FRANCE NEED TO WIN

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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has said that France can view the Euro 2012 as a success only if they win the tournament. France will be heading into the tournament not as one of the favourites to win the competition, but it is viewed that it is a tournament for redemption. The national team has not performed up to its standards in the last two major tournaments partly because of the tension within the squad. However, former Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc has been able to unite the squad and the team come into the tournament having been undefeated in the last 21 matches.

The impressive form shown by France ahead of the Euro 2012 has been largely due to the form of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. The French striker was criticised a lot after initially not performing well for the Spanish club following his £ 35 million move from Lyon many seasons ago. However, the last two seasons has been a complete turnaround from the Frenchman after he has rediscovered his magic touch and hunger for the game. As a result, he has been able to keep out Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain, who has been brilliant prior to the arrival of José Mourinho.

“To succeed at the Euros we must go to the final and win. But we must be at least pass the first round beginning by winning against England. I don’t know if I am the only world class player in the French team but we are a team. A good group. There is no particular pressure. Everyone waits for me, it’s like that [but] I will continue to be as I am. I don’t know if I am in the form of my life, I am 24 years old, but I feel superb,” Benzema told reporters.

IMPRESSIVE FORM

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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema continued his impressive form as he scored two goals against Sevilla during the weekend, which helped Real Madrid close in on the title. As a result of this 3-0 win, Real Madrid now have a 10 point advantage at the top of the table. This means that the club would be given the title if Barcelona lost their match in hand against Rayo Vallecano later in the evening. This has been a tremendous achievement from Real Madrid and it would be their first title after three years. Karim Benzema has been one of the players of the season for Real Madrid this season.

He once again scored two goals against Sevilla to give Real Madrid a comfortable 3-0 win. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the other goal for Real Madrid. Real Madrid were coming into the match on the back of the Champions League semi-final exit at the hands of Bayern Munich. However, they showed no signs of disappointment from the midweek result, as they continued to set pace in the Spanish league. Real Madrid now have the most number of goals scored by any team in the Spanish league after the 3-0 win. If Madrid win the title this season, it will be the 32nd league title in their history.

“This is good for us, it was a very important game for us as we continue on looking to be champions. The Champions League is in the past, we only care about the league now,” Benzema said after the 3-0 win over Sevilla. Apart from scoring two goals, Benzema also created the goal for Cristiano Ronaldo. The two goals scored against Sevilla mean that Karim Benzema has now got 31 goals in all competitions this season, while he has scored 20 in the league alone.

MOURINHO PRAISES BENZEMA

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Real Madrid manager José Mourinho has praised the French striker Karim Benzema by saying that the former Lyon striker was out of the world in the match against Osasuna. Real Madrid managed a 5-1 drubbing of Osasuna, which kept their lead at the top of the table intact.

Karim Benzema helped kick things off for Real Madrid where he scored a stunning goal in the seventh minute. Mourinho remarked by saying that it was a goal that was simply extraordinary in every way. Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo found the net on two occasions each to help Real Madrid to a convincing win over Osasuna.

As a result of this victory, they continue to maintain the six-point advantage over Barcelona. However, Real Madrid could have had an even significant advantage over Barcelona had they not lost their grip on the title race. This 5-1 victory meant that Real Madrid managed a nine point lead at the top of the table for a brief period before Barcelona won their match in hand against Athletic Bilbao quite convincingly as well. Barcelona managed a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. Nino scored the solitary goal for Osasuna in the match against Real Madrid.

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BENZEMA WANTS MARSEILLE

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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has said that he would like Real Madrid to draw with Marseille in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Real Madrid have come into the draw for the quarter-finals after having beaten CSKA Moscow 5-2 on aggregate. Real Madrid are one of the favourites to win the Champions League this season. However, the recent good possibility that they will be drawn against the likes of Barcelona, Napoli, and AC Milan. Even though Karim Benzema has admitted that there are no easy games in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, he has said that he would like to play against Marseille given his French connections.

Karim Benzema was signed by Real Madrid from French club Lyon a few years ago for around £ 35 million. Even though he failed to live up to the promise initially, Real Madrid manager José Mourinho has become a great favourite of the player so much so that Karim Benzema has often found himself in the starting line-up ahead of regular first-team player Gonzalo Higuain. Marseille have come into the draw for the quarter-finals after having won against Inter Milan in an extremely close encounter. The 2-1 victory at the San Siro was enough to see them through on away goals.

“As a Frenchman, I would like to meet Olympique de Marseille in the quarter-finals. However, at this stage of the competition, there are only great teams left. We all knew what had to be done against CSKA and we all gave a great performance. All that mattered was reaching the next round. We are well aware of the importance of this competition,” Benzema said. It would certainly be interesting to see the reaction of Barcelona if they were to draw against Real Madrid, against whom they have a great record in recent seasons.

BENZEMA SALUTES IMPORTANT WIN

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Karim Benzema has said that it was very much important to win against Real Sociedad, as any other result would have given Barcelona the opportunity to close the gap. Barcelona are currently in the second position in the Spanish la Liga, which is the condition that one would not have witnessed in the last three years. The French forward scored in the match against Real Sociedad to give Real Madrid are 4-0 win. Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel di Maria were the other scorers for Real Madrid on the night. Even though Barcelona managed to win 5-1 against a very good Valencia side, they could do nothing about the advantage Real Madrid currently have over the Catalan club.

There was some controversy surrounding the second goal Real Madrid scored against Real Sociedad. Many are suggesting that it was not Karim Benzema who scored the goal, but it was defender Sergio Ramos who had the last touch. The former Lyon striker, however, has said that he is not worried about the goal scorer in the game, as the most important thing was to secure victory, which would prevent Barcelona from closing the gap. Real Madrid have one major test to pass in the route to the title – facing Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

“It was a great game in the end. I do not know if the second goal was mine or Sergio [Ramos’], but I do not care because it was important to win. We will continue fighting until the end,” Karim Benzema said after the 4-0 win. Real Madrid will be next facing Rayo Vallecano, and they are expected to provide a stern competition to Real Madrid. Barcelona, meanwhile, will be facing Real Madrid’s archrivals Atlético Madrid, but Guardiola will have to be aware of the fact that Barcelona’s away form has been extremely poor this season.