulled away.The Mountaineers got solid play from their defense all game, adding to the mojo the offense felt, Howard saidIts always good when the other side of the ball is doing great, he said. The whole team has confidence.Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said his teams performance was embarrassing and not what he expected.Its the worst Ive seen since Ive been associated with Texas Tech, he said. We seemed intimidated and they took it.Kingsbury said some missed practices might be affecting Mahomes rhythm with the team. Holgorsen, though, thought the juniior quarterback was off a bit physically.ddddddddddddahomes, he needs to get healthy, Holgorsen said. You can tell hes not quite 100 percent right now. But the way he keeps it alive, Ive never seen anything like it. He keeps his eyes down field, makes any throw that you want him to. I mean, hes a fantastic player.TAKEAWAYSWest Virginia: The Mountaineers improved their success dramatically in the red zone. Coming into the game, West Virginia had found the end zone on just eight of 18 trips inside opponents 20 (44 percent). They scored on each of their eight trips there Saturday.Texas Tech: The Red Raiders streak of nine home games with at least 50 points -- an NCAA record -- ended with this loss. Their offense was stymied in every facet by West Virginias defense. Texas Techs run game, which typically sets up the pass, was nearly nonexistent. They finished with just 34 rushing yards.POLL IMPLICATIONS: Its not likely that West Virginia will move up much in The AP Poll after downing an unranked team. But one never knows. They moved up two spots after a bye last weekend.TOO FEW POINTSTexas Techs 17 points were the fewest the Red Raiders have scored since falling to Texas 34-13 in 2014. The second-quarter shutout by WVU snapped a streak of 28 straight quarters in which the Red Raiders have scored.INTERCEPTION STREAKWalters interception was the first of his career, and the team now has one in four straight games. The Mountaineers have forced a turnover in all five games this season and in 10 of their last 11. Walters interception was WVUs sixth of the season.UP NEXT:West Virginia: The Mountaineers host TCU next Saturday.Texas Tech: The Red Raiders host Oklahoma, which is led by former Texas Tech QB Baker Mayfield.---This story corrects spelling of Skyler Howard. ' ' '