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Real Madrid went through the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey after beating again (1-3) Girona. Los Blancos were much better than their rival in the aggregate (3-7) and continue giving good feelings before the important months of the season. Karim Benzema was again the star of the game. Betis, FC Barcelona and Valencia await in the next round.

Despite the result in the first leg, Solari didn’t want to risk and he put the best team available, only with Ceballos and Marcos Llorente in the midfield instead of Casemiro and Luka Modric. And Real Madrid started the game very focus. Los Blancos didn’t want any warning as it happened against Leganés, but the match was completely different. Girona pushed hard, especially in the beginning, and hit even the post, but Solari’s men reacted quite fast. Karim Benzema shot three times on target before scoring the first goal of the game after a good combination with Carvajal.

Far from being relaxed, Real Madrid tried to score the second goal and the most clear chance arrived with an amazing combination between Marcelo and Vinicius, but the left back missed it in front of Gorka Iraizoz. But the protagonist of the game was again Benzema. The Frenchman scored his brace in the 43rd minute with a great shot, hitting even the post. Benzema is at his best since his arrival at Bernabéu, ten years ago.

With the advantage of four goals in the aggregate the second half was very calm. Solari made changes to give Sergio Ramos and Benzema some rest. Meanwhile, Asensio was close to score, but even more Lucas Vázquez, who hit the post. Girona tried to score in front of their supporters and they got the prize in the 71st minute thanks to Pedro Porro in a counter attack. Los Blancos reacted to this unexpected goal with a great shot by Marcos Llorente, who nailed the third goal.

Real Madrid are back to the semi-finals and just two steps away of the silverware. Barcelona, Betis and Valencia can be their rivals to get to the final. On Friday we will see the draw and the rival.

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Champions Leaguetrophy_GI

It has been a tough season by Real Madrid’s own usual high standards. The departure of Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the doomed appointment of Julen Lopetegui, set the club back further than anticipated, and it has been left to Santiago Solari to pick up the pieces.

The former midfielder has brought some stability to the club and delivered silverware in the form of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, but there have been some poor performances along the way and the jury is still out on whether he is the right man for the job long term.

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

Out of the title race?

Los Blancos are currently 10 points adrift of Barcelona making a push for the title seem unlikely. The Catalan club have only lost two league games all season and have started the New Year in strong form. In the latest football betting markets, the Blaugrana are 1/8 to win the title while Solari’s men are available at a huge price of 12/1. But despite their woes on the domestic front, the new boss still has plenty of opportunities to prove his worth between now and the end of the season.

Key area of focus

The big test for the Argentine will be the Champions League with Real Madrid set to continue the defence of their crown in the last 16 against Ajax in February. The club have won four of the last five editions of the tournament to take their total haul to 13. If Solari can add a 14th pot to the cabinet, that might be enough to land the job on a permanent basis. But an early exit could seal his fate before the season is over. Los Vikingos are seventh favourites to lift the trophy in 2019 and can be backed as high as 14/1.

Recepción Real Madrid en la Comunidad de Madrid

Making Amends

Also on the horizon is March’s edition of El Clasico. There will be pressure to make amends following the humiliating 5-1 defeat at the Camp Nou that ultimately cost Lopetgui his job. Even if Los Merengues are not in contention for the league title by that point, a win on home soil over their arch-rivals would be a massive boost for the club and could bring back some of the confidence that has been lost in recent months.

Cup ambitions

The Copa del Rey might seem like a lowly target for such a behemoth of a club, but it has been five years since they last won the competition and would provide some consolation in the absence of a league title or Champions League crown.

The next three rounds will all kick off before the Champions League returns giving the Capital club an opportunity to warm up for the two-legged knockout format. Any fans who may doubt the prestige of the trophy should be pointed to the club’s last triumph (against arch-rivals Barcelona in 2014) which featured Gareth Bale’s solo effort – one of the best goals ever scored in the competition.

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Real Madrid seemed to have the perfect manager in Zinedine Zidane. However, the legendary French midfielder decided to leave the Spanish capital and since then the three time consecutive European champions have been in turmoil.

It was obvious right from the start that Julen Lopetegui wasn’t a good fit with the world’s most decorated club and Solari, in addition to having to work with a squad in transition, is out of his depth at this level. There are rumours that Jose Mourinho might be back, but that will be a quick fix at best, and a disastrous train wreck at worst.

Bookmakers such as Novibet have already come out with their favourites as to who the next Real Madrid manager might be, but it seems like this time around Real Madrid executives will have problems finding the right manager.

