The French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has backed the Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema to find the back of the net in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The former Lyon striker has come under intense criticism from the French media after failing to score in the last 11 matches.

France will be taking on the current world and European champions Spain in a crucial World Cup qualifying match. After the recent round of matches, France have been able to take the lead ahead of Spain in the group stage, which would allow them to qualify automatically for the World Cup.

Spain would have to go through the play-offs despite being the current world champions if the group stages finished as it is. Hence, there is a lot of impetus for France to extend the lead even further, but there is a section of fans who believe that Benzema should not be taking part in the match due to his poor form for the national team. The Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris, though, has backed Benzema to find the back of the net against Spain. He expects him to completely overcome the delicate situation. Lloris has said that they have to be prepared extremely well ahead of the match with Spain.

“There is no problem with Benzema in the team. We respect him. We are here to help him overcome this delicate moment. We have prepared in the best way possible and are very conscious of the importance of the game. We need the team to respond. We are facing the best team in the world. We are going to suffer but we know we can pose Spain problems. We hope to finish the game without any regrets,” said Lloris. After failing to establish himself in the Tottenham first-team in the first half of the season, Lloris has been the stand out performer for the Premier league club in recent months.

Real Madrid has defeated Valencia in a Copa Del Rey clash played at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday. Madrid won the match by 2-0. Although, the margin of the victory suggests that the match was one side but, it’s not the true story. Valencia put up a gutsy performance, but, Madrid proved to be too good for them at the end.

Madrid lost a few opportunities at the start. Jose Mourinho’s team got a couple of free kicks in the first seven minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo took both those free kicks, but, he didn’t manage to place his shot well on either of them.

Madrid had another chance to take the lead when Karim Benzema had given Luka Modric a fantastic pass and Modric had enough time to get into the right position and slot the ball into the net, but, the Croatian midfielder failed in doing that. His shot went wide of the net and another chance went begging.

Madrid eventually managed to take the lead in the 37th minute of the match. It was Benzema who took his team ahead. He got Sami Khedira’s pass outside the box. He controlled it and then, beat a couple of Valencia players to make his way into the box before firing it into the net from a close distance. It was a fine strike by the French striker.

The score became 2-0 in the favour of Madrid in the 73rd minute of the match courtesy of an own goal from Jose Andres Guardado.

The Valencia team earned a free kick just a couple of minutes before the end of the game. Daniel Parejo took that free kick, but, he wasted the opportunity by smashing the ball over the head of his teammates.

Valencia didn’t get any more chance after that and ended up losing the match.
These two teams will again take on each other in a La Liga clash on Sunday at Estadio Mastalla.

The Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has said that his best is yet to come for the Spanish club despite being one of the best players for the club in the recent 5-1 win over Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid are looking to catch up Barcelona in the table, and they trail the Catalan club by a mammoth eight points. Karim Benzema was the star of the win over Athletic Bilbao, as he helped them by scoring one goal and creating two assists. Benzema was just returning from a small period on the sidelines, but has said that it was not his best performance yet.

The striker has said that it was definitely one of his best games in a Real Madrid shirt, but not the best because there have been more decisive appearances. Benzema was playing in his first match after 15 days out with an injury problem. He has been largely overshadowed by the Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain, who has managed to score seven goals in the league alone. Karim Benzema still has a long way to go before matching the records of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are approaching the 20-goal mark already. Last season, Benzema was one of the top scorers of the Real Madrid team. He is yet to hit the ground running this time around.

"I cannot say that this was my best match for Real Madrid, because I have been more decisive in the past. The most important thing is that I felt well on the pitch after 15 days on the sidelines. My best has yet to come. What's important is that the great Real Madrid of last season is back again. We did some wonderful things," said Benzema. Real Madrid find themselves in the third position behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the table.

The Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema, has said that he has no idea why Cristiano Ronaldo is sad these days.
After Madrid’s match against Granada, Ronaldo had rattled the management staff of Madrid by saying that he is a bit upset at the moment and the club is quite aware of the reason why he is upset. However, Ronaldo had clearly said that his wages are not the reason of his unhappiness.

When Benzema was asked about Ronaldo’s sadness, he said, “Ronaldo is a very good friend of mine. We have been playing alongside each other since the last three years and we tend to talk to each other a lot. But, he hasn’t told me about the reason of his sadness. With me, he is quite normal and so is he with the other guys as well. But, I got surprised when he didn’t celebrate those two goals. There might be some serious reason behind it. But, whatever it is, I want this issue to be resolved quickly so that he could concentrate on his game.”

However, that so called ‘sadness’ didn’t seem to have affected Ronaldo’s game even a single bit. The Portuguese superstar scored two goals against Granada and then, scored the match winning goal in the Champions League match against Manchester City in the last minute.

Benzema who also found the net for Madrid against Manchester City got excited when asked about that match. The French international said, “It was a thriller. It was certainly one of the greatest matches that I have ever played in my career. The level of intensity of the players in the last 10 minutes was just terrific. It was good that we ended up on the winning side, but, that match could have gone either way.”

Real Madrid will now take on Rayo Vallecano in a La Liga match on 24th of September.

