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Real Madrid showed no mercy at La Liga’s bottom team Real Betis to equalise leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of the table, with both sides yet to play against Levante and Sevilla.

The hosts had a poor performance, shown defensive weakness since the first minute and heaping more pressure on under-fire manager Juan Carlos Garrido, who has been in charge for just one month, obtaining only one point in five games.

An inspired Cristiano Ronaldo led Los Blancos in a brilliant start. The Portuguese drove into the Betis half and slammed a fantastic strike straight into the top corner in the 11th minute.

Ronaldo was very motivated, and he delighted the fans with constant dances through challenges. In the 21st minute, he was generous enough to let Gareth Bale take a free kick he had won, and the Welshman curled one at the bottom of the net to make it 0-2.

Karim Benzema destroyed Betis hopes of savaging any point after receiving an assist from Luka Modric, placing his effort into the bottom corner just before half-time.

Ronaldo continued his exhibition in the second half, but goalkeeper Stephan Andersen denied all his efforts. However, he wasn’t able to claim Angel di Maria’s wonderful strike from 30 metres to give Madrid their fourth of the match.

After several attempts missed by Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata made it 0-5 in the final minute after receiving a cross from Marcelo, although he could have been offside.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men find themselves temporarily at the top of the table, with the same points than Atletico Madrid and Barcelona but having played one more game. Los Merengues victory, though, forces the leaders to keep winning in order to keep their position.

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Real Madrid travel to Seville today to take on bottom club Real Betis, but will be foolish to take the La Liga strugglers lightly.

Last season, the nine-time European Cup winners came unstuck at Estadio Benito Villamarín and lost 1-0. Benat, now at Athletic Bilbao, netted the game’s only goal in a shock result.

This time round though, Los Blancos head into the match having won all of their games in 2014 and not conceding a goal along the way. They are also looking make even more ground up on the top two in the league having closed the gap on Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid to three points last weekend.

Madrid boast the Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks, and the Portuguese star celebrated being named the world’s best player by netting his 30th goal of the season in the midweek Copa del Rey match against Osasuna.

In bad new for Betis, who have only picked up three wins in the league all season, every time a Portugal player has lifted the Ballon d’Or, they have been relegated the same year, and that trend looks set to happen again this year. The home side haven’t won in La Liga since September, while Ancelotti’s side last lost a league match back in October.

In terms of team news, Alvaro Morata will likely miss out having sustained a black eye against Osasuna. Raphael Varane and Sami Khedira remain long-term absentees.

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Carlo Ancelotti to Real Madrid

Real Madrid have to be at their best when they take on Real Betis in this afternoon’s La Liga fixture, according to Carlo Ancelotti.

Los Blancos are heavy favourites to beat the bottom place club in the league, but the Italian manager warned his players that the hosts will be motivated to beat the title chaser, and will up their game when the capital club are in town.

Madrid are also looking to avenge the painful defeat suffered at in Seville last season, as Betis overcame the European giants in a 1-0 win.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of the match, Ancelotti warned his players against complacency, and said they would be foolish to take the opposition lightly. “All matches are tough, especially against teams who are struggling in the table. Real Betis are last at the moment and so will give everything they can because they need to change their pattern of results. Every match is good for them, especially against big teams like Real Madrid,” he stated.

The boss, who has guided his team to 23 victories from 29 competitive fixture since he took charge in the summer, also urged his players to go game-by-game now as they reach the halfway point in the league. Any drop in focus could be damaging to their title ambitions he said.

“The players are very experienced and know what football is like. We have to prepare well for every match, especially in this period of the season. We have to maintain our good run of recent results. The motivation for this match does not need to be explained, because the players already know. I don’t know about being in cruise control, as I said, we’ve started 2014 well but we need to keep it going,” Ancelotti told reporters.

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The Collins Column

Last weekend was a good one for Real Madrid, with Los Blancos closing the gap on the leaders Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid to three points.

It marked the halfway point in the season, a good place at which to look back at what’s gone on so far. And although with work still to do, Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti can be pleased with how the season is going.

The squad had to get used to a new manager in the summer, and there were comings and goings at the Bernabeu – the most high profile of which was Gareth Bale. On the field, despite a slow start, Madrid are going well in La Liga, eased through their Champions League group, and are into the quarter-final of the Copa del Rey.

Let’s have a month-by-month look back at the season so far:

August:

Most of the talk was about activities off the field. The drawn out Gareth Bale transfer saga rumbled on, before Real Madrid finally got their man right at the end of the transfer window for 91 million euros. Other high profile signings to arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu were Isco from Malaga, and Asier Illarramendi from Real Sociedad. Various players went through the exit door at the Bernabeu too, including Gonzalo Higuain, Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon – all to Napoli, and Mesut Ozil, to Arsenal.

While Madrid fans had to wait to see Bale in action, they found a new hero in Isco, who immediately endeared himself to the locals by playing a huge role in back-to-back wins over Real Betis and Granada in La Liga.

