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Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez says striker Cristiano Ronaldo guarantees goals ahead of the Champions League clash with PSG.

Los Blancos head to France this evening to take on the Ligue 1 champions in the first of their back-to-back group stage games. The 10-time winners of the competition are without a number of high profile first teamers including Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.

But speaking at his press conference, Benitez said having Ronaldo in his line up means goals are an almost certainty. The 30-year-old has netted 11 goals in all competitions this season and recently overtook Raul as the club’s all time leading goalscorer.

Benitez said: “We have a guarantee of goals with Cristiano and as a team we know what we need to do on the pitch. Despite the injuries our team has some spectacular statistics. Our team is a team that attacks. Our idea is to score goals and to win the match.”

The boss also gave an update over Gareth Bale’s situation and said it was better to take him off against Levante than risk further problems.

“We left [Bale] out of Levante, I have the feeling that he is tired, he says he has a small injury but wants to play. I decided with my coaching staff to replace him and then we found that he had an injury, but things went well. Losing a player of his quality is important but in the second half the team played well and ended up winning,” he commented.

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paris saint germain real madrid preview

Real Madrid will seek to maintain their perfect start to the Champions League season in the toughest game Rafa Benitez has faced since he arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos will pay a visit to the highest-spending club in the world, Paris Saint-Germain, who have also won their two previous matches of the group stage.

Benitez will miss many important players, as Gareth Bale has also joined the injured players list due to a problem in his left calf.

With Karim Benzema also on the sidelines, Cristiano Ronaldo will most likely have Lucas Vazquez as his couple in the attack.

On the other hand, Los Merengues will recover Luka Modric, who will feature in midfield alongside Toni Kroos, Isco, and probably Casemiro as well.

James Rodriguez, Pepe and Daniel Carvajal remain on the sidelines, so Danilo will start again at right-back while Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos will be the centre-back pair.

PSG also have injury problems of their own and will miss defender David Luiz and goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. On the other hand, they will recover former Los Blancos target Marco Verratti.

Angel di Maria will face their former team from the first time since he left the Santiago Bernabeu. He is expected to feature from the start alongside Lucas, Cavani and Ibrahimovic.

Possible line-ups:

Paris Saint-Germain: Sirigu; Aurier, Silva, Marquinhos, Maxwell; Motta, Pastore, Di Maria; Lucas, Cavani, Ibrahimovic.

Real Madrid: Navas; Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Vazquez, Ronaldo, Isco.

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Former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti says Los Blancos face a huge task against PSG on Wednesday because of their attacking problems.

The 10-time Champions League winners head to Paris to take on another of Ancelotti’s old clubs in the first of their back-to-back clashes with the Ligue 1 champions.

But Real are without a number of first team stars including Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, who both picked up knocks on international duty. They are also without the services of James Rodriguez and Luka Modric, two of the side’s most creative influences.

Speaking ahead of the game, Ancelotti told Madrid-based daily AS that Los Blancos will find it tough.

“I think PSG will deploy a game of possession and Madrid will focus more on the idea of counter-attacking. They are very dangerous on the counter-attack but they have several significant injuries. Madrid are a strong team defensively, they don’t concede many goals. But they have some problems in attack,” the Italian said.

He also spoke about the qualities of Angel di Maria, once of Real but now of PSG.

“Di Maria is a fast player who can play in the centre or on the wing. At Madrid he was used on the right or left of the attack,” Ancelotti recalled.

He went on: “Then when Sami Khedira was injured I put him in the centre as an organiser. It was a new position but he did very well. He’s a great team player.”

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PSG boss Laurent Blanc says his players need to stop Cristiano Ronaldo if they are to have any chance of beating Real Madrid tonight.

Los Blancos visit the Ligue 1 champions with the 30-year-old having already scored five goals in the tournament in just two games so far this campaign, and 11 goals in 10 matches in total.

And Blanc says stopping the Portugal forward, who he described as an ‘alien’ would be key.

“He’s one of the two aliens of planet football. He’s good in every area. We have to make sure he has few touches of the ball. We have to keep an eye on him,” Blanc said on Tuesday at his press conference.

He went on to discuss how his side will approach the game, saying his players like to attack.

“People know our style of play. We like to have the ball. Real are quite defensive but they are very effective. These are two different philosophies that will now meet. If they want to give us the ball, we’ll take it with pleasure. We meet a European giant tomorrow, but it won’t be a decisive match. The decisive matches will come later, I hope. PSG are not yet a European giant, but we have the quality and motivation to win.”

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PSG centre back Thiago Silva has revealed he could have joined today’s Champions League opponents Real Madrid earlier in his career.
The 31-year-old Brazilian played at AC Milan for three seasons between 2009 and 2012 before making the switch from Seria A to Ligue 1 for a fee believed to be in excess of 40 million euros.
But in quotes published by AS, Silva said his career could have been different and he may well have been lining up for the 10-time Champions League winners instead of Laurent Blanc’s side when the teams meet in the first of their two groups stage matches.
“Before going to Milan I had contact with people from Madrid,” he commented.
He went on to add that there was also interest from treble-winner Barcelona during his time at the San Siro but that talks with the club eventually broke down.
“When I was at Milan I had talks with Barca but details didn’t materialise. I asked about some things that were important to me and they weren’t answered,” Silva stated.
“Sandro Rosell was the President. Suddenly I saw it wasn’t a good situation for me. All the talks went well and with respect to Sandro, but I didn’t have any option.”

