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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said he is keen for his players to move on from the Copa del Rey exit during the week and get back to winning ways in La Liga.

The Copa holders were dumped out of the competition by city rivals Atletico de Madrid, and Real haven’t beaten them in five attempts this season. Much reflection and analysis has gone on in recent days, but ahead of the game against Getafe, the boss said there is plenty to play for still.

“We have paid for some errors that have not allowed us to progress in the cup. We’re sorry because it was a goal for the club,” Ancelotti stated.

“Last year we won it and we’re sorry. But we have to look forward. We are in two competitions. We have a month to strengthen our position in the league, try to get more points against our rivals and then also we have the Champions League.”

Having seen his side win 22 consecutive games at the end of 2014, Ancelotti has now guided his team to victory in just one of their four matches in 2015 so far. But he is adamant the downturn in form isn’t fatigue.

“There is no need right now to do rotations, I think the team are fine. The problem is not fatigue and regarding injuries we just have Pepe, who took a blow to the ribs against Atletico, and Modric out. The rest are just fine,” he told reporters.

He added: “The team is doing well physically. There are some players who must get better though. Although Cristiano Ronaldo and Toni Kroos have played more than anyone, because they are important, they are fine physically.”

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Getafe Real Madrid match preview

La Liga leaders Real Madrid will seek to get back to winning days as they visit Getafe on Sunday.

After being dumped of the Copa del Rey by Atletico Madrid, Los Blancos desperately need a victory to regain confidence, especially since they have only won one match out of five after the Christmas break.

Getafe seems like the perfect rival to enjoy a goal fest. The Southern Madrid side are in very poor form. Their last La Liga victory dates back to October, and just three weeks ago they saw manager Cosmin Contra and midfielder Michel leave to Guangzhou looking for a higher salary.

Carlo Ancelotti will miss Pepe through injury and Fabio Coentrao through suspension, while Luka Modric remains a long-term loss. Raphael Varane and Iker Casillas will most likely return to the starting eleven. Sami Khedira could also fresh up the team, sending Gareth Bale or James Rodriguez to the bench.

The Italian manager will also recover Alvaro Arbeloa, who suffered from muscle problems during the week, but the Spartan is not expected to feature from the start.

Meanwhile, Quique Sanchez Flores will miss injured strikers Angel Lafita and Baba, meaning that Alvaro Vazquez remains his only option up front. Starting goalkeeper is also a doubt having suffered a knee sprain.

Former Real Madrid man Pedro Leon could make it in the starting eleven replacing regular starter Karim Yoda. Having spent most of the season on the sidelines due to a problem with his license, Leon will surely want to shine against his former team-mates.

Possible line-ups:

Getafe: Codina; Valera, Velazquez, Naldo, Escudero; Pedro Leon, Rodriguez, Alexis, Sammir, Hinestroza; Vazquez.

Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Bale, Isco, Kroos, James Rodriguez; Benzema, Ronaldo.

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Real Madrid will be without the services of central defender Pepe for at least two weeks after he suffered bruising to his ribs in the draw with Atletico de Madrid on Thursday evening.

Los Blancos drew 2-2- on the night, but exited the Copa del Rey after losing the two-legged affair 4-2 overall, leaving them to concentrate on La Liga and the Champions League.

But Pepe will be missing for the rest of January at least due to the injury. He only lasted half an hour against Atletico before being replaced by Raphael Varane after he came of worse on a 50/50 challenge with Raul Garcia.

The club released a statement on Friday confirming the injury after Pepe had been sent to hospital for tests.

“After tests conducted on our player Pepe by Real Madrid’s medical services at the Sanitas La Moraleja Hospital, he has been diagnosed with a rib contusion,” it read.

While the loss of Pepe will be a blow to Carlo Ancelotti and the team, it provides a perfect opportunity for Frenchman Varane to come in and make his mark. The youngster is keen to get regular first team football and his future at the club has been in some doubt, but now he’ll have the chance to impress.

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The agent of Borussia Dortmund playmaker Marco Reus has said talk of him having agreed a deal with Real Madrid is ‘blatant nonsense’.

