REAL Madrid president Florentino Perez has thrown his support behind underfire coach Manuel Pellegrini, and suggested the Chilean will be in place for the rest of the season.
Pellegrini only took charge of Madrid this summer and led the team to seven successive wins in the domestic league and Champions League at the start of the season. But the Spanish giants have since suffered a loss of form which saw them lose three t
imes in five games, including last Tuesday's humiliating 4-0 cup defeat to minnows Alcorcon.
Reports in sections of the media following that loss speculated that Pellegrini's future would be dependent on the results of Madrid's next two games, against Getafe yesterday and AC Milan in the Champions League this coming week. At the same time, the likes of Michael Laudrup, Roberto Mancini, Luis Aragones and Victor Fernandez were being lined up as possible replacements.
However, speaking a day after Madrid overcame the 27th-minute dismissal of defender Raul Albiol to beat local rivals Getafe 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Perez insisted that talk of Pellegrini's job being under threat was wide of the mark. "There have appeared the names of great coaches in the papers, but we are happy with Pellegrini and we are sure that he will finish the season positively," said Perez.
Madrid's win over Getafe was their seventh triumph in nine league games this season and saw them move to within a point of leaders Barcelona, who were held 1-1 by Osasuna.
In Italy, Inter Milan surged seven points clear at the top of Serie A after Diego Milito and Maicon struck to seal a 2-0 win at lowly Livorno. The champions were able to extend their advantage after joint-second Sampdoria drew 0-0 with Bari, a day after Juventus were beaten 3-2 by Napoli.