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Five Real Madrid players have been included among the 23 candidates to win the Ballon d’Or award of 2015. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos have been named to the shortlist revealed by FIFA and French magazine France Football.

The Ballon d’Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo will seek to claim his fourth price and draw level with Leo Messi, who is the favourite to win the award this year.

From the 59 preselected players, only two Los Blancos players have failed to make it in the final 23-men shortlist: Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos. Yet, Real Madrid is still the second club with more players in the list, only trailing Barcelona by one.

Voting period will start on October 26th. A group of football journalists and all the national teams’ captains and managers will decide who is the best player of the world in 2015. The voting will close on November 20th.

On November 30th, FIFA and France Football will announce the name of the three finalists. The winner will be announced at the event that will take place in Zurich on January 11th 2016.

These are the 23 candidates to win the 2015 Ballon d’Or:

Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City)
Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/VfL Wolfsburg/Manchester City)
Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain)
Andres Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona)
Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich)
Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona)
Thomas Muller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich)
Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich)
Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona)
Paul Pogba (France/Juventus)
Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/FC Barcelona)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC Bayern Munich)
James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real Madrid)
Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal)
Luis Suarez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona)
Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire/Manchester City)
Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juventus/FC Bayern Munich)

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Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has been ruled out his sides’ clash with PSG in the Champions League due to a recurrence of a calf injury.

The 25-year-old was removed at half time in the 3-0 win over Levante at the weekend but hoped to be ready for the trip to Paris on Wednesday.

However, medical assessments have revealed the injury is more serious than initially thought and he will miss the game against the French champions. The club hasn’t put a timescale on his return yet.

Bale suffered a similar problem in October during the rout of Shakhtar Donesk, but recovered in time to help Wales reach the European Championships next summer – their first major tournament since 1958.

A statement on the official club website read: “Following the tests carried out on Gareth Bale in the Sanitas la Moraleja University Hospital, the player has been diagnosed with a soleus muscle injury in his left leg. His recovery will continue to be assessed.”

The news will be a blow to boss Rafa Benitez who has a mounting injury list as he prepares his team to face Laurent Blanc’s side. Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Daniel Carvajal, Pepe and James Rodriguez are all currently on the sidelines for Madrid and on various stages on the road to recovery.

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Angel di Maria insists he will not celebrate if he scores for PSG in their Champions League games against Real Madrid.

The two sides meet for the first time the group stage in Paris on Wednesday night with the second meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu taking place next month.

And di Maria, who joined the Ligue 1 champions in the summer after he failed to settle at Manchester United, said he’s still fond of Los Blancos and holds special memories from his time at the club. The 27-year-old spent four seasons in the Spanish capital and netted 36 goals in 191 games.

Speaking to Canal+, the Argentinean winger said: “If I ever score a goal I won’t celebrate because, deep in my heart, I’ll never forget what I experienced at Real.”

Having played a key role in helping Los Blancos win La Decima two seasons ago, di Maria said he hopes he’ll get a good reception from the fans.

“I don’t know how the fans are going to react. I left in the best possible way by winning the 10th Champions League title. I always showed my affection and for the last match they gave me a nice ovation. It’ll be good for me to play at the Bernabeu again.”

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PSG forward Edison Cavani says he is wary of the dangers posed by Real Madrid as the two teams prepare to meet in the Champions League.

Los Blancos travel to Paris on Wednesday night with both teams unbeaten in the respective leagues this season and both having won their opening two matches in the group stage.

The two clashes against the Ligue 1 champions will decide who tops the group and avoids a potentially trickier last 16 draw.

And speaking to Marca, Cavani, a one time target for Real, said Los Blancos have players who can hurt them in a matter of seconds.

“It’s always special, it’s a great competition to be playing in, because you get to pit yourself against the very best, against clubs with great history,” Cavani stated.

And he continued: “It’s always a great occasion when you face Real and we’re preparing for the match in the best way possible. One of the things that makes the best teams in the world the best is the fact that, across midfield and up top, they are capable of hurting you.

“It’s always an honour to play in games like this one, they have some outstanding players who are capable of making you pay in seconds.I think that you have to be switched on for the full 90 minutes against this sort of team, you’ve always got to be mindful of the opposition and their players.”

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Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard has dropped a huge hint over a future transfer to Real Madrid. The Belgium international has liked a post on Instagram linking him with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu next year.

This has only fueled the reports linking him with a Real Madrid swap that have been published in the last few months.

Hazard is one of the most talented players in Europe and Florentino Perez is a big admirer of the 24-year-old.

The footballer had always claimed he was happy at Chelsea. However, the Blues poor start to the Premier League season has changed everything. Many fans and even Jose Mourinho have criticised Hazard, and the Belgian is not happy with this situation.

Hazard would surely be a great add for Los Blancos, but his signing won’t be easy. Roman Abramovich is very fond of the winger and he will not let him go at a low cost. Hazard’s current market value is 70 million euros, but his buy-out clause is reportedly 250 million.

For him to arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu, he would have to request a transfer to his club, and that could surely happen if things don’t get better for him before the end of the season.

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