The task of rebuilding Los Blancos is not an easy one and whoever they choose will have to have the know-how to take Real Madrid out of the mire and through this rough transition. So what should the perfect manager to take the Real Madrid hot seat be like?

Good Man Manager

Being a good man manager is crucial at the top level. Managers such as Unai Emery and Antonio Conte are both master tacticians, but seem to lack good man management skills. Emery couldn’t control the gigantic egos at PSG and the likes of Neymar even openly despised him.

Conte on the other hand, thought that his job was only to coach and train the players and not to care about how they feel. His infamous fall out with Diego Costa is well recorded and Willian claimed that he would have left Chelsea if Conte was still in charge.

Real Madrid’s next manager should be able to control a dressing room which contains Sergio Ramos and that might be too much of a task for a manager with poor man management skills. However, for a manager who is known for establishing a good rapport with his star players this should be just another day at the office. Massimiliano Allegri, Carlo Ancelotti, and Diego Simeone have all proven themselves to be good man managers, so it might be a good for Perez to start his search there.

Should Know the Club

When Perez went with Solari he was probably hoping that he could hit the jackpot just like he did with Zidane. Both of them knew the club, have played for quite a long time in the Spanish capital, and both of them were quite intelligent.

However, what Zidane had and Solari doesn’t have is an elite squad of players. The players Zidane had at his disposal were much better and in their prime, so hoping that Solari could follow in his colleague’s footsteps was always going to be farfetched.

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Real Madrid continue improving getting ready for the Champions League. Solari’s team got the three points at Cornellà beating Espanyol (2-4) in a great game of the team globally. Karim Benzema was again the leader of the team, but Modric or Kroos were also at a great level. Besides, Bale came back and play some minutes, also scoring one of the goals. There are many reasons to be optimistic now.

The game couldn’t start better for Los Blancos because Karim Benzema found the net in the first chance, when Luka Modric could enter in the box very easily and shot, but Diego López saved the first chance. With the scoreboard already in their side, Real Madrid controlled totally the game and were able to open the gap with a header from Sergio Ramos. The two top scorers this season found also the net against Espanyol. The local team pressured but weren’t able to cause danger to a good Real Madrid, also defensively. However, Baptistao found a ball in the box and scored the first goal for their team.

There was enough game ahead for Espanyol to try a comeback, but Los Blancos played very seriously the whole match and Karim Benzema could score again in the 45th minute with a great combination with Vinicius Junior. The level of Solari’s team was very very high and nothing changed in the second half.

With Sergio Ramos on the bench to give him some rest, Benzema and Modric lead the team in a lovely game. The had a lot of chances to score the fourth goal, but we had to wait until Bale came back to see it, in the 68th minute. Real Madrid will need the Welshman in this crucial part of the season if they want to touch silverware. The image of the team continues to improve and they are able to face any team in Europe, and so soon we will see the clash against Ajax.

It was supposed to be easy in the last part of the game, but Varane saw a red card, so Los Blancos had to play with 10 players the last minutes of the game. In that time, Espanyol scored the second goal with a great volley from Rosales. There was no time for anything else, so Real Madrid got the three points in another good game globally.

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Real Madrid got a good result (4-2) in the first leg of the quarter-finals tie in Copa del Rey against Girona in a tough evening. The Catalan team took the lead in their first shot and they also balanced the scoreboard with a stupid penalty, but Los Blancos overcame the difficulties to get a good result for the second leg next week.

Solari wants the Copa del Rey title and he put his best line-up, with Odriozola and Marcelo in the defense line. There were also some minutes for Toni Kroos and Marcos Llorente, who came from injury, but Isco is still the forgotten one. Solari doesn’t want to throw away this tournament as Ernesto Valverde did with FC Barcelona not making a good line-up to face Sevilla. This tournament is important for Los Blancos this season.

And it was far away from being a pleasant evening. Girona took the lead very soon, in the 7th minute, with a goal scored by Lozano in the only shot in the first half. Odriozola and Marcelo failed in defending their sides and the Catalan team took the lead. Some weeks before, Real Madrid couldn’t overcome the difficulties but the team is improving and they were able to have advantage by the end of the first half. Lucas Vázquez and Sergio Ramos, again with a Panenka style penalty, scored the goals.

