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Brahim Diaz returns to Real Madrid

From a very young age, Brahim began to attract the attention of big clubs such as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, but in 2013 he finally signed for Manchester City to play in the youth teams….reports Asian Lite News

Brahim Diaz is back in the Spanish capital and set for a second chance to establish himself as a regular for Real Madrid.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder, who first joined the 34-time LaLiga champions from Manchester City in 2019, has spent the last three seasons on loan in Italian football with AC Milan in search of minutes and invaluable experience.

He has gained plaudits for his performances in Italy, playing 124 matches in all competitions and scoring 18 goals for the Rossoneri. He won the Serie A title last season, becoming only the third player ever to win LaLiga, Serie A and the Premier League after Cristiano Ronaldo y Danilo, and this year he reached the Champions League semi-finals.

He now returns to the Santiago Bernabeu and will likely slot into the now departed Marco Asensio’s role in the team. Brahim is a very creative player, and can complement the attacking firepower of Brazilian duo Vini Jr and Rodrygo well. His idol as a child was Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos. Brahim had his room full of photographs and posters of the former Real Madrid captain, but he has nothing to do with the Real Madrid legend in footballing terms. He is a versatile attacking midfielder. He can play on the right wing – the position in which he feels most comfortable – on the left flank, as a playmaker, and even as a striker if necessary.

Born in August 1999 in Malaga, he joined the youth ranks of Malaga CF when he was 7 years old. A strong passion for football runs in his family. His father, Sufiel, played in one of the most promising youth teams in Malaga but did not have the same luck or talent as his son would years later. Despite this, he instilled in him a passionate love for football and tried to teach him and help him to become a professional player.

From a very young age, Brahim began to attract the attention of big clubs such as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, but in 2013 he finally signed for Manchester City to play in the youth teams. In 2016 he made his professional debut in the Carabao Cup aged just 17.

It was in England that he began to forge his footballing identity and image. His full name is Brahim Abdelkader D�az, but there he became known only as Brahim Diaz for one simple reason: to help simplify his name and make himself known in the Premier League.

Despite the distance, Brahim remained on Real Madrid’s radar, and they took the plunge to sign him in 2019 despite his limited playing time on a six-year deal running until 2025. He scored his first goal for Los Blancos in May 2019 in a 3-1 loss to Real Sociedad a the Reale Arena. He now returns to LaLiga with the dream of establishing himself at the Santiago Bernabeu, with experience and age on his side.

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Real Madrid defeat Chelsea in Champions League

The game started with both sides looking to attack, and Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana and Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga were both shown slightly harsh yellow cards before Real Madrid gained control….reports Asian Lite News

Goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio gave Real Madrid a 2-0 first-leg lead in their Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Real Madrid dominated nearly the entire match against a rival that appeared worryingly disorganised at times, but they could be slightly disappointed not to have put the tie out of reach given their dominance.

While Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, repeated the side that won 4-0 away to FC Barcelona in the Copa del Rey a week ago, Frank Lampard opted to play with three central defenders, wingbacks, and a midfield trio of N’Golo Kante, Enzo Fernandez, and former Madrid player, Mateo Kovacic, a Xinhua report said.

The game started with both sides looking to attack, and Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana and Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga were both shown slightly harsh yellow cards before Real Madrid gained control. Vinicius Jr forced a save from Kepa in the 12th minute, and the Chelsea keeper would be in for a busy 45 minutes.

Kepa did well to deny Vinicius in the 21st minute after the striker latched onto a pass from Dani Carvajal, but he could do nothing to stop Benzema tapping home from close range. At the other end, Thibaut Courtois produced a great save to deny Raheem Sterling in Chelsea’s best chance all night, before Madrid took control of the half: Thiago Silva cleared Vinicius’ chip, and Kepa twice denied Rodrygo and also reacted well to deny Benzema on a couple of occasions.

