Real Madrid News
Former Real Madrid boss picks his favourite for this season’s UEFA Champions League
Former Real Madrid and Spain manager Vicente del Bosque has said that the Los Blancos are favourites to win the UEFA Champions League this season.
“Real Madrid are favourites to win the Champions League,” del Bosque told Spanish publication MARCA (h/t Madrid Zone).
Real Madrid, already a 14-time European champion, have been drawn to face Chelsea in the quarter-final of this year’s Champions League. The Merengues started their title defence with an impressive 3-0 win over Celtic on Matchday 1 of the group stage tie.
The team went on to beat RB Leipzig 2-0 followed by a 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk before stumbling along the road. After three consecutive wins, Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by the Ukrainian team before losing 2-3 against Leipzig.
A confident 5-1 win over Celtic on the final matchday, however, assured them of a top-place finish and a spot in the round of 16. In February, when they lock horns with Liverpool, Madrid once again showed that despite having an ageing squad, they are no pushovers.
Despite going 0-2 down within the first 15 minutes, the Los Blancos went on to win the game 5-2, courtesy of goals coming from Vinicius Jr., Eder Militao and Karim Benzema.
Having a three-goal cushion heading into the second leg allowed Madrid to go easy and a 78th-minute goal from Benzema allowed Madrid to beat Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate.
Up next for them lies a tricky test against Chelsea. Although the Blues haven’t been prolific in front of the goal lately, they have eliminated Borussia Dortmund from the competition.
Meanwhile, former Madrid player Luis Figo is of the opinion that although one can never discount Madrid from the Champions League, the likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich are his favourites.
“In the Champions League, you always have to count on Real Madrid, but my favourite is between Manchester City and Bayern Munich. Inter Milan have it a little more complicated and my level of favouritism is a little lower,” the Portuguese was quoted by MARCA.
In what will come as a pleasing development for fans, Fabrizio Romano reports that Real Madrid forward Rodrygo could make a comeback from his injury earlier than expected.
The 25-year-old Brazilian international has been out of action since March after suffering an ACL injury during a La Liga game against Getafe.
Due to the complete rupture of the ACL, coupled with associated meniscus damage, it was suggested that the attacker was staring at a lengthy time out on the sidelines and might not return until 2027.
In fact, the forward’s father, Eric Goes, recently stated in an interview that the Real Madrid ace could be back in February next year, just before the business end of the campaign.
Rodrygo could be back in December
However, as per the update from Romano, Rodrygo’s comeback could happen well before that expected date.
Indeed, if things continue to progress at the current rate, the 25-year-old attacker might return to action in December or by January 2027 at the latest.
This will come as a welcome boost for Jose Mourinho & co., considering that Rodrygo is a valuable player for the team.
Even though he had endured a tough spell prior to his form, the Brazilian’s versatility, work rate off the ball, and eye for a goal make him an asset.
Rodrygo eager to be back at his best
The update from Romano further states that Rodrygo feels very grateful to Real Madrid for all the help and support they have given him during this difficult phase of his career.
As such, the Brazilian international has made it a mission to return to action in the best shape possible and make an impact from the get-go.
The attacker has only recently begun working on the pitch with the ball indicating the significant progress he has made on the road to recovery.
And, if there are no setbacks, Real Madrid could recover one of their ace attackers before the end of the current year.
So far in his career, Rodrygo has made 297 appearances for Real Madrid, scoring 71 goals. He has a contract with the club until 2028.