Again Vinicius Junior was one of the best players in the pitch. He gave the assist to Lucas Vázquez in fhe first goal and left some brilliant dribblings. Karim Benzema, who scored the last goal thanks to an assist from Vinicius, was also one of the best players again. However, the problems still arrive when Marcos Llorente made a stupid handball inside the area. Granell didn’t miss his chance to level the scoreboard (2-2).

Real Madrid didn’t panic and they were able to get the advantage for the second leg. Sergio Ramos was the great captain and made the third goal with a great header after a perfect assist from Marcelo. And only two minutes later, Benzema scored his goal thanks to Vinicius. Good result and another good performance to be optimistic about this team.

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Toni Kroos Linked With Move Away From Real

Santiago Bernabéu host on Thursday (21:30, local time) the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey clash between Real Madrid and Girona. Los Blancos will fight to get into the semi-finals of this competition five years later their last great success in front of the king of Spain. In between, many disappointing results in a cursed competition.

Santiago Hernán Solari bids for this competition. This is the easiest way to touch silverware this season, giving the fact that La Liga race is quite complicated and another success in Champions League looks unlikely after the team performance this season. This is why the manager wants to put the focus on the Copa del Rey and he has called their best players for Thursday’s clash apart from Dani Carvajal, who will rest and give Álvaro Odriozola the opportunity to play.

Besides this fact, the main news is the return of Toni Kroos and Marcos Llorente to the list after their physical problems. Casemiro, after his great performance against Sevilla, might have some rest against Girona or perhaps in La Liga game against Espanyol on Sunday. Asensio, Bale, Navas or Mariano are still injured and will miss this game.

For Girona this will be the first time in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. The Catalan team is making history after knocking down Atlético Madrid in the Last 16 Round with a great draw (3-3) at Metropolitano Stadium. In La Liga they are also getting good results, as they are in the middle of the table. However, the game against Real Madrid this season at Montilivi finished 1-4 in the month of August.

Real Madrid have had very bad feelings in the last seasons in Copa del Rey. Since their victory in 2014 with the great goal scored by Gareth Bale against FC Barcelona, Los Blancos have not been able to get through the semi-finals. In the 2014-15 season, Atlético Madrid beat them in the Last 16 Round. Then it came the shame against Cádiz with the line-up of Cheryshev with Rafa Benítez on the bench. And with Zinedine Zidane, Celta de Vigo and Leganés knocked down the European champions.

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eriksen

After some quite summers at Santiago Bernabéu offices, Florentino Pérez would need to work hard to get some of the best players in the market. Eden Hazard is the target number one and the Belgian has revealed several times his interests of moving to the Spanish capital but some other players should arrive. One important target will be the Tottenham Hotspur player Christian Eriksen.

Los Blancos asked for him in the past but the answer received by Daniel Levy, Spurs chairman, was a refusal. This summer the situation might change. Eriksen has contract until 2020, so this will be the last opportunity for this club to get some money from him, especially because the Danish player is refusing to extend his contract.

Together with Harry Kane, Eriksen is the most important player for Mauricio Pochettino’s project. He has played 20 games in the Premier League this season and his influence has been key to get into the Champions League positions in the last years. However, after five years in North London, the former Ajax player should be looking for new goals.

Eriksen and Eden Hazard could be a good fit for the future Real Madrid. According to the Spanish newspaper As, Los Blancos could pay between €56M and €84M, taking in consideration that his contract is about to expire. This would mean half of the price Barcelona paid for Phillippe Coutinho one year ago. Nevertheless, Levy is a very tough person to negotiate with, as Florentino knows with his experience with Gareth Bale or Luka Modric, so it won’t be easy to get him on board of the new project. Who knows if even his current manager, Pochettino, will be bossing him at Real Madrid in the next summer.

Meanwhile, some reports say that Los Blancos could include James Rodríguez in the deal. The Colombian player is not living a good moment with Nico Kovac at Bayern Munich and the German team should decide at the end of season whether to keep the player for €42M or let him go. In that case, Real Madrid would recover a top player for the midfield, but they can also trade with him as he’s still a wanted footballer in Europe.

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One of the toughest decisions Santiago Hernán Solari had to take so far was sitting Marcelo on the bench. The Brazilian player has been a key footballer in the last decade for Los Blancos and probably the best left back in the history of the club, together with Roberto Carlos, but his bad moment has put him on the spot in the last weeks. Finally, the manager had the courage to replace him with Reguilón and the decision has been proven to be correct.

