Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid squad list against Mallorca
Following a 2-0 win against a familiar foe in Valencia, Real Madrid will take the trip to Palma to take on Mallorca in gameweek 20th. Los Blancos are trailing Barcelona by five points in the table, and could temporarily close the gap to two with a win tomorrow.
They are, however, missing some key players for this game. Karim Benzema picked up an injury in the second half in midweek. He will not be a part of the travelling team tomorrow, and is expected to be back in time for Club World Cup semis.
The same goes for Eder Militao. The Brazilian defender and captain Karim are going through tests to determine the extent of their injury, and more news is expected in the coming days.
Lucas Vazquez is still injured and has not been mentioned in the squad list, either. Eden Hazard drops out, too, but his exclusion is unlikely to have an important impact on the team.
In slightly better news, David Alaba returns to the team after nearly a month of injury. All midfielders in the team are fit and available for the Mallorca clash, too, including Aurelien Tchouameni.
📋✅ Our squad for the match 🆚 @RCD_Mallorca!#RCDMallorcaRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/4i6TUWRnmA
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) February 4, 2023
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
Pat Grey
February 4, 2023 at 6:20 pm
Blame the old coach, Ancelotti, and the old president Florentino Perez, both of whom are not thinking strategicall. By refusing to bring in players to enhance the depth of Real Madrid”s squad, they club stands to lose in all competitions as injury after injury continues to plague the squad!