The Real Madrid manager José Mourinho has said that he is happy with the outcome of the first leg of the Spanish Supercopa match with Barcelona. This is despite Real Madrid suffering a 3-2 defeat in the match. For long periods of the match, it appeared that Real Madrid would be able to create a stunning upset by defeating the favourites Barcelona to a first leg victory. However, Barcelona came back from behind to win the match 3-2. Speaking after the match, José Mourinho has said that he is not be satisfied with his side's inability to hold on to the lead after working so hard to take it.

The first half was without any major incidents in terms of goalmouth action. The second half opened in the best possible manner with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring to put Real Madrid ahead in the match. However, Real Madrid were unable to hold on to the lead for much longer after they conceded three goals in a matter of 21 min. The goals from Pedro, Lionel Messi and the midfielder Xavi meant that Barcelona were ahead in a matter of few minutes, which shell shocked Real Madrid. However, the club managed to pull one back through Angel di Maria.

"I didn't like the first half. Sometimes we made a play that we didn't want to make. The opponent has the credit of making you change your game plan but in the second half we pressed a lot and played well. In the first half we were limited to playing well defensively, but without attacking. Barcelona were better but in the second we played a completely different game," said José Mourinho after the match. Real Madrid began the defence of their league title with a 1-1 draw with Valencia, while Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 5-1.

French striker Karim Benzema has said that he is extremely disappointed about having to face Spain in the quarter finals of the competition because he expected to face the Spanish in the final of the competition, according to the Arsenal news website.

France will be taking on Cesc Fabregas's Spain in the quarter-finals of the Euro 2012 knowing that the winner of the tie will be facing Portugal. Many are expecting France to come to the fore in this match because it has been a game that has always finished on the right side for French. France have not lost to Spain in the last seven matches, and Karim Benzema will be hoping that this record continues.

However, it did not turn out that way after France were defeated 2-0 on the night, which also marked their second consecutive defeat after going 22 matches unbeaten previously. Many have attributed it to the altercation within the players after the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sweden in the final group match. Karim Benzema has said that the French have left themselves to blame after the defeat at the hands of Sweden, which caused them to finish second in the group. If they had won the match, then they would have faced Italy in the quarter finals.

“It’s a disaster for the French and me personally. I wanted to play Spain but not at this stage of the tournament. I was dreaming of playing them in the final — not now. Our goal was always to qualify for the knockout stages and while that has been achieved we didn’t really expect to go into the last group game and perform so badly. We didn’t even turn up for the match so now we have to address the situation by facing the most dangerous side in this competition," said Karim Benzema after the match.

French international and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has said that the club are now behind the disappointment of exiting the Champions League on penalties. Bayern Munich managed to knock out Real Madrid on penalties after the 3-3 aggregate draw.

Ronaldo scored the two goals for Real Madrid in the second leg, while Arjen Robben scored from the penalty spot for Bayern Munich. It meant that Real Madrid have now been eliminated from the Champions League in the semi-final stage in the past two seasons. Despite this, they still have the league title to look forward to according to Karim Benzema.

The French international has been a revelation for Real Madrid this season. José Mourinho has often used Karim Benzema for the big matches this season, which has meant that Gonzalo Higuain has been relegated to the bench. The Argentine is expected to leave the club in the summer, which will pave way for Karim Benzema to establish himself in the Real Madrid team. After his early doubts, the French international seems to be coming of age and is having a lot of matured performances in the all-white strips of Real Madrid.

"We got to the semi-final with high hopes and were so close to the final, but these things happen. I think we have learned from it, though, and now we need to win the league to get over the disappointment. It is now very close and we must be happy about that because from early on in the season, the league was our priority. On Wednesday and Thursday nights after the Bayern defeat, we were all sad and dejected by our elimination, but this sadness has now been put to one side," Benzema said in an interview with AS. Benzema is expected to lead France's attack at the Euro 2012.

Karim Benzema has won the prestigious French player of the year award after excelling in various departments for Real Madrid. The striker, who moved from French side Lyon for £ 35 million a few seasons ago, has struggled for form with Real Madrid in the past.

However, the arrival of José Mourinho seems to have sparked a response within the player and he has not looked back since. In fact, he has been able to keep out Gonzalo Higuain regularly out of the side. These achievements have not gone unnoticed, as the French Football Federation has rewarded him with the prestigious French player of the year award.

Karim Benzema has scored an astounding 32 goals from 56 matches in all competitions for Real Madrid in the year 2011. Even though this is nowhere near enough the tally of the likes of Real Madrid's own Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, the French football Federation has recognised that even competing with Cristiano Ronaldo itself is a major feat. This award has been previously won by the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry. Hence, Karim Benzema has said that this award makes it even more special for him, as his idols have won it before.

"Every year I try and get closer to (winning) the Golden Ball. I want to walk in Zizou's (Zidane's) footsteps. When I see the former No. 1's, the likes of (Zinedine) Zidane, (Thierry) Henry and other great players, it makes me feel proud,'' Benzema told France Football. Other players who have been nominated for the award include Manchester City's Samir Nasri, Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and Barcelona defender Eric Abidal. Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has admitted that Karim Benzema could become the next Zinedine Zidane at the club. Karim Benzema joined Real Madrid three seasons ago.