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Young Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata has said team mate Karim Benzema is one of the best forwards in the world.

The 25-year-old France international has come under fire from some sections of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd and the Madrid press for failing to hit the heights so far this season. Having scored two goals in his opening two games, Benzema has now gone six La Liga matches without a goal.

But Morata, who scored an important equaliser for Madrid against Levante at the weekend before Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a last minute winner, backed his under-fire strike partner, calling him one of the world’s best.

“I know I need to keep working and that I’ve got one of the best strikers in the world ahead of me,” he said.

Morata, 20, added: “I need to take it step by step and keep working. I’m training well and if I get the chance I’ll try to take advantage of it. I think a lot has changed, maturing over time. But I’m still the same. I don’t think I’ve changed much.”

 

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Luka Modric has revealed he wishes to finish his career at Real Madrid, ending speculation of a possible return to the Premier League.

The midfielder showed his happiness at being in Madrid in an interview with Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti. “I have no doubt that the best thing that ever happened to me in football is to play in Madrid. Besides being a great club, my family feels amazing in Madrid,” he said.

When asked where he is going to be in four years, Modric was clear: “Here. In football it is difficult to plan, but if you ask me, I would like to retire in Madrid. With titles, of course.”

The 28-year-old also spoke about the team’s wobbly start to this season. “We started well but lost something during the international break. We need to be more compact, we have to attack and defend with less of a gap between the lines. I can’t see us having another trophyless season,” he admitted.

Modric revealed what Carlo Ancelotti has asked him for. “The coach wants me to organise the team, define our game and break quickly with the ball, whilst maintaining our defensive balance. He transmits an air of calm to the team. I had heard that he was a very temperamental player, but he’s a great guy,” he concluded.

Modric has become a crucial piece in the team this season, featuring ten times so far.

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Spanish digital newspaper Eleconomista.es has claimed that Real Madrid and Real Sociedad’s presidents discussed the possible signing of Inigo Martinez for Los Blancos in the meeting they had last Saturday.

Florentino Perez and Jokin Aperribay met after the Basque outfit lost in Madrid against Rayo Vallecano. Rumours had pointed to a negotiation about Casemiro’s arrival on loan in San Sebastian, as a replacement for former Los Merengues player Esteban Granero, who will miss almost the whole season due to a knee injury.

However, Eleconomista.es states the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Real Sociedad’s willingness to sell Inigo Martinez next summer. The 22-year-old centre-back is one of Europe’s most promising defenders, and Barcelona have also shown an interest in signing him.

The defensive weakness Los Blancos are showing at the moment would have convinced Perez to look for a solution for the future. Martinez’s buy-out clause is 30 million euros, but the fact that his contract expires on June 2015 might cheapen his price in the summer of 2014.

Perez and Aperribay already had a successful negotiation last summer, with Asier Illarramendi’s 38-million-euros transfer.

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Champions League holders Bayern Munich will try and sign Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso in the January transfer window, it has been reported.

German newspaper Bild claimed Pep Guardiola, the Bundesliga champions’ manager, wants Alonso to reinforce his midfield options and will rival Italian champions Juventus in any bid. Alonso’s former club Liverpool have also been linked with a move for the player, and may well yet have a say in the matter.

The World Cup winner, 31, has been sidelined all season with injury and has yet to show Carlo Ancelotti what he can bring to the Los Blancos team. But with less than a year to run on his deal, Alonso may be willing to assess his options before deciding on his future.

The Real hierarchy may decide that with Alonso able to leave on a Bosman free transfer at the end of the season, it may be best to cash in on him in January while they can still receive a nominal fee.

The midfielder signed for the Santiago Bernabeu club in 2009 in a 35 million euro deal and has helped Real to a record-breaking La Liga title in 2011 and a Copa del Rey.

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Madrid sports newspaper As claims today in its front page that “Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals have given Real Madrid six points and have hidden Los Blancos poor performance”. “Cristiano saves Ancelotti”, they title.

The Portuguese scored two goals in stoppage time against Elche and Levante that saved Los Merengues from dropping points against two of the league’s weakest sides.

Meanwhile, Marca puts their focus on youngsters Jese Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata good performance against Levante after coming in from the bench.

“Jese and Morata reclaim a more prominent role”, the most sold Spanish newspaper titles. The youngsters had an important contribution in Real Madrid’s late come-back at Ciudad de Valencia stadium.

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Young Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata has urged the club’s fans to be patient while the players find top gear.

Carlo Ancelotti and his team have come in for criticism in recent weeks over some laboured performances. The latest came in the last gasp win over Levante on Saturday night.

