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Former Real Madrid midfielder Ruben de la Red has said it is too early to judge boss Rafa Benitez.

Los Blancos picked up three trophies in their pre-season preparations but the goals dried up towards the end. And the began the proper La Liga campaign with a disappointing goalless draw against newly promoted Sporting Gijon at the weekend.

Many pundits have said Benitez’ team looks too rigid and he needs to go with the 4-3-3 formation rather than the 4-2-3-1 he opted for at the weekend. And concerns have been raised about the lack of goals from his forwards.

But speaking to Goal.com, de la Red called on fans to be patient as Los Blancos look to win their first league title since 2012.

He stated: “It’s still too early to judge Benitez. We have to be patient and give him time. When you come to a new team, you try to implement your idea over a few months. I’m sure he’ll do well.”

He went to add: “We’ve seen that all teams are still in preparation and they’re not at their best. Real Madrid have done a very important job during pre-season, especially in defence. With their attacking potential, goals have to come. I wouln’t worry about that. Real Madrid must have patience. I’m sure they will do well because Benitez knows the club.”

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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has taken to social media to try and put an end to rumours that he could move to Arsenal during this transfer window.

The Gunners have been strongly linked with a 50 million euro move for the France international as they seek their first title triumph in 12 years.

Despite the fact boss Arsene Wenger has consistently denied having any interest in the 27-year-old and Los Blancos being unwilling to sell their forward, the stories just haven’t gone away.

Benzema, who missed the opening day draw against Sporting Gijon through injury, took to Twitter to try and put an end to the transfer talk, saying he’s happy in the Spanish capital.

Along with a picture of himself in Real Madrid gear, he wrote: “For all those clowns to want to make believe things at my fans. Here, this is my home. #HalaMadridYNadaMas”

Benzema, who scored 22 goals for his club last season, is now back in full training and is expected to be back in the side this weekend when the 10-time Champions League winners host Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Benzema joined Real from Lyon in 2009 and has scored more than 120 goals in his time in the Spanish capital.

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French media are suggesting Real Madrid left back Fabio Coentrao is set for a season-long loan deal at champions PSG.

The 27-year-old has long been linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu having lost out in the battle for the left back spot to Brazilian Marcelo.

And according to L’Equipe, the Portugal international is on his way to the French capital after PSG made it their priority to sign a defender. The sports paper said they had been keen on signing Monaco for left-back Kurzawa and were willing to pay 18 million euros for his services.

But when they asked for more, PSG balked at the asking price and switched their attentions elsewhere.

Coentrao, a 30 million euro signing from Benfica in 2011, has had a difficult time at Real in recent seasons. He was in and out of the side with injuries and fell behind Marcelo under Carlo Ancelotti.

The Portugal international has had no shortage of admirers. Two season ago he was reportedly left in tears when a loan move to Manchester United failed to materialise. In recent months, he’s been linked with other top clubs in Europe, most notably Inter Milan, while former club Benfica have held a long term interest in taking him back.

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Raphael Varane has said the Real Madrid players shouldn’t be too disheartened by the draw with Sporting Gijon but has vowed they will work harder to get the right results moving forward.

Los Blancos drew 0-0 with the La Liga newcomers at El Molinon having had the better of the possession and creating plenty of chances.

Varane told journalists that while there is still much to improve going forward, Real also came up against a determined and hard working side – something they will need to get used to and work out how to break down as they season goes on.

The French defender told reporters: “It isn’t the best way to get started, but we won’t let our heads drop and we’ll keep working. We lacked precision in front of goal. We were up against a good Sporting side and we didn’t play badly. We were solid in defence, although we can improve and continue to grow at the back as well as up front.”

And he continued: “We lacked precision and rhythm somewhat in the first half so couldn’t find enough space and hurt the opposition. We played with more urgency in the second half and Sporting’s pace slowed down which resulted in more spaces opening up, which allowed us to bear down on goal more often.”

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Real Madrid legend Hugo Sanchez has said the club leads to sign a new striker as Karim Benzema can’t do it all by himself up front.

Los Blancos have lost the services of Javier Hernandez for this season after the Mexico international returned to Manchester United following his season on loan. Jese Rodriguez remains as the back up for Benzema but many feel the 10-time Champions League winners are looking short still.

Speaking in an interview with Marca, Sanchez said: “It’s not enough. There are a lot of games and a lot of pressure. There needs to be another option from the bench. Madrid need to have options for all positions and asking to Benzema to do it all by himself is too much. Last year Chicharito was there and he helped a lot.”

When asked who Madrid should sign, Sanchez admitted there were few options available on the market.

“At the moment there’s no one that springs to mind like back in the day when Van Nistlerooy and Drogba were around. What if they had signed Madrid? Yeah, he’s a good player but Madrid are also conscious of the image of the players. They need to have players who have the reputation worthy of wearing the shirt. The best players and players who lead a good example that children want to emulate.”

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Sergio Ramos

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has admitted the players were frustrated they couldn’t make their dominance pay after drawing with Sporting Gijon.

Los Blancos got the new La Liga campaign underway in underwhelming fashion with a 0-0 draw against the newly promoted side and there will be plenty of concerns about Real’s lack of goals in the last couple of pre-season games and the first game of the season.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Ramos said the result showed there are no easy games in La Liga.