September:

Los Blancos began the month with a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao before Gareth Bale eventually wore the famous Madrid jersey for the first time, in the away trip to Villarreal. And the Welshman was an instant hit, scoring in the first half hour of his debut in the 2-2 draw.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men fired a warning to the rest of Europe by dismantling Galatasaray in the Champions League 6-1, while they also took maximum points in the league against Getafe and Elche, although they struggled to find top gear in those games.

The first major setback in the Ancelotti era occurred when Los Blancos lost to city rivas Atletico de Madrid at the Bernabeu. Diego Costa’s goal gave Los Colchoneros their first win in La Liga over the illustrious rivals for the first time since 1999, and ensured a second painful defeat in a matter of months, having won the Copa del Rey final there the previous May.

Off the field, there was good news though as Cristiano Ronaldo ended months of speculation surrounding his future by signing a new deal.

October:

Los Menegues continued to cruise through their Champions League group with wins over Copenhagen and Juventus. In La Liga, they struggled to beat Levante – and were bailed out by a last gasp Ronaldo goal.

The focal point of the month came when Ancelotti took his side to the Camp Nou take on champions Barcelona. The 2-1 defeat suggests the game was closer than it actually was. The Italian manager came under pressure for his confusing tactics, while Gareth Bale was heavily criticized in the press for his below-par performance.

Los Blancos responded immediately to the defeat though, and thumped Sevilla 7-3 in their next league match, with Bale scoring twice.

November:

Defensive problems seemed to be growing, with Madrid leaking goals a plenty. Thankfully, Bale and Ronaldo were in fine form. A narrow 3-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano was followed by 5-1 thumping of Real Sociedad. The team scored five more against Almeria too after the international break.

Another easy win in the Champions League over Galatasaray ensured progression to the next stages of the competition, and Gareth Bale ended the month in spectacular fashion, netting a perfect hat trick in the win over Valladolid.

December:

Madrid eased past Olimpic de Xativa in the Copa del Rey at the start of the month, and rounded of the group stage of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Copenhagen. The draw was made for the last 16, where the nine-time winners will come up against Shalke 04.

In La Liga, Los Blancos had to fight from 2-0 down at Osasuna to grab a 2-2 draw, and they beat Valencia 3-2 before the winter break – leaving them five points off the top of the league.

January:

2014 has started well for the team. Four games played, four wins, no goals conceded. Progression through to the quarter-final of the Copa del Rey has been ensured, and the gap at the top of La Liga has been cut.

Off the field, Ronaldo was named as the winner of the Ballon d’Or, while Xabi Alonso committed his future to the club, signing a new two-year deal.

Things are looking settled for the side now, and Madrid are looking strong going into the second half of the campaign. Hala Madrid!

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Real Madrid travel to Real Betis this afternoon and a win would draw Los Blancos level on points with Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid for 24 hours at least until the top two play.

A win today would also mark the 500th career win as manager for Carlo Ancelotti, in his 878th match as a boss. And AS carries an interview with the Italian, taken from the Financial Times, in which he discusses his career to date.

Having worked in England, France and Spain, as well as his native Italy, Ancelotti has had to adjust to various styles of play. And he says it is in Spain where the best style of football is played because footballers take much joy in how the play here.

He said: “In England, in general, teams are much less tactically aware, particularly in defence. The French league is a tough one physically because there are so many African players. In Spain, teams are always looking to play the most attractive style of football.”

The Spanish press are also putting the spotlight on Gareth Bale this morning. Both Marca and AS point out that the Welshman hasn’t been in the best of form of late, having last scored on November 30th. They say he needs to step up if game if he needs to keep his place in the team.

Fabio Coentrao remains out of the squad for today’s match as speculation about his possible departure continues to grow.

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Italian sides Juventus and Inter Milan have joined the race to sign Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata, according to reports.

The young striker has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal this month, on loan until the end of the season. But reports in Italy say the two European giants may be willing to offer Morata a permanent deal and pay Los Blancos around 15 million euros for his services.

Arsenal boss Arsenal Wenger played down suggestions he would make a move for Spain Under-21 star Morata in a press conference last week. But despite doing so, it is know the Gunners are on the look out for a forward. The Premier League leaders lost Theo Walcott to injury for the rest of the seaon, and in Olivier Giroud, only have one recognised fit striker at the club.

For their part, Real have said the player is not going anywhere in the January window, with boss Carlo Ancelotti saying Morata is key to his plans as Los Blancos look to secure the La Liga title for the first time in three years, and win the Decima Champions League.

Although Morata is believed to be happy at the club, he hinted last week that he would be willing to leave to get first team football.

He said: “Real Madrid have been my team since I was little and will be all my life, but I think the important thing is to have a relevant role in the team. If I ever feel that’s not the case, I would look at other options. In football, it’s very difficult to stay at the top and even more so in a team like Real.”

