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Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema says the Real Madrid players must improve despite their emphatic win over Shakhtar Donesk on Tuesday.

Los Blancos kicked off their European campaign with a 4-0 over the Ukrainians at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Benzema netting the opener on the half hour mark and Cristiano Ronaldo netting his second hat trick of the week in the second half.

But talking to reports after the match, Benzema said there was a sense of frustration still because the players didn’t find their rhythm until the second half and know they need to come out of the blocks quicker.

He also bemoaned injuries to three key players – Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Gareth Bale – something that took the shine off the win.

“The best thing was the victory because in the first half we didn’t have rhythm and I don’t know why. We lost control and we missed a lot of chances. It’s rare and three top players were injured. The important thing is the points,” he stated.

He also went on to praise Ronaldo, who broke the goal scoring record in the competition, becoming the first player to reach 80 goals. With Leo Messi just three behind, the tussle for the crown is set to continue for a few more years.

“For me, Cristiano is one of the best players in the world. I have a lot of confidence in myself but the team winning is the most important.”

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Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo says the whole team deserves praise for the way they played against Shakhtar Donesk on Tuesday night.

The Portuguese once again stole the show with a second half hat trick in the 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Karim Benzema getting the other goal. His three goals mean the 30-year-old is the leading scorer in Champions League history after being tied on 77 with Leo Messi. He becomes the first player to hit 80 goals in the competition.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Ronaldo played down his importance in the team, saying every player deserved credit.

“We know that the pre-season is less important and we knew that we had to start well in both La Liga and the Champions League.

“We didn’t start brilliantly in La Liga, with a draw, but since then we’ve been fine, more consistent, and now we’re on a roll. We are in a good moment, we must highlight the work of the team. We were consistent in defence and did a good job. Shakhtar played well, they are a team that has a lot of possession, but today was Real Madrid’s day to win playing well,” he stated.

And he continued: “I knew this [record] would come, naturally and without pressure. It’s good of course, I won’t lie, I feel so proud and happy but this is not my goal – my goal is to be good all season and help the team win, which is the most important, and to win collective trophies.”

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Isco

The latest Real Madrid transfer rumours include Arsenal attempting to seduce Isco, Los Blancos ruling out a new David de Gea bid and Jose Luis Gaya being tempted by Premier League sides.

According to British newspaper Daily Express, Arsenal have made a formal approach to the Spanish club to start negotiating for Isco. The 23-year-old playmaker could seek for a move out of the Santiago Bernabeu should he fail to become a guaranteed starter this season, and the Gunners want to be the first in line to sign him.

Manchester City and Chelsea have also shown an interest in bringing the Andalusian, but it seems highly unlikely that Florentino Perez will let one of his most talented players leave whatever the offer is.

Meanwhile, Spanish press has reported that Los Merengues have ruled out David de Gea’s signing after the goalkeeper has signed a contract extension with Manchester United. After De Gea’s move to Madrid collapsed in the last minute of the transfer window, many expected Perez to try again in January, but Rafa Benitez is very happy with Keylor Navas and the club will not bring another goalkeeper.

Spanish website Fichajes.net has also reported that Chelsea and Manchester City have joined Real Madrid in the fight to sign Valencia’s left-back Jose Luis Gaya. The 20-year-old has recently renewed his contract with his club, but Valencia could let him go next summer if they receive a good offer.

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Real Madrid fans left the Santiago Bernabeu with mixed feelings after Los Blancos clearly beat Shakhtar Donetsk 0-3 in the Champions League opener thanks to a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo and a goal from Benzema.

Rafa Benitez men played a decent game and defeated the Ukrainians easily, but they saw three of their most important players leave the pitch injured. Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane suffered injuries and could miss the next La Liga clash against Granada.

Real dominated from the start and they had very clear chances to open the score. Gareth Bale flicked a superb back-heel shot to the bottom corner following a cross from Dani Carvajal, but the goalkeeper made the save.

