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Gareth Bale scored on his debut for Real Madrid as Los Blancos were held 2-2 at Villarreal in La Liga.

The Welshman, a 91 million signing from Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago, grabbed the equaliser for the nine-time European Cup winners at El Madrigal after Cani had given the hosts the lead.

Cristiano Ronaldo then put the visitors ahead before former Spurs striker Giovani Dos Santos pegged back Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

The pre-match build up featured heavily on Bale, and he was named in the starting eleven on the right hand side of the attacking trio that also included Karim Benzema and Ronaldo.

But Los Blancos – the most expensive starting eleven in history at a cost of 387 million euros – got off to a bad start when Cani fired past Diego Lopez into the bottom left hand corner after 20 minutes.

Bale, who missed much of pre-season with a foot injury, showed some good touches and a decent understanding with his team mates despite only training with them for two days this week after returning from international duty. He got his Real career off to the perfect start when he finished off a lovely Real move involving Luka Modric and Daniel Carvajal to tap in from close range just before half time.

The Welshman was taken off just after the hour mark, but Ronaldo gave the visitors the lead with his 203rd goal in his 203rd game from the club, finishing off a quick counter attack.

Newly promoted Villarreal did not give up however, and we back on level terms just minutes later when Dos Santos netted from the left hand side of the area.

The visitors went in search of a winner, with Modric going close and Ronaldo attempting a couple of shots, but it wasn’t to be and Los Blancos lost their 100% record in La Liga.

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Gareth Bale will make his debut with Real Madrid at Villarreal, in a clash in which Los Blancos seek to maintain their 100 per cent start to La Liga.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side is suffering an injury crisis, with Fabio Coentrao, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, Raphael Varane and Isco out for their visit to El Madrigal Stadium.

On the other hand, Asier Illarramendi returns from a two-month-long period on the sidelines and will be picked for the starting eleven, as Ancelotti has admitted.

The Italian manager has also confirmed that Gareth Bale will play his first minutes, although he hasn’t revealed whether he will start at the left-back or will come in from the bench. Alvaro Arbeloa and Nacho Fernandez are the main candidates to replace Marcelo in the defense.

Los Merengues sit fourth in the table, with the same points than Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, as they have all won their first three matches of the season.

Marcelino Garcia’s side has been strong at home in the last year, losing only three games, but Real are favourites to maintain their winning start. Real have not lost any of their last six meetings, and have won 17 of their 26 encounters.

The main threat in Villarreal’s arsenal is their attack, as they have scored eight goals in three matches.

Defender Bojan Jokic and midfielder Francisco Farinos are a doubt for the hosts.

Possible line-ups:

Villarreal: Asenjo; Costa, Dorado, Musacchio, Mario; Cani, Bruno, Trigueros, Aquino; Pereira, Perbet.

Real Madrid: Diego Lopez; Nacho, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Carvajal; Casemiro, Illarramendi; Ronaldo, Modric, Di Maria; Benzema.

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Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund want to sign Iker Casillas in the January transfer window, according to reports.

The Spain goalkeeper has experienced a tough few months at the Santiago Bernabeu having been dropped by previous manager Jose Mourinho and has failed to win back his place under Carlo Ancelotti.

It is thought that with the World Cup coming up at the end of the season that he is keen on a move elsewhere to get first team football and guarantee his spot as his country’s number one.

The 32-year-old World Cup winner has been linked with Arsenal and Manchester City in recent weeks, but the Daily Mirror claims Jurgen Klopp is keen on taking him to the Bundesliga.

The shot stopper has been a regular for Real Madrid since 1999, and still has four years to go on his current deal.

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The main focus in the Madrid press this morning is the match between Villarreal and Real Madrid at El Madrigal later tonight.

Carlo Ancelotti confirmed new signing Gareth Bale will make his debut for Los Blancos on the right hand side of the front three. And Marca looks at the deadly trio of Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo – saying rightfully that the Villarreal defence will be kept on their toes tonight.

AS opt to look at the rivalry between Ronaldo and Bale – the former gave the latter a ‘welcome’ in training on Friday by going in hard on the Welshman’s ankle in a tackle during the training session. The paper looks at who will take freekicks, and labels the two a pair of torpedos ready to sink the Yellow Submarine.

According to research Ronaldo score 6.1% of the freekicks he takes, compared to Bale’s 4.4%, so the Portuguese may want to carry on taking them for now.

Asier Illarramendi is also set play for Los Blancos after recovering from injury. The midfielder signed for the club from Real Sociedad in July but has been on the sidelines receiving treatment.

Carlo Ancelotti also put an end to the keeper debate yesterday by confirming Iker Casillas will play in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey with Diego Lopez keeping his place in the side for La Liga matches. The Italian manager has done something similar in the past – notably with Christian Abbiati and Dida being rotated while he was in charge at AC Milan.

 

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Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has welcomed the arrival of Gareth Bale at the club and believes the Welshman is the final piece in the jigsaw to help Los Blancos win silverware this year.

The two players were at the launch of the third kit on Thursday afternoon, along with Brazilian left back Marcelo, and Benzema took time out to talk about the team’s newest additions.

