Valencia 2-2 Real Madrid: Benitez falls short against former club

Valencia denied former manager Rafael Benitez a much-needed win on his return to Mestalla as Paco Alcacer’s late header earned his side a 2-2 draw with 10-man Real Madrid

Benitez, making his return to a club he guided to two La Liga titles, will likely face further difficult questions over his future after another indifferent display that saw Alcacer grab the headlines moments after Gareth Bale looked to have headed in the winner.

Benzema returns to Madrid and will miss Denmark game

Karim Benzema will miss France’s friendly with Denmark on Sunday after suffering a hamstring injury during the 4-0 win over Armenia.

The Real Madrid striker returned to the Spanish capital on Friday, with the French Football Federation announcing he has suffered a “first grade hamstring injury”.

Los Blancos have not yet commented on the news, although Spanish newspaper Marca have reported he could be out of action for up to three weeks — which would rule him out of matches against Levante,

Benzema unhappy with Real Madrid despite Shakhtar rout

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema revealed his disappointment with his side’s performance in their 4-0 demolition of Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The French forward scored via a goalkeeping blunder before the floodgates opened in the second half, with Cristiano Ronaldo bagging a hat-trick.

But Benzema was unsatisfied with his team’s inability to add to their advantage before the break, and bemoaned injuries to Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Gareth Bale.

Real Madrid 4-0 Shakhtar Donetsk: Ronaldo hat-trick gets Blancos off to perfect start

CCristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick helped Real Madrid to a 4-0 victory over 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday although it came at a cost with injuries to three key players.

Rafael Benitez will likely be judged on Madrid’s showing in the competition this term and, in his first European outing at the helm, Ronaldo’s treble helped mask knocks to Gareth Bale, Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos.

Madrid had been frustrated for much of the opening half hour prior to Bale’s withdrawal, before Andriy Pyatov spilled a simple cross, allowing Karim Benzema an easy finish.

Ronaldo vs Messi and BBC vs MSN – the battle resumes

Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo led Real Madrid to La Decima last year, while Lionel Messi, Luiz Suarez and Neymar inspired Barcelona’s treble triumph earlier in 2015. So which of the two will come out on top this time around – the ‘BBC’ or the ‘MSN’?

Bale, Benzema and Cristiano hit a combined 97 goals in 2013-14, with 28 of those coming in the club’s Champions League-winning campaign. A third of Ronaldo’s 51 strikes (17) arrived in the continental compeititon to set a new record, while the former Tottenham midfielder added six and the France forward hit five.

‘Bale & Benzema have Manchester United X-Factor’

Andrew Cole has welcomed talk of Manchester United potentially signing Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, insisting that the Real Madrid duo would bring an “X-Factor” to the Premier League club.
Goal understands that Arsenal believe Benzema would be interested in a move to north London, should Madrid decide to sell, while United have also been reported as a potential destination for the Madrid striker.

Benzema out of Madrid derby

Karim Benzema will definitely join Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Marcelo on the Real Madrid sidelines against Atletico on Wednesday.

Benzema, who played no part in Madrid’s 3-1 win over Malaga on Saturday, failed to prove his fitness in a training session on Monday due to an issue with the striker’s right knee.