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Keylor Navas says the Real Madrid players must continue playing in a positive manner if they are to achieve success this season.

Los Blancos defeated Roma 2-0 in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie last night and will take that lead back to the Santiago Bernabeu to defend in the return leg.

But the Costa Rica international said the team must keep up their concentration in the second leg as Roma have players that can hurt them. He told reporters that the best way to approach the rest of the season both in Europe and on the domestic scene is to play each game in a positive manner.

He commmented: “We’re relaxed and really driven. We’ve got to continue on in this vein. As a group we’ve got to be united, and out on the pitch we’re proving that we are. We’ll prepare for the next game against them with the same application and calm approach to try to win the game. We cannot go thinking that the tie is over because there are still another 90 minutes to play. Roma are a great team and they can make things tough for us.”

The shot stopper also hailed Cristiano Ronaldo for his goal and said it is always an advantage to have the best player in the world playing on your side.

“Having the best player in the world on your team is always important. Today he helped us by getting the opener, which gave us a lot of confidence,” he was quoted by the official club website.

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Jese Rodriguez says he fulfilled one of his dreams on Wednesday night – scoring a goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The 23-year-old striker netted late on in the match against Roma to help his side to an important 2-0 win to take back to Madrid for the second leg of their last-16 tie. Cristiano Ronaldo had scored the opening just before the hour mark.

Jese has had a hard time with injuries and sometimes cuts a frustrated figure because of a lack of game time. But he told the Real Madrid website that he was delighted to get off the mark in Europe’s elite club competition for Los Blancos.

“I really wanted to score in the Champions League. It is my first goal in this competition and I am very happy. I am dedicating it to myself and those who are with me each day. It was a tough goal for me to get. I have worked a lot and it is difficult to play for this side, as everyone is a good player. I am very happy,” he commented.

Asked about his relationship with new boss Zinedine Zidane, Jese said he is delighted to be working with the Frenchman again.

“I am happy that the manager gives me confidence. Since arriving he has given us all confidence. He is fully behind everyone and that is very important. We know each other from two years ago and back then he really helped me. Now I am delighted to have him as a manager. You learn from him as a person and as a manager,” he said.

 

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Arturo Vidal
Arturo Vidal warms up before the Bundesliga match of Bayern Munich vs Hoffenheim LUKAS BARTH/AFP/Getty Images

Zinedine Zidane has reportedly suggested Real Madrid directors he would like to bring Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal to his squad. The Frenchman is a big admirer of the 28-year-old and he believes his signing would help the team gain balance.

According to Spanish website Fichajes.net, Florentino Perez has ruled out this transfer despite Zidane’s desire. The Los Blancos president has another Bayern Munich player in his wish-list, and he knows the Germans could agree to sell one of their stars, but never two.

Thus, unless Los Merengues finally decide not to negotiate with Bayern for Robert Lewandowski, they will not attempt to bring Vidal.

The Chile international arrived at Munich last summer from Juventus in a 35-million-euro move. Should Bayern agree to negotiate, they would request more than what they paid in the first place.

Arturo Vidal during a match with Juventus
Arturo Vidal during a match with Juventus

Vidal has been linked with a move to Real Madrid for a couple of years now, but his controversial personality has always left Los Blancos undecided about the signing.

Surely the Chilean would be a quality add for Los Merengues, since there is not a player of his characteristics in the squad at the moment. The only defensive midfielder in the team is Casemiro, but he doesn’t seem to have convinced Zidane.

* Keep reading our Real Madrid blog for the latest rumours.

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Raphael Varane says he is delighted him and his fellow defenders kept a clean sheet in the win over Roma on Wednesday night.

Los Blancos won the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against the Seria A outfit 2-0 thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese Rodriguez.

Equally as important was the shut out at the other end that gives the 10-time winners of the tournament a great chance to progress to the quarter finals when they host the Italians in the return leg.

