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Real Madrid defender Pepe says the team needs to keep fighting for the title after losing more ground on Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid.

After Los Cules squandered a two-goal lead at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, Real had the chance to cut the gap on them to two points with victory against Villarreal. But Real slipped to a 1-0 defeat at El Madrigal despite having 20 shots on goal.

It means the 10-time Champions League winners are now five points behind the top two and with plenty of work to do.

Speaking to reporters, the Portugal international stated: “I think we have to talk to each other and solve some of these problems. We played really well in 4 or 5 games and, although we haven’t been able to narrow the gap on Barcelona and Atlético, we’re still in the fight. Following the Barcelona result we now need to play our brand of football and fight until the very end, which is what the supporters what from us and what we are going to give them.”

About the game itself, Pepe admitted Real had been too wasteful.

“It was a game of two halves. We struggled to get into the first half and couldn’t get a read of the game. We knew we had to give it our all after the break. That was a different story; we had loads of chances but couldn’t put them away.”

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Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez says his team needs to be more clinical after Los Blancos squandered chance after chance in the 1-0 defeat to Villarreal.

Roberto Soldado’s early goal gave the hosts the three points at El Madrigal on Sunday evening, but the visitors has 20 shots at goal throughout the match.

The defeat, Real’s third of the La Liga campaign, leaves them five points off the top of the table.

Afterwards, Benitez told the media he was angry his players failed to take the chances particularly knowing they had the chance to close the gap on leaders Barcelona to just two points if they had won.

“It’s difficult to explain, but these things sometimes happen. I’m not happy at all with the first half. In the first half we didn’t play well. I expected the team to play the way it did in the second. In the second half we didn’t take our chances, but we did what we should have done from the start” he stated.

And he added: “It’s a league season in which teams are going to drop points. All the teams at the top are going to drop points. To challenge for the title you have to win a lot of games and these types of matches, with the favourable situation that existed before kick-off, are there for us to really lay down our title intentions.”

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England manager Roy Hodgson says his players must be prepared to deal with the threat of Gareth Bale when his side meet Wales in the European Championships next summer.

The two sides were drawn in the same group at the draw on Saturday – something that will lead to plenty of Battle of Britain headlines in the coming months.

Wales will be playing at their first major tournament since 1958 and relying very much on star man Gareth Bale. The Real Madrid forward played a crucial role in the qualifying stages.

And immediately after the drawn, Hodgson said his players must be prepared for a tough test when the take on Chris Coleman’s men in Lens.

“One of the things we will be concerned with will be stopping Gareth Bale and limiting his chances but I would like to think we have one or two players that will occupy Welsh minds in terms of how we stop them,” he commented.

And he added: “I’ve been very, very impressed with Wales. I think they have a strong spine. I think Ashley Williams has done a magnificent job at centre-half. They have a good goalkeeper in Wayne Hennessey.

“And I think Chris Coleman has put a lot of players around those that are complementing them well and make certain they can get the best out of, in particular, Gareth Bale, who is a world star.”

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An early strike from Roberto Soldado earned Villarreal three points against Real Madrid and prevented Los Blancos from shortening Barcelona’s lead in La Liga down to two points.

The hosts came into the game with a better attitude and they hit the woodwork in their first offensive play. Cedric Bakambu found Jonathan Dos Santos on the right channel, and the midfielder lashed a superb strike straight into the post.

In the next play, the Amarillos took the lead as Bruno Soriano robbed Luka Modric of possession passed the ball into Bakambu, assisted Soldado inside the box. The Los Merengues home-grown striker found the back of the net with a precise shot through the legs of Keylor Navas.

Rafa Benitez men tried to react, but Villarreal were very solid in defence during the first half. Karim Benzema had the best chance for Los Blancos but his shot went off the bar.

Madrid improved significantly after the break, and Villarreal seemed exhausted from their previous effort. The first minutes of the second half were a nightmare for the host defenders.

Benzema received a pass from Bale and fired a brilliant half-volley at goal but it screw away from the inside of the post at the last minute. Right in the next play, the Frenchman miss a big chance again as he got ahead of his marker to meet a cross from Bale, but was not able to direct the shot on target.

Real became less dangerous every minute, but still Benzema had another major opportunity to level. Ronaldo sent a perfect cross deep to the back post, but the Frenchman, whilst completely unmarked, sent his header wide of the post.

With this loss, Los Blancos see Barcelona and Atletico Madrid increase their lead to five points.

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Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has continued his war of words with Alvaro Arbeloa by claiming the Los Blancos right back is not a friend of his.

Pique caused a stir last week when posting a Twitter message mocking Real Madrid’s error in playing Denis Cheryshev in the Copa del Rey tie against Cadiz when the winger was supposed to be completing a one-match ban. He later admitted he found the ordeal hilarous as Los Blancos were thrown out of the competition.

Responding to that, Arbeloa told Pique that he was obsessed with Real Madrid and that he may one day seen him perform in a comedy club.

Following Barcelona’s 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon with Deportivo La Coruna, Pique was asked about Arbeloa’s comments.

And he responded by calling the World Cup and European Championship winner ‘un cono…cido’ or an ‘acquaintance’. He also made a clear reference to a derogatory Spanish term ‘coño’.

The Catalan defender then went on to add: “It was one more tweet. I heard Arbeloa called me a friend. I don’t consider him a friend.”

Plenty of people are growing tired of Pique’s attempts at banter as they are starting to become inflammatory or insulting. After the latest outburst, former Real midfielder Esteban Granero told the centre back to show some respect.

“Pique, please forget about your complexes and respect your elders,” he wrote on Twitter.

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Real Madrid are eyeing a move for former playmaker Mesit Ozil should James Rodriguez leave the Santiago Bernabeu, according to reports.