The new club captain stated: “Obviously the first half didn’t go well and while we had more possession and had more of the initiative in the second, our chances didn’t finish in goals and we weren’t able to kill off the game.”

“This shows that there are teams in the First Division that fully deserve to be here and it is going to be very tough to win in every ground. We have to continue improving; we would have liked to come away with three points. That’s taking nothing away from the opposition. They pressured well up top, especially during the first half.”

And when asked about the lack of goals, he said the players will all work hard to get on the scoresheet.

“The preseason showed that Real Madrid are capable of getting goals. We need to continue working and to focus on the upcoming games. We are who we are and given our squad we have to get on with things and try to inspire hope through our play again”.

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Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane is back on the Chelsea radar as they step up their attempts to sign a defender.

The Blues have been linked with the Frenchman in the past couple of transfer windows, with the west London side being manager by the man who brought him to the Santiago Bernabeu – Jose Mourinho.

Varane was known to be unsettled at Los Blancos a while ago, frustrated by the lack of first team football having overcome two serious injuries. But last season he played more minutes than veteran Pepe and will now be looking to cement his place in the side alongside Sergio Ramos in the heart of the defence.

With Chelsea captain John Terry now into the autumn of his career, the Stamford Bridhe outit needs to start looking at replacing the 34-year-old. As is his way, Mourinho has done his best to unsettle Everton defender John Stones and has seen two bids fail already. All could change in the final week of the transfer window but so far Roberto Martinez has held firm in his insistence Stones won’t be moving anywhere.

Varane, now a full France international, joined Los Blancos in 2011 from Lens and has played 117 times.

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Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez has admitted his side was not clinical enough in their opening day draw with Sporting Gijon but remains optimistic about the season ahead.

Los Blancos drew a blank against the La Liga newcomers and questions will be raised about why the forwards aren’t firing on all cylinders yet. Real had plenty of possession and in total had 16 shots on goal but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Speaking at his press conference afterwards, Benitez said he was frustrated with the scoreline but he’s confident the side will soon click into gear.

“The first half was difficult, we lost possession on quite a few occasions and we gave them opportunities to create dangerous situations. In the second half we played with much more intensity, had more control and were better at getting ourselves into good positions in attack, and we could have won the match,” he said.

And he added: “The team reacted in the second half, they showed character, personality and had control. In the second half the team went after the match and looked to win it, but we just weren’t clinical enough.”

When quizzed about how to get the best of his forwards he stated: “To get the best out of the players that we have, we have to give them a certain degree of freedom. We saw quite a few moments of attacking play from the players up front, but with less space in the second half it’s a question of precision. When there were spaces, we saw quite a few situations where all the players up front were involved.”

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Rafa Benitez begun his Real Madrid tenure is disappointing fashion as Los Blancos were held to a goalless draw at La Liga newcomers Sporting Gijon.

The Whites had plenty of possession throughout the game but failed to make their dominance felt as their attacking unit remained strangely out of sorts. The home side indeed could have had all three points on another day, with Antonio Sanabria hitting the bar with a header 10 minutes before the interval.

There was a new look to the Real line up for the opening fixture, with Benitez opting for a 4-2-3-1 system instead of Carlo Ancelotti’s 4-3-3 preference. Jese Rodriguez started up front in the absence of Karim Benzema, with Isco, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo deployed behind him.

The visitors began the game the strongest and had plenty of chances to open the scoring. Jese just failed to make contact with a Ronaldo cross while Bale could only find the side netting after rounding goalkeeper Pichu Cuellar. Isco also went close with a dipping long range effort.

But Sporting gradually grew in confidence and while they managed to nullify the Real attack, they carved out a few openings of their own.

In the second period, Benitez introduced James Rodirguez but he would have little impact on the game. New signing Mateo Kovacic made an appearance for 20 minutes and showed in glimpses that he has the potential to be a good player in the side.

But overall it was a frustrating night and a poor start for Real and Benitez has plenty of thinking to do about where the goals will come from.

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Former Real Madrid player Paco Buyo has claimed Los Blancos fans don’t boo Gareth Bale but just want to show their unhappiness at his performances.

Welshman Bale, who joined Real from Tottenham Hotspur two years ago, and enjoyed a fine start to life in the Spanish capital. In his first season, he scored the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona and also netted in the Champions League final win over Atletico de Madrid.

But last season was different for the 25-year-old as he came under more scrutiny for his performances. The chorus of boos grew louder as the season went on and on a couple of occasions fans tried to attack his car as he left the training ground.

Speaking to Omnisport, Buyo said fans were just voicing their displeasure at his performances rather than insulting him.

“I don’t think the supporters whistle Gareth Bale, sometimes they show their discomfort like they did in the Santiago Bernabeu trophy. I think Real Madrid supporters want Bale to show his quality and skills as a player. He is going to be important to Real Madrid’s success,” he commented.

And he added: “It’s true he is playing in other position he was doing last seasons so he will have to get used to it. Real Madrid are changing their way of playing. The preseason was really tough, so it’s normal Gareth Bale is not fit enough right now but I think he will be important with his skills helping the team to reach all the titles”

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