#david-alaba

#david-alaba

Real Madrid will try to continue their superb recent form in the Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid on Saturday evening.Los Blancos know that there can be no mistakes in the pursuit of Barcelona at La Liga's summit.Carlo Ancelotti's side have won their last five games in all competitions including matches in the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Rodrygo's double steered Real Madrid to Copa del Rey glory as they defeated a valiant Osasuna 2-1 in Saturday's final.The Brazil forward netted twice to guide Los Blancos to their second piece of silverware this season in front of a packed Estadio de La Cartuja.For Carlo Ancelotti's side, victory ends a nine-year drought in Spain's most prestigious cup competition, with Madrid having last won in 2014 during the Italian's previous spell in charge.

Amid the World Cup tension, a little bit of fun.Bayern Munich and Germany star winger Serge Gnabry was asked to select an XI of the top players he's ever played with.The 27-year-old is a full Germany international and has spent time at clubs the likes of Arsenal FC and FC Bayern, so naturally, competitions for places are pretty fierce.

May 1, 2023 Sociedad face Madrid on Tuesday / Real Sociedad de Futbol / Visionhaus / Contributor Real Madrid need to carry on winning to keep up the pressure on Barcelona in La Liga, although time is more than likely running out for Los Blancos.Carlo Ancelotti's team will hope to build on victory over Almeria last time out when they face Real Sociedad on the road this week.

Mar 1, 2023 Real Madrid have a few injuries to contend with / Quality Sport Images/GettyImages The Copa del Rey draw has been kind to us this year with El Clasico rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid facing off over two legs for a place in the competition's showpiece event.Los Blancos overcame Atletico Madrid in the previous round to advance into the last four, but they were held by their crosstown rivals in La Liga at the weekend which meant they only gained a point on Barcelona at the top of the table.

Carlo Ancelotti has called for "zero tolerance" for racism after Vinicius Junior was subjected to racist abuse by fans -- but stopped short of criticising LaLiga, after the Real Madrid winger accused them of failing to act on the issue.Videos posted on social media showed Vinicius, 22, being insulted as he walked past fans after being substituted in Madrid's 2-0 win at Real Valladolid on Friday.

There are a lot of issues with this Liverpool squad but currently, no one is talking about some of them, which baffles me.Liverpool are in such dire need of players across all positions; it's mind-boggling to me that there are so many players that think Liverpool only need one or two players to get back to the pinnacle of English and European football.

Real Madrid will be hoping to record their 115th win against city rivals Atletico Madrid when they meet in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.Los Rojiblancos make the short crosstown trip to the Santiago Bernabeu looking to reach the last four in the backyard of their greatest rivals.Carlo Ancelotti was still in his first spell as Real Madrid boss the last time they won this competition, with the now-retired Gareth Bale scoring the memorable clincher.

Jan 21, 2023 Athletic Club beat Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey on their most recent trip to San Mames last February / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/GettyImages Athletic Club host reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid in the Spanish top flight on Sunday night.Both clubs made commanding starts to the season but come into the weekend's showpiece event out of sorts.

Jan 14, 2023 Real Madrid won the first Clasico of the season 3-1 in October / Quality Sport Images/GettyImages Real Madrid and Barcelona meet in the final of the Supercopa de Espana held in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night.Once the equivalent of England's curtain-raising, semi-friendly Community Shield, the Spanish Super Cup has been expanded and exported in the last four years.

Emiliano Martinez added to his impressive penalty record as Argentina won a World Cup final shootout against France on Sunday night.The Aston Villa keeper has won four successive shoot-outs with club and country, with his last defeat coming in 2019 when he was with Arsenal.Argentina beat both the Netherlands and France on penalties to seal their World Cup triumph, with Martinez to the fore.

Bastian Schweinsteiger is a legend of the game and one of the most successful players in the modern era.A product of Bayern Munich, he played for the Bavarians from 1998 to 2015 before moving to Manchester United and then Chicago Fire before retiring.Being an accomplished player, you hardly have regrets especially if you played for a powerful club.

Before his substitution in the 63rd minute, Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets had a share of 10.7% in Spain's total possession against Costa Rica.That figure was reduced by more than half - to 4.3% - in his next FIFA World Cup match, when the Spaniards took on Hansi Flick's Germany.At first glance, Busquets' involvement in Spain's play may be of little relevance here.

According to a report from kicker (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Germany is attempting to prevent Bayern Munich wunderkind Paul Wanner from permanently changing allegiances to Austria following Ralf Rangnick's attempt to convince the 16-year-old to make the move across the border.Germany is breaking out the big guns as both Hansi Flick and Oliver Bierhoff are personally involved in the situation:

In an attempt to avoid losing him to Austria, Hansi Flick and Oliver Bierhoff held talks with Paul Wanner to show him their appreciation.

Let's be clear, Bayern Munich has very little to play for against FC Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.The Bavarians are skating through to the knockout stages after dominating the initial games on the slate and now the Rekordmeister has an opportunity to kick FC Barcelona's Champions League hopes to the curb...and they should do it!