Benzema fired over an empty net after receiving a brilliant pass from Ronaldo and dribbling past the goalkeeper. However, the Frenchman quickly redeemed himself tapping home from close range after a terrible mistake from Andriy Pyatov, who dropped the ball at the striker’s feet.

Bale suffered a problem in his left thigh and had to be replaced by Mateo Kovacic after 30 minutes. With the Croatian on the pitch Los Merengues gained even more possession control, although they were unable to double their lead before the break.

In the second half, Los Blancos lost their two centre-backs pretty soon. Varane picked up a blow in his ankle and was replace by Pepe during the break. Minutes later, Sergio Ramos was tackled by Stepanenko, who was shown a second yellow card, and suffered an injury in his shoulder.

Cristiano Ronaldo gave his team a rest scoring two penalties that sealed the victory. Srna and Azevedo were adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box and the Portuguese beat Pyatov twice from the spot.

Ronaldo extended his impressive scoring form after having netted five against Espanyol. The Portugal international made his third with ten minutes to go converting from close range after Marcelo saw his shot blocked.

The 30-year-old has scored eight goals in two games and will seek to keep impressing in La Liga against Granada, a team Los Merengues beat 9-1 in their last meeting.

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real madrid shakhtar donetsk preview

Real Madrid will kick off their Champions League campaign hosting Shakhtar Donestk at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos come into the game in great shape, having thrashed Espanyol 0-6 in La Liga thanks to five goals from Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese will look to extend his impressive scoring form to get a positive start in the European competition.

Rafa Benitez will miss James Rodriguez and Danilo through injuries. Isco and Dani Carvajal are the expected replacements. They both featured as starters at Espanyol and put in a great performance.

Denis Cheryshev has made it in the squad for the first time this season and he could have his first minutes in official competition for Real Madrid.

Shakhtar’s boss Mircea Lucescu has all his men available. However, the Ukrainians have a very poor record playing in Spain, having won only two of the nine times they’ve played in the country.

Rafa Benitez starts his first European campaign with Real Madrid hoping to repeat the success of 2005, when he won this competition with Liverpool in Istanbul.

Possible line-ups:
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos; Isco, Bale, Ronaldo; Benzema
Shakhtar Donetsk: Pyatov; Srna, Kucher, Rakytskiy, Azevedo; Fred, Stepanenko; Marlos, Teixeira, Taison; Hladkyi

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Real Madrid have been pipped by the Dallas Cowboys to top spot of the latest ‘Most Valuable Sports Team’ list published by business magazine Forbes.

The NFL side were valued at 3.53 billion euros despite the fact they have failed to win American Football’s biggest prize – the Super Bowl – in two decades.

Los Blancos were ranked second in the list with a valuation of 2.88 billion euros, ahead of bitter rivals Barcelona. The Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey holders were valued at 2.79 billion euros.

According to Forbes, there were a number of factors as to why the Cowboys overtook the Santiago Bernabeu side to take the number one spot in the annual survey. The two key reasons were a successful marketing strategy carried out by the NFL side, who are owned by Jerry Jones.

Revenue from the team’s home stadium also played a big part. The Cowboys bring in almost 107 million euros in matchday revenues during the season while other events held at the AT&T Stadium account for a further 26 million euros.

Manchester United were the highest ranked Premier League team with a valuation of 2.7 billion euros – thanks largely to a new TV deal shared among the 20 clubs in the division and a lucrative kit sponsorship deal with Adidas.

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New PSG winger Angel di Maria believes his side can top their Champions League group but it will be a tall order to topple Real Madrid.

Laurent Blanc’s side meet Malmo in their first game this week but the Ligue 1 champions will meet the 10-time winners after they were drawn in the same group.

Di Maria, who played a key role in helping Los Blancos win the tournament in 2014 in Lisbon, told reporters at a press conference that it is possible to beat Real but their is no easy way and it will come down to hard work combined with a bit of luck.