Los Granotes looked to have sealed a famous win when they took a shock 2-1 lead in the 86th minute, but last gasp goals from Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the three points that kept Madrid in third place in La Liga – five points behind leaders Barcelona.

Speaking about the team’s performances in general this season, Morata admitted they had been below par. But he added that once the players know each other better – including the new signings, and once they have fully adapted to the new coach, things will be a lot better.

He stated: “We need a touch of patience. I’m sure we will gradually start playing better. I am very happy – it was a match that we did not start well, but we’ve got through it and we were able to achieve victory. At Madrid, from a young age they teach you to fight to the end.”

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Real Madrid forward Jese Rodriguez has said Zinedine Zidane convinced him to stay at the club rather than leave elsewhere for more first team opportunities.

The 20-year-old striker was linked with a host of clubs in the summer after he struggled to make a breakthrough at the Santiago Bernabeu under previous boss Jose Mourinho. But with a new management team coming in, Zidane persuaded Jese to stay and fight for his place.

Soon after his arrival Carlo Ancelotti pledged to use more youngsters, and he gave Jese and Alvaro Morata the chance to establish themselves with Los Blancos when he decided not to sign another forward after the sale of Gonzalo Higuain to Napoli. Jese admitted that gave him the confidence to fight for his place with the nine-times European Cup winners.

Speaking to Minuto 116, the striker said: “Zidane is the main reason why I am still at Real Madrid. If I keep working day by day, opportunities will come. The coach is slowly trusting in me and that makes me happy.”

The forward has made three appearances this season, all coming from the bench.

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Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has said he was delighted with his players for securing a thrilling victory over Levante on Saturday night.

Los Blancos twice came from behind, and it took late goals from Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo, in the 90th and 94th minutes respectively to secure the three points that keep Real’s hopes alive in La Liga. Sergio Ramos also got on the scoresheet to equalise after Levante had taken a shock lead.

Speaking after the game, Italian boss Ancelotti said his players fought hard for the win. “We reacted fantastically at the end of the match. With players with that attitude, fighting all the time, the game is not hard to improve and we need to,” he said.

He added: “The win was very important because the match was very difficult. At the end we did not give up and that gave us the three points. It is true that we did not play fantastic football, but we deserved to win in the end.”

The boss also had special words of praise for forwards Alvaro Morata and Jese Rodriguez, both of who impressed after coming on as substitutes to change the game in Madrid’s favour.

“They do need not need to convince me of anything because I already have enough confidence in them. They were enthusiastic when they went on the field and did well. Morata scored and Jese was very dangerous. The confidence is the same. Morata can play. He does not have Benzema’s experience, but he is young, he is enthusiastic and is very important for us,” Ancelotti stated.

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The focus in the Madrid press this morning is on Real Madrid’s last gasp victory over Levante that kept Los Blancos in touch with league leaders Barcelona.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner in stoppage time – the third time in eight matches Los Blancos have left it late to secure a win. Scenes of elation followed the goal, with the players knowing that only a victory would be enough if they have aspirations of winning the La Liga title.

Both Marca and AS are critical of how the team played and lay blame at Carlo Ancelotti for the slow start to the season and the confusing tactics. They hail Cristiano Ronaldo as Superman – as yet again he had to dig Madrid out of a hole.

The papers also praise Alvaro Morata for his performance. Last season the young forward netted the winner on the same ground. And last night he scored another important goal to bring Real Madrid level at 2-2. There is also praise for Diego Lopez for yet another strong performance. Marca says that the keeper has merited his place in goal this season based on his form and that his performance level has not dropped.

In other news, speculation that Brazilian midfielder may be loaned to Real Sociedad has increased after images were published of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez having lunch with his Real Sociedad counterpart Jokin Aperribay, perhaps to discuss terms of the deal.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is considering a move for Chelsea midfielder Ramires, according to reports in the UK.

The Italian manager took the Brazilian to Stamford Bridge when he was in charge of the Blues and is still an admirer of the box-to-box player. According to CaughtOffside.com, Ancelotti has not been convinced by the form of 38 million euro summer signing Asier Illarramendi, while Xabi Alonso’s fitness concerns and advancing years mean the Italian is on the lookout to bolster his options.

Ramires has established himself as a key member of the Chelsea side, and is normally one of the first names on Jose Mourinho’s team sheets, and the West London club is not keen to sell the player.

But the reports say Los Blancos could offer a figure of around 40 million euros to secure the transfer and take the player to the Santiago Bernabeu. Since his arrival at Chelsea in 2010, Ramires has won the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League.  He has played 159 times scoring a total of 26 goals.

The 26-year-old midfielder has represented Brazil 34 times, including at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. He has scored three times for his national side.

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