Real Madrid News
Benzema set to miss Real Madrid vs RCD Mallorca, Hazard to start
As per the latest reports from AS, Real Madrid will be without club captain and ace goalscorer Karim Benzema for their upcoming La Liga clash against RCD Mallorca after he picked up an injury on Tuesday. Eden Hazard is likely to start in place of the French superstar.
Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 win over Celtic in their UEFA Champions League opener at Parkhead on Tuesday. However, the win came at the expense of Benzema’s injury, with the UEFA Player of the Year being subbed off just thirty minutes into the contest due to a knee issue.
Following the game, reports emerged that the Real Madrid doctors were optimistic that the issue was not a major one. However, it looks like the 34-year-old superstar will be unable to recover in time for Real Madrid’s upcoming La Liga clash.
Los Blancos will lock horns with RCD Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon. And as per the aforementioned report, Benzema is unlikely to be available for the encounter on matchday five of La Liga.
In his place, Eden Hazard, who replaced Benzema after his injury against Celtic, is in line to feature from kickoff.
The champions of Spain and Europe do not have a natural centre-forward to cover for Benzema, having failed to sign anyone in the summer. While Mariano Diaz is on the squad, the 29-year-old is no longer favoured by manager Carlo Ancelotti.
But the form that Hazard displayed at Celtic Park will come as somewhat as a relief for Los Blancos. The Belgian international was one of Real Madrid’s better performers on the night and capped off the display with a goal.
With Benzema set to be unavailable, Ancelotti and Real Madrid will need Hazard to carry on from where he left off in Scotland and stake a claim for more regular involvement after a slow start to the season.
The Merengues have won each of their four La Liga matches so far and will be eager to continue that run and keep their lead over rivals Barcelona intact.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho talks Carlos Espi, Diomande, Guler, Tchouameni, Atletico Madrid after Elche 2-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid found another way to win, but Jose Mourinho was hardly celebrating the manner of it.
Carlos Espi’s injury-time strike completed a 3-2 comeback against Elche, rescuing Madrid after they had surrendered control of a game that appeared to be in their hands.
For Mourinho, the result was welcome, but the performance raised a familiar concern.
“When everything seems easy and you let things slide, it’s dangerous. Then the team reacts and wins, but it’s not pleasant.
“The other good thing is that nobody gets bored with these matches. They’re fun,” he began saying.
Mourinho knows what is going wrong
The Portuguese coach was particularly frustrated by another drop in intensity after the interval.
Real Madrid had opportunities to put the game beyond Elche before allowing their advantage to disappear. Mourinho believes that pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“It seems obvious to me. It’s easy to understand. These are games that are all but over, where we have chances to seal the deal but don’t. After failing to do so, we go from having it easy to losing control.
“If we play poorly from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge.
“If we have periods where we’re at our best and others where we’re not proactive, just waiting, lacking intensity… Of course it’s a concern. But we won.”
The win keeps Madrid moving, but Mourinho’s concern is less about the points than the way his team is repeatedly making matches unnecessarily complicated.
Carlos Espi again provided the decisive moment from the bench, although Mourinho knows breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with Mbappé ahead of him.
“He’s a guy who works hard and is very motivated,” Mourinho said.
He then added, “He’s up against a player who’s in a league of his own (Mbappe), and we’re well aware of that.”
Madrid derby comes at a delicate moment
Next up is Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho’s attention is already turning towards the derby.
Rather than focusing on the opposition, he remains concerned about his own side’s ability to manage matches.
“The only explanation I can find is that we can’t keep going like this. We misjudged the opportunities we had, and once they score a goal, everything changes,” explained the Real Madrid coach.
Meanwhile, there were positives to take from individual performances, as Mourinho praised Yan Diomande’s development after another energetic outing.
“He’s improving. Physically, you can tell he has more minutes under his belt. He has a great work ethic and intelligence—he’s done a great job.”
Mourinho refuses to call Guler indispensable
Arda Guler’s importance was also questioned after another fantastic performance, but Mourinho rejected the idea that any player is beyond replacement.
“No, no one is indispensable. We were losing control when I made the substitutions; Vini did a great job on defence, but he was very tired.
“And Arda, who was playing in the number 10 position, was also losing intensity.
“I brought in a fresh Jude and Brahim when we were down 0-2, but I could sense we were losing control. That’s how it goes for us. And then, we brought in the heavy artillery and turned it around.”
Mourinho was also pleased with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde during Madrid’s strongest spells.
“When the team was playing well, he and Valverde were playing well. They broke through the pressure easily, with skill.
“But the game had two phases—or rather three: one until it was 0–2, another until it was 2–2, and another until the end. They did a good job,” he concluded.
Source: AS