He stated: “I think we will have to be perfect at home because it will be difficult to win away in this group. It’s possible for us to win our group, too but it’ll be complicated. There is no miracle recipe for beating Real Madrid either. We can’t afford to make any mistakes. Let’s face it, Real Madrid are a team of very talented players with lots of experience.”

The Argentine also went on to compare what it’s like playing alongside Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and now Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“As you know, I have had the chance to play with Leo, Cristiano & Rooney, but now Ibra. Frankly, I am impressed by the quality of Ibra’s technique and his movement. He’s on the same level as Leo and CR7,” he commented.

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Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez says Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player he’s ever coached.

The Los Blancos boss has worked with a whole host of big names during his career in Spain, England and Italy, but says the 30-year-old forward is on another level.

Ronaldo became the club’s all-time leading league scorer at the weekend after his five-year tally against Espanyol took him to 230 – two more than the previous record held by Raul.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference ahead of Real’s Champions League game this week against Shakhtar Donesk, Benitez once again hailed his star forward.

“He’s an excellent player, the best I have coached. Now he is our player and to me he is the best. I didn’t have the good luck to see Di Stefano on the pitch, but he was that. Raul, yes, I coached him and he was a competitor and a winner. Cristiano has that same mentality,” he commented.

The manager then switched his attention to the game itself and admitted he make rotate his side slightly.

“Rotation is not a whim, it is a way to take advantage of the entire team. The fact that you switch players depends upon performance, their position. It is not a policy to have rotation, it is a way to think about the function of the players in their positions. There are matches in which they get more worn out than others. Beyond that I think we have a quality squad and I want to take full advantage of them.”

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Daniel Carvajal with Bayer Leverkusen

Daniel Carvajal says Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez can rely on him to fill in for injured defender Danilo.

Carvajal had made the right-back slot his own in the second half of last season before Los Blancos splashed out 32 million euros to bring in the Brazilian from Porto in the summer.

But Danilo picked up an injury on international duty last week and will be out for around a month, meaning Carvajal will get an extended run in the side.

That run starts with the Champions League game against Shakhtar Donesk at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, ahead of which the defender spoke to reporters at a press conference.

He told journalists he is ready to earn his place in the team, and added the players are happy with the defensive solidity they have shown so far this campaign.

Carvajal stated: “I enter due to an injury to a teammate unfortunately. I wish Danilo a speedy recovery. The manager knows he can rely on all his players. We enter this game against Shakhtar with desire to improve more. The UCL is the most important competition. We’re defensively more united now. The training is not that different than before.”

He was also asked about Cristiano Ronaldo’s five-goal haul at the weekend and whether it was possible that he managed it because it was against a weak team.

And he responded: “It is not easy to score five in a game. Easy rivals? This is the best League in the world. CR7 is also the best in the world. Cristiano showed why he is the best in the world.”

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Former England captain Steven Gerrard has said he was close to joining Real Madrid in 2009 but ultimately chose to stay at his boyhood club Liverpool.

The 35-year-old left Anfield this summer for the MLS where he signed for LA Galaxy. But in his autobiography, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail, the combative midfielder said he had plenty of opportunities to move during his career.

It is well known that he came close to moving to Chelsea during Jose Mourinho’s first stint in charge at Stamford Bridge. And he has now written about how tempted he was to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

“When I was playing my best football, probably in 2006 and even in 2009, there were some big chances to leave: Chelsea again; Real Madrid twice — and the second time was more tempting because, once more, Mourinho wanted me,” he wrote.

And he continued: “Playing for Jose in the white shirt of Real Madrid, at the Bernabeu? Only Liverpool could have made me say ‘no’ again.”

In another section of the book, Gerrard also criticised Rafa Benitez for his decision to sell Xabi Alonso to Los Blancos calling the decision ‘stupid’. He also discussed his own relationship with the now Real boss, and said he believed Benitez didn’t like him despite the pair being successful at Anfield.

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