The 25-year-old has long been linked with a move to one of Europe’s leading clubs, but reports in the Spanish press this week suggested a deal with Real had been agreed. El Confidencial reported Los Blancos had met the 25 million euro buyout clause in Reus’ contract and a contract with the player had been discussed.

The online publication said the Germany international would sign a five-year deal worth seven million euros a season to him at the end of the current campaign.

Hans-Joachim Watzke, CEO of Dortmund, who are struggling at the foot of the Bundesliga this season, denied any agreement had been reached. And now the player’s agent, Dirk Hebel, has also played down talk of a move. Speaking to reporters on Friday he stated: “The report is blatant nonsense.”

The playmaker hasn’t featured for his side since November after picking up an ankle injury but will be keen to recover quickly so he can help Dortmund away from the danger zone. In Europe, Jurgen Klopp’s men have been a different side altogether as they topped their Champions League group. They take on Juventus in the next round.

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Real Madrid blog

Very few football fans would have predicted 15 months ago that Atletico Madrid was about to become Real Madrid’s worst nightmare. That night of September 2013, the Colchoneros ended a 14-year victory drought against Los Blancos. Ever since, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have seriously struggled every time they have faced their city rivals.

Los Merengues have not won any of their last five clashes against Atletico. Some might argue the real number is actually six, as in the Champions League final the 90 minutes ended with a 1-1 draw, although Madrid would go on to win in extra time.

Be it as it may, it seems clear that Madrid have found a pebble in their shoe since Diego Simeone started coaching the Vicente Calderon side. But why is it so hard for Los Blancos to beat Atletico? Here are a few reasons:

1. Atletico’s defensive strength:
The Colchoneros are probably the best defending team in football. They keep their lines tightly close, including the forward line, making it almost impossible for the rival to find space in attack. They fight for every ball, help each other and always keep a high level of intensity. Moreover, when they face their Madrid city rivals, that intensity doubles and their defensive commitment increases immensely. They know that without conceding goals, most of the job is done.

2. Lack of concentration:
It is very hard to be completely focused during 90 minutes. Diego Simeone knows that and has taught his players to take advantage of every little mistake their rival could make. In the Champions League final, Atletico’s goal was allowed by Iker Casillas’ poor goalkeeping. Mistakes from Sergio Ramos and Pepe were key in the last summer’s Supercopa loss, and again this week in the two goals Fernando Torres scored at the Santiago Bernabeu.

3. The strikers’ profile:
Carlo Ancelotti’s men played brilliantly on the wings last Thursday and were able to send a number of dangerous crosses into the box. However, Diego Godin and Joao Miranda always anticipated Los Blancos strikers’ moves and cleared all danger. Karim Benzema is one of the finest forwards in the world, but perhaps he’s not the best option for getting muddy and fighting such beasts. If sending crosses from the sides is the chosen strategy, the Frenchman is not the most adequate target.

4. Luck:
Playing against a team that takes defending to such a level of perfection, you always need some luck to open the score. The last comfortable Real Madrid win over Atletico, a 3-0 victory in last season’s Copa del Rey, came thanks to two own goals, as Pepe and Angel di Maria’s long-ranged shots defected of two defenders.

Certainly Real Madrid have proved to be perfectly capable of beating Atletico, but they need to improve some small details and keep an extremely high level of concentration. They’ll have their next chance in three weeks, as they’ll pay a visit to their arch-rivals in La Liga.

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Paul Clement has ruled himself out of the vacant manager’s job at Premier League side Newcastle United and says he wants to continue as assistant boss to Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.

The Englishman was brought in by Ancelotti when the Italian was appointed in the summer of 2013. And the pair plotted the team’s success last year, winning four trophies in total.

Prior to working together at Real Madrid, Ancelotti and Clement worked at PSG and Chelsea. The former PE teacher has made no secret of his desire to one day step up and become a manager himself, but says he is happy for now to stay at Los Blancos and keep working on the project he and Ancelotti started.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Clement said: “Newcastle is a fantastic football club and I’m very flattered to have been linked with them, as well as some other great clubs in England.

“But I’m enjoying working in Madrid and I think it is best I remain here in the near future to gain more experience of working with such great players at this great club. However, I’d like to come home at some point to try and cut my cloth as a manager,” he revealed.