The halftime whistle would have been welcome for Chelsea boss, Frank Lampard, but the second half saw little change in the script as Madrid continued to dominate. Luka Modric curled just wide, and Koulibaly did magnificently to impose himself on Rodrygo but then had to leave the pitch with an apparent hamstring problem.

Chelsea were down to 10 men with half an hour still to play after Ben Chilwell was sent off for hauling down Rodrygo when the striker was through on goal. The left back walked off without complaints. Substitute Marco Asensio made it 2-0 with a left-foot shot after a corner, as Chelsea failed to close down, first Kroos and then Vinicius.

It looked as if Madrid would go on to add a third, but they seemed to relax in the closing minutes, with the only clear chance coming from a Benzema header over the bar when most would have expected him to score.

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Real Madrid, Barcelona continue title race in La Liga

Real Madrid are first into action on Sunday lunchtime away to Mallorca, who have won their last three home games by 1-0. …reports Asian Lite News

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid continue their battle for La Liga as Barca host Sevilla and Real Madrid visit Mallorca on Sunday.

Both sides in midweek won their matches against Betis and Valencia, which were postponed due to their participation in the Supercup in January, leaving Barca five points clear of Madrid, who are six ahead of Real Sociedad.

Real Madrid are first into action on Sunday lunchtime away to Mallorca, who have won their last three home games by 1-0. Although Javier Aguirre’s side has scored just 15 goals this season, they have only conceded 18 in 19 matches and are tough to break down.

The match will test Real Madrid’s stamina after they played Valencia on Thursday night, leaving them little recovery time. The packed fixture calendar means Karim Benzema and Eder Militao miss the trip to the island after picking up muscle injuries on Thursday, and they join Lucas Vazquez and Ferland Mendy on the injury list.

Benzema and Militao will have tests on their injuries on Saturday, and the hope is they will be able to travel to Morocco with the rest of the Madrid squad for the Club World Cup.

That tournament will mean another two matches for Madrid next week (provided they reach the final), with next weekend’s scheduled league match against Elche put back to February 15th.

While Madrid continue to play matches, Barcelona’s players will enjoy a rare midweek break after their match at home to Sevilla on Sunday night, with Xavi Hernandez allowing his squad Tuesday and Wednesday off.

Sevilla travel to Camp Nou after consecutive wins lifted them out of the bottom three, although they will go into Sunday’s game just two points clear of third from bottom Cadiz and with plenty of work still to do.

Barca won 2-1 away to Betis on Wednesday, with Raphinha producing his best display in several weeks to replace the injured Ousmane Dembele.

Robert Lewandowski will again be the man to stop for Sevilla, although Pedri was hugely impressive in both attack and defense in midweek and his efforts, along with Gavi and Frenkie de Jong, are one reason why Barca’s defense has been so well protected – conceding just seven league goals all season.

Although Barca haven’t been brilliant in attack recently, their watertight defense has meant they haven’t needed to be, and the hope will be that another clean sheet will clear the way to three more points and a well-earned rest before another intense period of matches until the end of March.

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Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in first El Clasico of the season

Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in first El Clasico of the season

All hopes of that happening were ended by what many might feel was a rather harsh penalty call right at the end…reports Asian Lite News

Goals from Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde and Rodrygo ensured a dominating win for Real Madrid against FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday for the first El Clasico of the season.

FC Barcelona have lost for the first time this La Liga season and at the place where defeat hurts the most, the Santiago Bernabeu.

Without ever utterly dominating, Real Madrid scored twice in the first half and looked on steady course to win what had been a largely uneventful 250th edition of the biggest game in club football.

But especially after Ansu Fati entered the fray late on, Barcelona found the kind of energy they had been lacking until then, pulling one goal back and seriously threatening to take at least a point out of the game.

All hopes of that happening were ended by what many might feel was a rather harsh penalty call right at the end.

The way the game ended did leave a bit of a nasty taste in the mouth, but the upshot of it all is that it’s Real Madrid who maintain an unbeaten record in la Liga, and move three points higher than Barca in the table.