Ahead of the team’s trip to Villarreal in La Liga, 25-year-old Benzema said: “He is a really good player and a really nice guy. Hopefully he will be successful here – he can help us win many titles.”

Real are looking to get back to winning ways this season after missing out on the big prizes last year. They finished second in La Liga, lost the final of the Copa del Rey, and were knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage.

Bale, who moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in a 91 million euro deal at the end of the transfer window, will play some part in the match at the Madrigal, although it is not known whether it will be from the bench or from the start.

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Spanish football agent François Gallardo has affirmed that Real Madrid is considering bringing Fernando Llorente on loan from Juventus in the winter transfer market.

Los Blancos have been reported to seek for a striker in January. Reports have told they could offer up to 50 million euros to bring either Luis Suarez or Radamel Falcao to Santiago Bernabeu.

However, Gallardo states that the most likely option is Llorente.

“Madrid has a list of three possible strikers to bring in December, as they are worried about Karim Benzema’s performance. I don’t think they will consider selling him in the winter market, but maybe they’ll do next summer”, Gallardo argues.

“Everybody is speaking about Luis Suarez and Falcao, but at this point I think Llorente has more chances to come on loan, as he is not going to play the Champions League with Juventus”, he claimed during his appearance at Spanish TV sports show Punto Pelota.

“It would be a signing that would excite the fans. Money wouldn’t be a problem, as he would arrive on loan and Madrid could buy him next summer”, Gallardo explained.

Fernando Llorente only moved from Bilbao to Turin this summer but has failed to earn a spot in the starting eleven so far. With the likes of Mirko Vucinic, Sebastian Giovinco and Fabio Quagliarella on the books, competition for a starting place is tough.

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Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Gareth Bale will make his Real Madrid debut against Villarreal on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference after training on Friday morning, the Italian manager wouldn’t confirm whether Bale would take his place in the starting eleven or come off the bench at the Madrigal.

The 24-year-old forward missed most of pre-season with a foot injury and only played half an hour of Wales’ World Cup qualifier against Serbia on Tuesday evening.

Former Paris Saint-Germain boss Ancelotti told journalists Bale would play on the right hand side of the front three – rejecting rumours he might play him at left back to cover an injury crisis in defence.

He said:  “Bale will travel to Villarreal and will play, although I don’t know if he’ll start or come off the bench.  Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo are two excellent players and I have no doubt that they will improve the team together.

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Raphael Varane is getting ever closer to a Real Madrid return following a lengthy injury lay-off by stepping up his training schedule

The Frenchman, signed from Lens two years ago, became an integral part of Los Blancos’ first team last season before a knee injury saw him miss the run-in at the end of the campaign.

His absence was sorely felt as Madrid tumbled out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage and lost the final of the Copa del Rey against city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Writing on his Facebook page, the 20-year-old told fans he was now training with a ball again and looking forward to reintegrating with the first team.

He said: “I am very happy to have resumed training with the ball. We will now work to feel comfortable on the pitch again and increase the intensity of training later this week.”

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La Liga returns this weekend after a couple of weeks of due to the international break. Los Blacos visit El Madrigal to take on Villareal and while much of the focus on been on where Gareth Bale will fit into the team, Madrid-based daily Marca takes a look at the role Cristiano Ronaldo will play.

According to the paper, the Portuguese international will be given his favourite role – on the left hand side of the attacking three but with the freedom to roam anywhere. With Bale likely to start on the bench, and possibly having to play out of position to cover injuries in the left back area if needed, it will be intriguing to see how Carlo Ancelotti plays the two men together when the time comes.

The fall out over Mesut Ozil’s transfer to Arsenal continues to rumble on, this time with Zinedine Zidane having his say. Reports have suggested Florentino Perez was not happy with Ozil because of he preferred the Madrid nightlife and chasing women rather than concentrating on football. And now Zidane has branded the German international weak for not wanting to fight for his place in the team.

He said Angel di Maria wanted to stay and earn his place in the team whereas Ozil was not willing to work hard to get a spot in the first team.

The new orange kit was revealed yesterday – but has had mixed reactions from Los Blancos fans. According to a poll by AS, just 52% of those questioned said they liked it, with the remaining 48% saying the colour was not nice and they wouldn’t consider buying the shirt.

 

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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez showed a lack of honour by attacking former Los Blancos midfielder Mesut Ozil when he left the club for Arsenal at the end of the transfer window.

The German playmaker was shown the exit door at the Santiago Bernabeu on the same day Gareth Bale arrived at the club.

Despite calls by fans not to sell the 24-year-old, and a number of players coming out and saying they disagreed with the club’s decision, Perez slammed Ozil for being unprofessional – the main reason why he was sold to Arsenal.

The Real president claimed Ozil was obsessed with chasing women, which affected his ability to train and perform at the required level as he was always tired.

But speaking to German paper Bild, the player’s agent and father Mustafa Ozil, said Perez was disrespectful and that legal action against him was being considered.

He stated:  “Just because a person earns a lot of money, he is not automatically a man of honour. And Perez is not a man of honour.

“Mesut has been turned into a scapegoat. And I’m the greedy father who has just been waiting for the big money move. It’s a set-up, and lousy business. We will legally defend themselves. The people who know me know how professional I am.”

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