Karim Benzema has no intention of leaving Real Madrid

Andy West 08:52 25/08/2015
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  • Laughing at the clowns: Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

    Karim Benzema has handed Real Madrid a double boost in their bid to rectify the goalscoring problems which have marked their start to the season.

    The French striker has been missing with a hamstring injury since his team’s goalless friendly draw with AC Milan last month, and his ability to act as the focal point of the attack was certainly conspicuous by its absence in Sunday night’s goalless draw against Sporting Gijon.

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    Benzema has also been the subject of extremely far-fetched 
    rumours linking him with a big money summer move to Arsenal.

    But yesterday he returned to training, sparking hopes that he will be available for this weekend’s home meeting with Real Betis, and also used social media to ridicule suggestions he is London-bound.

    Publishing a picture of himself wearing a Madrid kit in the club’s changing room, smiling happily and giving a double thumbs-up, he blasted on Instagram: “For all those clowns who want to make believe things at my fans. Here this is my home! Hala Madrid y nada mas!” [Go Madrid and that’s all].

    A report on realmadrid.com added:  “Benzema worked with the group during the first part of the training session when the players who started against Sporting trained at a lower intensity level.”

    Boss Rafa Benitez, meanwhile, has made light of his team’s goalscoring problems and claimed that he remains “optimistic” of their chances this season.

    Sunday’s blank in Gijon means Benitez’s team have compiled a concerning statistic of failing to score in five of their nine games 
    under the newly-appointed coach.

    Even more worryingly, they have only registered two goals in their last four outings – and both of those came from defenders, Nacho and Marcelo, during a 2-1 friendly win over Galatasaray.

    Cristiano Ronaldo cut a particularly frustrated figure on Sunday night as he failed to find the net with any of his 10 attempts, but Benitez believes his team remains a work in progress.

    “I’m clear in my mind that this is just the beginning,” said Benitez.

    “It’s a question of steadily improving our precision, our physical fitness and the way we function as a unit, and I remain optimistic.”

    Gareth Bale is expected to be fit for Saturday’s home opener despite undergoing tests on a big toe injury sustained during the draw in Gijon.

    And Benitez insisted he will persist with the flexible forward line which saw Bale regularly swap 
    positions with Ronaldo at El Molinon, with nominal right-winger Isco also frequently drifting into central areas.

    “To get the best out of the players that we have, we must give them a certain degree of freedom,” explained Benitez. “We saw quite a few moments of attacking play from the players up front, but with less space in the second half it was a question of precision.

    “When there were spaces, we had a few situations where they were all involved.”

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