By half-time things were looking bleak. The game was just 12 minutes old when Vinicius powered down the left. Ter Stegen blocked the shot, but the rebound fell straight to Karim Benzema and Barca had conceded for just the second time in this Liga campaign.

And they’d concede again after 35 minutes when Federico Valverde was perhaps given too much space to think in before rifling home an unstoppable strike from the edge of the area.

It was all the more frustrating because between the goals, it was Barca who had been playing the best football, and would have been level had Lewandowski connected better with a wonderful close-range opportunity that went sailing over the bar.

As the game advanced, Barca were struggling to make Madrid’s lead look uncomfortable. But although Benzema did find the net for the second time, only for that one to call for offside, the home side rarely looked like extending their lead.

However, the closest Barca had come to a goal of their own was a rejected claim for a penalty on Lewandowski before Ansu Fati made a huge impact after coming on as a sub.

Moments after shooting inches wide, the youngster delivered the killer pass for Ferran Torres to pull one back for FC Barcelona.

From doom and gloom it was suddenly game on! When Ansu turned another shot just wide, the mood in the Bernabeu had shifted from calm complacency to extreme concern.

The chance of a fairy tale ending faded under controversial circumstances when Madrid were awarded a last minute penalty. The theory is that Eric Garcia trod on Rodrygo’s foot. There is going to be much discussion about the correctness of that decision.

Rodrygo himself took the kick, and converted. It was an infuriating end to a frustrating afternoon and Barca are heading back to Catalonia empty-handed.

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Real Madrid clinch record-extending 14th title of UEFA Champions League

Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti became the first coach to win the Champions League for four times, while the Italian is also the only one to have taken a team to five finals…reports Asian Lite News

Vinicius Junior scored a winner in the second half to fire Real Madrid to a record-extending 14th UEFA Champions League title as the Spanish giants beat Liverpool 1-0 in a delayed final at Stade de France early on Sunday (IST).

The Brazilian winger capitalised on Federico Valverde’s cross in the 59th minute to tap the ball into an empty net, securing the fifth Champions League trophy for Los Blancos in nine years.

Madrid last won the prestigious continental competition in 2018, when they also beat the Reds in the final.

This time, Jurgen Klopp’s side created more chances, nine strikes on target from 23 attempts while Madrid only had one from nine. But Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who was named the Player of the Match, made several stunning saves to deny Liverpool’s attack.

“Today nobody was going to get in my way,” Courtois said. “I was going to win a Champions League no matter what.”

Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti became the first coach to win the Champions League for four times, while the Italian is also the only one to have taken a team to five finals.

“I cannot believe I’ve won four Champions Leagues! It was a difficult game, we suffered in the first half but in the end with all the games we played I think we deserved to win this competition,” said the former AC Milan coach, who led the Italian side to the European premier glory twice in 2003 and 2007, before another victory with Real Madrid in his first spell at the La Liga club in 2014, Xinhua reports.

“The gameplan worked well, and Courtois helped cap a fantastic season for himself personally. It’s a fantastic club and squad with a lot of quality and strong mental character,” he added.

Despite having not scored in the final, Madrid’s lethal forward Karim Benzema finished the season as the top scorer of the tournament with 15 goals, including 10 in the knockout stage.

In the final, the French striker did have the ball in the net before halftime only for VAR to deny it for offside.

“We’re so happy and proud of this team. We’ve done the double and deservedly so. It was a tough game but it always is in the Champions League, and more so in a final. It means so much to me to win another Champions League here in my home country,” said Benzema, whom is widely regarded as the frontrunner in the race for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

The final, which was initially scheduled at 9:00 pm local time, was delayed for 36 minutes due to “security issue”. French police said in a statement that a group of supporters without tickets had attempted to “penetrate the stadium”, causing chaos outside the Stade de France.

UEFA blamed “fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles” for the events that saw supporters held up outside the stadium.

“As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium,” UEFA said, adding that it was “sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation.”

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