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Former Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello has claimed that Los Merengues “are favourites to win La Liga and the Champions League this year,” in an interview with Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

The Italian said Real “have an extraordinary squad.” “They haven’t adapted to Ancelotti’s style yet, but there’s a lot of room for future growth. Players need to support each other, pass the ball more,… That’s something they will do soon because they have fantastic footballers,” he added.

“Madrid now have a different game style. We have to give Ancelotti more time to improve. The team needs to play even faster and with a more direct game, passing the ball more, but not like the long-posesion style Barcelona have,” Capello stated.

Current Russia national team manager confessed he is “happy to see three teams fighting for the league title this season; Atletico Madrid have improve a lot and now it’s not only about Barcelona and Real Madrid.”

Capello coached Los Blancos in two different periods, the first one in the 1996-97 season, and the second one a decade later, in 2006-07. He won La Liga both times, but his defensive style of play didn’t convince the Santiago Bernabeu fans, and he ended up leaving the club.

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Real Madrid legend, and current assistant boss, Zinedine Zidane, has taken a further step towards becoming a manager this week by completing a diploma in sports management.

The 41-year-old has made no secret of his desire to become the top dog at a major European club one day. And he already has offers on the table, with Bordeaux president Jea-Louis Triaud saying Zidane would be welcome back at the club where he started his career.

The 1998 World Cup winner, who also won La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid, completed the program at the Centre for Law and Economics of Sport in Limoges.

The rigorous two-year course allows students to develop many of the skills needed in running a successful sports organization. Some of the subjects that make up the program include Legal statutes of the professional club and Psychology and human management related to the professional team.

Zidane graduated from Limoges with former France teammate Oliver Dacourt, who spent a large chunk of his career in the Premier League with Leeds and Everton. Other famous names to have graduated from the course include former France coaches Laurent Blanc and Raymond Domenech, as well as ex-Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit.

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Ten days ago, as Angel Di Maria trudged off the field to a chorus of boos and jeers from the Real Madrid fans, the forward turned to the fans and appeared to grab his crotch provocatively in their direction, incensing the Bernabeu faithful. Although starting both of Madrid’s last two games after being cleared of the incident, it is clear his patience is wearing thin with the treatment he is receiving.

He scored in Wednesday night’s away win to Osasuna that saw Madrid live up to their short odds in the football betting and progress to the quarter final stages of the Copa Del Rey, and the goal will have done him the world of good in the eyes of potential suitors. He would be almost guaranteed starts at the clubs interested in him, AS Monaco and more recently Galatasary after proving himself at Madrid throughout his three and a half years.

His impressive wing play before this season saw him net 27 goals and provide over 40 assists for his teammates in only 90 appearances prior to 2013/14. But that was under Jose Mourinho and it is clear after half a season that current boss, Carlo Ancelloti, would prefer to utilise Gareth Bale or youngster Jese Rodriguez alongside forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. The evidence is there. Di Maria has been limited to just 17 La Liga games this season, and has struggled under the pressure to fight for his place, only managing two goals and three assists.

He is also the player Ancelotti usually decides to substitute when he looks to turn a game on its head. Di Maria has been substituted 11 times across all competitions for Madrid, and has started on the substitute’s bench eight times. Fans of the live football commentary know that this lack of game time is likely not enough to convince Argentina boss, Alejandro Sabella, that he deserves a spot in the Argentinean forward line at the World Cup.

Di Maria can’t expect to do that at a club where he is clearly not enjoying his football. In the past, he has hit out at the Spanish press, claiming they do not like him personally; he is down the pecking order under his new boss and after losing the fans backing, now is time more than ever to jump ship in order to truly showcasing his talent.

(Article provided by ICS Digital, with thanks)

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Spanish radio station Cadena SER has stated Real Madrid are very close to reaching satisfactory deals to bring Sergio Aguero, Ilkay Gundogan and Alberto Moreno to the Santiago Bernabeu next summer.

Sports program El Larguero revealed Los Blancos directors are trying to convince former Real manager Manuel Pellegrini to let the Argentinian striker leave next summer. Aguero has recently signed a contract extension with Manchester City, after having a brilliant start to the season, but his desire to go back to Madrid could favour Los Merengues.

Real Madrid directors are managing this negotiation carefully, since they don’t want to damage their good relations with city rivals Atletico, former home of Aguero.

Meanwhile, Gundogan has been long reported to make a move to the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of this season. Many European clubs have shown an interest in signing him, but the fact that Real can include Nuri Sahin in the deal -now on loan at Borussia Dortmund- has reportedly convinced the German club to sell Gundogan to Los Blancos.

As we recently published in Real Madrid News, Alberto Moreno would be Real’s choice to reinforce the left-back, as they are seeking to sell Fabio Coentrao next summer. The Spanish international has been linked with a move to a big European club this winter market, but the good relation between Sevilla and Real Madrid could favour his arrival to Concha Espina.

Los Blancos signed Diego Lopez from Sevilla last year, and previously they had brought Sergio Ramos on a 30-million-euro transfer, back in 2005.

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