UK media have suggested Premier League strugglers Chelsea want to sign James at the end of the campaign after reports of a falling out with Rafa Benitez.

Should Real agree to part with the 24-year-old, who signed in 2014 for 70 million euros from Monaco, they would have space in their squad for a new playmaker.

According to Don Balon, the 10-time Champions League winners have been impressed with Ozil’s progress at Arsenal and would be keen to make a mega offer to bring hi back to Spain.

Ozil played for Real for three years, scoring 27 goals in 159 games for Los Blancos. He helped the club to La Liga in 2012 and the Copa del Rey the year before. Since departing for the Emirates, the German has won two FA Cup trophies and established himself as one of the most creative players in the Premier League.

So far this campaign, Ozil has made 12 assists in the league alone and helped the Gunners to within two points of league leaders Manchester City and into the next round of the Champions League. Should Real want to take up their interest, they may need to act fast as Gunners boss Arsene Wenger wants to tie him down to a new long term deal in north London.

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Rafa Benitez has congratulated his players on their good work during the past days and has claimed “the team have more and more confidence” thanks to the recent victories.

“They’re defending well, scoring goals, working hard and winning the ball back. They’re positives that we’re working on and seeing in our games. The challenge is to carry on in the same vein, starting on Sunday,” he said at a press conference ahead of the La Liga clash against Villarreal.

Asked about their next rival, Benitez admitted “they are very tough, because they’re a really well-drilled side, but we’re after the three points and are out to leave our fans with plenty to shout about.”

The Spanish manager praised the Amarillos boss Marcelino Garcia Toral, claiming they are friends and defining him as “a great coach.”

Asked about the good scoring run of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Benitez explained “both players are really important”. “They both need confidence and we’re giving them that,” he added.

The Los Blancos boss also cleared the doubts about Sergio Ramos injury: “He is ready to play. We will line him up.”

Real Madrid could shorten Barcelona’s lead in La Liga down to two points and Benitez reminded he had already predicted this season “teams would drop more points than in other seasons.” “It’s pretty tight and it will be that way until the end. We have to keep pace, string together more wins and carry on fighting,” he concluded.

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Real Madrid will take on Villarreal hoping to extend their good scoring run. Los Blancos have scored 15 goals in their last three games, with Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo showing a spectacular form.

Rafa Benitez men hope to overtake Atletico Madrid in the table by beating Villarreal, one of the strongest squads of the league, especially when playing at their own stadium.

The Spanish manager will have problems in defence again, as he will miss Raphael Varane and Daniel Carvajal through injury. Sergio Ramos is also a doubt, although he is expected to recover on time for the game. Thus, Pepe and Ramos would be the centre-back pair. Benitez will also recover Marcelo, who will return to the left-back position.

Los Blancos are expected to display a 4-3-3 formation, with Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez in midfield, and the BBC (Bale, Benzema and Cristiano) up front.

Meanwhile, Villarreal will also struggle to line-up a decent defence, as they are suffering serious injury problems in that line. Mario Gaspar and Bonera are out, while Jaume Costa is also a doubt. Rukavina and Adrian Marin could be their replacements.

Marcelino Garcia Toral earned a disappointing draw on Thursday in Plzen in the Europa League, and they will seek to find comfort in a victory over Real Madrid.

Possible line-ups

Villarreal: Areola; Rukavina, Bailly, Ruiz, Marin; Dos Santos, Soriano, Pina, Suarez; Bakambu, Soldado.

Real Madrid: Navas; Danilo, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, James; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.

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Former Real Madrid defender Fabio Canavaro says he almost became assistant boss to Carlo Ancelotti but was piped to the post by Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane spent 12 months working under the Italian in the 2013-14 season, the year in which Los Blancos created history when they became the first team to win 10 Champions League trophies.

The 1998 World Cup winner has since go on to take over the Real Madrid Castilla side and is widely seen at the man to one take take over at the Santiago Bernabeu hotseat.

But speaking to Cadena Ser, Cannavaro, who captained Italy to World Cup glory in 2006, says he was close to getting the assistant manager’s job.

“I think it was Florentino who decided to choose Zidane and not me,” he commented.

Cannavaro then went on to discuss Rafa Benitez’ regime so far, saying it is too early still to judge the boss. Real sit just four points behind Barcelona in the league and are into the last 16 of the Champions League. But there have been plenty of off-field problems this season, with Real thrown out of the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.

“We can only say that Benitez is a good coach for Madrid at the end of the season if he wins titles. We all know the club culture and mentality of the fans,” he stated.

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Toni Kroos says everyone at the club was sad to see Carlo Ancelotti leave Real Madrid last summer, including the players who did not feature much under him.

The German was quizzed in an interview with Die Zeit about the managers he has played for during his career. And he only had words of praise for the Italian.

Ancelotti spent two years in the dugout at the Santiago Bernabeu. In his first season, Real won the Champions League and Copa del Rey. Despite picking up two more trophies in his second term – the European Super Cup and World Club Cup – Ancelotti was dismissed for failing to land one of the bigger honours last season.

Kroos stated: “He was able to mix the success factors the best: The tactical idea, the human component, which especially at Real Madrid is not easy. When he left everyone was sad. Also those who did not play and could have had every reason to criticise him for that. Not a single negative word was said. That’s extraordinary.”

The World Cup winner was damning in his verdict of Jurgen Klinsmann, the former striker now in charge of the US but who managed Kroos at Bayern Munich.

He said: “During his time at Bayern I personally missed everything: An idea of how to play football, adequate communication — and success.”

And he praised current Bayern boss Pep Guadiola, who he played under for one season for at the Allianz Arena.

“He has been the best coach I’ve ever had in terms of his idea of football, the plan on how to play an opponent, and how to present solutions to his own team.”

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