Varane, who suffered with injuries at the beginning of his Real Madrid career and was in and out of the side, has gone on to establish himself as a key member in the team now, forming a strong central defensive partnership with club captain Sergio Ramos.

In quotes published on the official club website, the France international stated: “I wanted to put in a solid display. Alongside Ramos it was a very good performance to keep a team like Roma at bay. Roma are dangerous and we did well to keep a clean sheet.

“It was a display of a side that’s very close and is really driven. We’ll enjoy the win and from tomorrow we’ll then start thinking about the Málaga game”.

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Ex-Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez has slammed club president Florentino Perez for his impatience.

Benitez was fired last month – just seven months into the job – and replaced with former World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane.

The Spaniard though isn’t the first, nor will be be the last to have a short term reign in charge of the 10-time Champions League winners. And in quotes published by ESPN, Benitez blamed Perez’ impatience as the cause of so much instability at the club.

ou need to know exactly what happened in the last few years,” Benitez said.

“You can see Camacho, Del Bosque, Pellegrini, Mourinho, Ancelotti – it’s not easy to be the manager there,” he commented.

And he added: “You have to do everything perfect. As soon as something is wrong, or the chairman thinks something is wrong, you have problems.

“Obviously you should expect to improve at the end of the season because the experience we have is to manage two games a week and train for five. I think we could do really well but they were a little bit nervous, the fans were, the chairman was, and they changed the manager.”

Benitez also dismissed rumours he and Cristiano Ronaldo did not get on well during their time at the club.

“He was quite happy with the way we were training because we trained with the ball. We had top-class players, they enjoy training with the ball, he’s a winner, he’s very competitive, he wants to win, to score goals. It’s fine,” he said.

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Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has hailed his team mates for their ‘great job’ in securing a 2-0 win over Roma.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese scored the important goals that Los Blancos will look to defend when they host the Seria A outfit in three weeks time.

The 10-time winners of the Champions League were fully deserving of their win and celebrated at the end by forming a huddle in a show of togetherness. Speaking after the match, Ramos said the players were all united and working to achieve success for the club.

He stated: “You’ve got to look at the great job that we did as a team. Right from the go we went out to get a good result, we tried to dictate proceedings and dominate possession. We managed to do that, and in front of goal we were pretty potent. We’ve taken a big step towards getting through the tie.”

And he continued: “At the end of the game we were dominating in their half, and on occasions, when we lost possesion, they broke quickly and dangerously. At half time Zidane spoke about keeping the ball and making sure of our passes so as to reach their box without panicking.”

Asked about the team’s celebrations with Zidane, he said: “Everyone is entitled to make of that what they will. We’ve got to carry on in this vein and celebrating as a team is the best way to go about achieving success. The key is to be united, and to be able to resilient when we have to dig in to get a result.”

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Zinedine Zidane says the players are delighted with the 2-0 win over Roma in the Champions League but are aware the tie is not over yet.

Los Blancos secured an impressive win to take back to the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, who silenced his critics who had claimed he does not scored enough away from home, and Jese, who netted his first Champions League goal for the club.

At his press conference afterwards, Zidane told reporters it was an important result but no one would be getting carried away at this point.

“Nothing is definitely over in football. We are happy with the result because it is not easy to win here 0-2. We have to play the return leg. Tonight we will sleep happily, from tomorrow on we have to think about the league game this Sunday against Málaga and we will see what happens in the return leg, but the knockout phase is still open,” he stated.

And he added: “We are always going to have difficult away games and today was one of them. We played a lot better than in the other away games, but it will also be more difficult than at the Bernabéu. Today was an important game because it is a knockout game and we managed to keep a clean sheet and score goals.”

While Real were busy with the Champions League, Barcelona extended their lead over them in La Liga to seven points by beating Sporting Gijon.

Asked for his thoughts on the league situation, Zidane admitted catching the Catalan side would be tough but Real will give everything to do so.

“I am still thinking the same thing. We are seven points behind and it will be difficult, but we are giving it everything and we are all happy. We are going to rest well and think about the Málaga game. On Sunday we will try to do everything to get what we need to get,” he commented.