The Magpies are on the lookout for a new manager following Alan Pardew’s departure to Crystal Palace last week.

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Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has said the defeat in the Copa del Rey could help the side in the long run as their aim major silverware again this year.

Los Blancos crashed out of the competition they won last year after a 2-2 draw with Atletico de Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu saw Diego Simeone’s men progress 4-2 overall after the two legs. The Vicente Calderon side will take on Barcelona in the next round.

Real meanwhile will have a lighter schedule in the coming weeks as the focus on winning La Liga for the first time since 2012 and becoming the first team to retain the Champions League since the competition took on its current format.

Speaking after the game, in which he scored yet another goal, Ronaldo said the defeat hurt the players’ pride. But it could be a blessing in disguise.

“We must thank the support of the fans. It was awesome. I apologise on behalf of the group. Now we have to move on,” the Ballon d’Or winner said.

Ronaldo added: “Real Madrid is the best club in the world and always want to win, but sometimes it’s good to have one step back and take two forward. Now we have to work hard during this time and come back stronger. I’m sure the team and I will be perfect in two to three weeks. We wanted to win the cup, but La Liga and the Champions League are more important for us.”

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Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos confessed they are proud of their performance against Atletico Madrid, despite failing to turn the Copa del Rey tie around and qualify for the quarter-finals.

The Spaniard told the journalists “the coach and us the players are proud of having put our heart and soul into the match. We deserved to score more goals in the first half, because we had plenty of chances. We cannot take the merit away from Atletico. They are a very competitive team.”

“We’re hurt for having been knocked out. We wanted to give our best for our fans, who had been amazing since we arrived to the stadium. In the end it was not possible. Losing never feels good, but there’s nothing we can do now. We just need to recover and focus on the other competitions,” Ramos added.

The Spanish international admitted it is sad to know they will not win the treble this season, but he still hopes to succeed in La Liga and the Champions League. “We’re putting all of our efforts to reach our goals. The season is very long, and in this club when you lose two games in a row they start talking about crisis. Now is the moment to keep calm and move on. We have to focus on the titles we can still win.”

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Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has said the club doesn’t need to sign Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

The Spain and former Atletico de Madrid man has been linked with a move back to the Spanish capital with Los Blancos, and talk has been heightened in recent days after the Red Devils signed former Barcelona shot stopper Victor Valdes.

But Calderon told talkSPORT radio in the UK that he believes the 10-time Champions League winners already have two of the best keepers in the world in Iker Casillas and Keylor Navas and there was no pressing need to go out and spend big on another goalkeeper.

Calderon stated: We already have the best goalkeeper in the world, which is Casillas. We also have just bought Keylor Navas. I don’t see any need to get any other goalkeeper.

“De Gea is perhaps also one of the top five goalkeepers in the world but Casillas can still be at the top for three or four years. I don’t see any need [for De Gea],” he added.

Casillas recently admitted he is determined to still be playing top level football for the next fer years.. “I’ll be 36 by the time my contract ends in 2017. I need to be realistic. At that age, things must slowly be considered. I hope the club tells me that they want me to continue, but I think I should go step by step.”

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Atletico de Madrid forward Fernando Torres has revealed he and his team mates were never worried about letting their lead go ahead of taking on Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Diego Simeone’s team had a 2-0 lead after the first leg of their Copa del Rey clash with Los Blancos, and went further ahead in the first minute on Thursday night when Torres opened his account since returning loan from AC Milan.

Sergio Ramos equalised for the home side before Torres once again put the visitors ahead early in the second half. Ronaldo made it 2-2 on the night with a header but the scored remained as it was and Real crashed out of the competition they won in April.

Speaking to Canal Plus afterwards, Torres said the Bernabeu is always a tough place to go, but going ahead after less than 60 seconds made their lives much easier.

“We are happy. We knew it was a hard game. The early goal made us play as we wanted.
At no time were we worried about the tie. Playing here against Real Madrid, with a goal so early, things are easier. After the second goal, we were comfortable,” he told reporters.

“I’m very pleased to score my first two goals after getting back and in a stadium where I had never scored,” he added.

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