MADRID, 29 November 2005 — Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo believes his side are turning the corner after they scored twice in as many minutes to draw 2-2 at Real Sociedad in the Primera Liga on Sunday.
“The players saved everyone’s heads, not only mine,” Luxemburgo said.
“We put on a good display, fighting right till the very end and equalized in very trying circumstances,” Luxemburgo added.
“I saw more commitment from the players and they all seemed up for it from the start. We are all keen to move forward now and today was an important step in the right direction.” Real suffered a humiliating 3-0 home defeat at the hands of archrivals Barcelona the previous weekend, when angry fans applauded the visitors.
A 1-1 draw with Olympique Lyon in the Champions League did little to improve the situation and director of football Arrigo Saachi rallied to Luxemburgo’s defense on Friday saying the Brazilian’s job was not under threat.
Sociedad took a 2-0 lead on Sunday before goals from Raul Bravo and Zinedine Zidane, in the 87th and 88th minutes, salvaged a point.
But Real, sixth in the table, lost ground on leaders Barcelona who are six points ahead of them following their 4-1 hammering of Racing Santander at the Nou Camp.
Barca are level on 28 points with Osasuna, who maintained their perfect home record with a 3-2 win over Alaves, but top on goal difference.
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard tried to keep things in perspective after another scintillating display extended their winning streak to eight games, in which they have scored 28 goals and conceded just three.