Except for some important games in the path to conquer La Décima, Marcelo has been always the left back of the team. Then, Fabio Coentrao played some good games, especially in the defensive part, and he was even in the line-up at Lisbon, although Marcelo came in into the pitch to decide the game. No one can doubt about Marcelo’s skills, but he’s been one of the worst footballers this season and the bench had to be his place, at least until he’s recovered.

Because Solari’s job is always to get the best version of all players, including Marcelo. The Brazilian is a much better footballer than Reguilón, but right now the youngster is giving his best. He has played the last four games from the start and he hasn’t committed any mistake so far, being especially accurate against Sevilla, covering Jesús Navas in his side.

In one month the decisive part of the season will start with the Champions League return. Marcelo should work on himself and be ready for the challenge because his performances, from the big mistake in the European Supercup until now, have been delusional. However, Marcelo’s case is not similar to Isco’s. The playmaker had a lack of respect with the manager, according to the journalists, whereas the Brazilian is just out of shape. Some informations report he has 8 extra kilos on him.

Let’s see how Solari handles the situation. The next game will be against Girona in the first leg of the quarter-finals of Copa del Rey. It could be a good opportunity to give Marcelo the chance to redeem himself and make a good performance so he can gain confidence for the upcoming games.

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Real Madrid beat (2-0) Sevilla at Santiago Bernabéu suffering in the best game of the season so far, especially in the second half. Los Blancos played as a team for the first time and they didn’t concede many chances, creating also danger in the other goal. The team was lead by Luka Modric, again with his best version.

Solari decided to leave Marcelo and Isco on the bench, not a surprise anymore. Luckily, Benzema was able to participate despite having the little finger broken in his hand. The game was a tough one and we could see it from the start. The first half was very level, without many clear chances.

Los Blancos started pressuring very high, not allowing Banega to connect with André Silva and Ben Yedder. After stealing a ball, Benzema served to Vinicius, who shot against Sevilla’s goalkeeper Vaclik. It was the clearest chance in the first half for Los Blancos. Little by little, Sevilla were feeling more comfortable and Los Blancos were losing the possession. Sergio Escudero could have scored but he missed in front of Courtois. There were no clear ideas for Real Madrid, but everything had to be decided in the second half.

The second half was perhaps the best 45 minutes of Real Madrid in the season. They created danger, stole the ball in the rival’s field and played really good, combining with all the attacking players. The problem was that there is not striker in the team. Benzema is better playing with another 9. Especially Modric was guiding the team and actually he had the best chance in the first moments of the second half. Also Dani Ceballos tried but the bar repelled the ball.

With Real Madrid trying to score a goal, Solari put Isco in the pitch, replacing Lucas Vázquez, who didn’t create any danger. Soon after, Casemiro found the net with a spectacular shot from a very long distance. It was the far prize to the good game for Los Blancos. The cherry on the cake was put by Luka Modric in the 92nd minute after stealing a ball and scoring the second goal of the game. The Croatian was the best player of the game in the best version of the team this season. Finally, something to be optimistic this season.

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Real Madrid went through to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey after losing (1-0) at Butarque against Leganés, so the first leg result (3-0) was enough to accomplish the goal. Los Blancos played another poor game -how many this season?- showing their defects. Keylor Navas was the best player of the team, avoiding a scary evening.

Girona, Getafe, Valencia, Sevilla… and Real Madrid are the teams qualified to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. Los Blancos had everything on their side after the result obtained one week ago and they weren’t surprised by Leganés. However, there are few points to be optimistic after another poor game. Only Keylor Navas and Vinicius Junior displayed a good level on the pitch.

Santiago Hernán Solari had to include many youngsters in the team due to the injuries. Cristo, Vinicius, Valverde, Odriozola, Brahim… this is the Real Madrid nowadays. Isco and Marcelo were in the line-up but none of them bright and we will have to wait another game to see the best of both.

The evening was very cold in the Spanish capital and so the game. Leganés tried harder during the whole game but Los Blancos didn’t suffer. Especially because Keylor Navas prevented it and also because Leganés struggle to score goals during the whole season. Braithwate scored the only goal of the game in the 31st minute after another save from Keylor. They created many chances, with Real Madrid out of the game, in the first half.

The second half was slightly better, but nothing really great. The best chance was for Brahim, hitting the post, after a great slalom of Vinicius Junior. However, the best chances were for Leganés, but Keylor Navas saved everything. The comeback was very hard, but Leganés tried every minute. Perhaps with an early goal in the second half, everything could have been different. At least, Real Madrid will fight for another title.

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