The Hard Tackle takes a look at the most important Real Madrid news that have been making the rounds.
Real Madrid remain one of the only three unbeaten teams in Europe after coming from behind to draw 1-1 at Barcelona last weekend. As Zinedine Zidane’s side prepare for their final group stage encounter in the UEFA Champions League, here’s a roundup of everything happening in and around the Santiago Bernabeu.
Zidane on the ‘final’ against Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has said that his side will go all out to get a win when his side faces Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night. Los Blancos, along with their visitors on Wednesday, have qualified for the knockout stages of Europe’s elite competition.
Real Madrid currently trail Dortmund by two points, but despite the risk of being unseeded should they fail to beat Dortmund, Zidane insisted that he is not worrying about the potential permutations and combinations. Zidane instead was adamant that his side’s immediate focus is on the match on Wednesday, saying that they will treat the match against Dortmund as a final.
He further added that his players are intent on getting the win and topping their group. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Zidane said: “We are going to play it like a final, a group final. We’re playing at home and we want to have a great game tomorrow. We can’t think about the possibilities. We have an important match and it’s always our objective to finish first in the group.”
The reverse fixture saw the two sides play out a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Westfalenstadion. A repeat of that result will see Real Madrid finish runners up to their visitors, and head into the Last 16 draw as an unseeded team.
Odegaard to Stade Rennais?
Meanwhile, the talented young starlet Martin Odegaard looks set to join Ligue 1 outfit Stade Rennais on loan in the January transfer window, according to reports in France. The report comes in the wake of the Norwegian being spotted at the club’s French league clash against Saint-Etienne at the Stade de la Route de Lorient on Sunday.
French media outlet Ouest-France reported that Odegaard was at the Roazhon Park along with his father Hans Erik Odegaard to watch Rennes on the weekend. The report also went on to state that the French club also tried to sign the Real Madrid youngster on a loan deal in the summer only for Los Blancos to decide against the transfer.
Odegaard moved to Real Madrid in January last year in a deal worth up to €8 million. However, he has failed to get minutes in the first team and has instead played for the Real Madrid Castilla team, putting in some impressive displays in the midfield for the B team. A move to the French first division is sure to help Odegaard further his development, provided he gets to see regular action for the first team.
Bale provides injury update
Winger Gareth Bale provided a positive update on his ankle injury, putting the Real Madrid supporters at ease by vouching that his recovery is going well. The Welsh superstar sustained an injury to his ankle during Madrid’s 2-1 win at Sporting Lisbon last month.
Scans on the injury revealed that the 27-year-old suffered a ‘traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons’ and is now facing a four-month spell on the sidelines. Post the surgery on his ankle though, Bale posted a video on Dugout saying: “Hi everybody, recovery is going well. My ankle is feeling better every day.”
He also went on to wish his teammates luck as they prepare to face Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. “Good luck to the boys against Dortmund and I’ll be watching here from home. Hala Madrid.”