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Former Real Madrid left back Roberto Carlos says the club would have been labelled disrespectful had they scored a penalty similar to the one Barcelona did at the weekend.

Leading 3-1 at home to Celta Vigo the hosts were awarded a spot kick. Leo Messi stepped up to take it but rather than tucking it away himself he passed the ball for Luis Suarez to run onto and score.

While many have said the goal was a brilliant homage to Johann Cryuff and Jesper Olsen’s effort for Ajax in 1982, some have said the penalty was disrespectful and belittled Celta Vigo and La Liga.

Speaking about the penalty, Roberto Carlos told Marca: “If we’d taken Messi’s penalty at the Bernabeu it would have been portrayed as disrespectful.”

The Brazilian also had his say on the venue of the Copa del Rey final and agreed that it should not take place at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona had wanted the showpiece event to take place there but in the end their plans were scuppered because Bruce Springsteen will perform concerts over the same weekend in May.

Carlos stated: “I wouldn’t let them use the Bernabeu for the Spanish Cup final. There are plenty of stadiums in Spain which could host the final. Why the Bernabeu? In 2004 Barcelona refused to let us use their ground for our final against Zaragoza.”

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ramos-ronaldo-zidane
Paolo Bruno/Getty Images

Real Madrid put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Roma 0-2 thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese Rodriguez.

The Italians fought hard, but a brilliant goal from the Portuguese calmed Real nerved and helped Zinedine Zidane earn a victory in his Champions League debut.

The hosts threatened Los Blancos from the start, as Mohamed Salah’s quickness made Marcelo and Sergio Ramos give their best. Real defenders were very concentrated and managed to stop the Egyptian, but still Roma had the first chance of the game.

The Italians came close to making it 1-0 as Perotti poked a low pass into El Shaarawy, who attempted to beat Keylor Navas from close range, but his effort was always too high.

Isco and Marcelo were Los Merengues’ best players in the first half, constantly threatening Roma through the left wing. The Brazilian could have opened the score as he sent a spectacular volley from just inside the box, but his effort dropped wide of the post.

Los Blancos gained control of possession in the second half, but Roma came close to scoring in a counter-attack. El Shaaraway broke through on the Real Madrid goal, but Navas raced off his line to make the challenge.

In the following play, the visitors took the lead as Ronaldo collected a pass from Marcelo, cut inside his full-back and angled a superb shot into the top corner.

The Italians had a couple of chances to level, but both Vainqueur and Dzeko missed their efforts.

Right before the end, Jese drove into the Roma box and fired a low effort into the bottom corner, securing Los Blancos victory.

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roma real madrid preview

Zinedine Zidane’s only doubt for tonight’s game against Roma was whether to include Marcelo or Danilo in the lineup, since the left-back has recently recovered from an injury and is not 100% fit.

The Frenchman has finally chosen Marcelo, who will feature in defence alongside Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Daniel Carvajal.

Isco will return to the starting eleven after sitting on the bench against Athletic Bilbao. Zidane wanted the Spaniard to rest ahead of the last-16 round of the Champions League, so he should have an important role in this match.

As usual, James Rodriguez has been chosen to replace injured Gareth Bale. Thus, the midfield line will be formed by Isco, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and James. Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema will be the key men in attack.

This will be Real Madrid’s starting eleven to face Roma: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; James Rodriguez, Modric, Kroos, Isco; Benzema, Ronaldo.

Meanwhile, Roma had the major doubt of Daniele de Rossi, who has just recovered from an injury and didn’t have a spot in the starting eleven guaranteed. Luciano Spalleti has finally decided not to include him.

This will be Roma’s starting eleven: Szczesny; Szszesny; Florenzi, Manolas, Rudiger, Digne; Pjanic, Vainqueur; Salah, Nainggolan, El Sharaawy; Perotti.

* Stay tuned at Real Madrid news for all the updates about this match.

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