SAMI KHEDIRA

Real Madrid have broken the all-time Spanish record for the most of goals scored in a single season after German international Sami Khedira opened the scoring for Real Madrid against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

Real Madrid could not have had a better way of breaking the record after the goal from the German international gave them a 1-0 lead in the El Clasico. This was mostly the biggest El Clasico for Real Madrid given that they were looking to maintain their advantage at the top of the table, which has been reduced to just four points by Barcelona.

Real Madrid have now scored 108 goals this season, which has now broken the record set by Real Madrid back in the 1989-90 season. Real Madrid then went on to win the match 2-1, which was only their first victory in the league El Clasico after more than three years. Now, they have a strong point advantage at the top of the table, which will be hard to eat into by Barcelona. Only four matches remain in the season for both clubs. Sami Khedira poked in the ball from close range after a defensive lapse from Barcelona captain Puyol.

José Mourinho has said ahead of the match that records do not mean a lot to him, but trophies are the ones that matter to him. Following the match, he spoke extremely satisfied about the fact that Real Madrid were not only able to maintain their advantage over Barcelona, but also increase the advantage as well.

Barcelona manager Guardiola said that it will almost be impossible for Barcelona to win the title this season. He also congratulated Real Madrid for an impressive season, which has led to the title going away from Barcelona for the first time in three seasons.

Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira has said that the absence of midfielder Xabi Alonso from the squad is not a problem for Real Madrid, as they have a number of players who can effectively replace him on the pitch. Xabi Alonso will be missing the second leg match against Cyprus side APOEL.

Real Madrid are the favourites to go past APOEL into the semifinals of the Champions League after they come into the match with a 3-0 advantage from the first leg. Still, Real Madrid are not complacent about qualifying for the Champions League, but Khedira insists that Alonso will not be missed in the centre of midfield.

The 30-year-old Spaniard picked up a booking in the first leg, which has ruled him out of this tie due to suspension. Alonso has so far made 42 appearances for Real Madrid this season, which shows his importance for the team. Hence, there has been a lot of speculation that APOEL will cause Real Madrid a lot of problems at the Santiago Bernabeu. Khedira, who is not especially known for his passing skills like Alonso, has said that the Spaniard will not be missed because Real Madrid have enough quality on the bench to replace him.

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Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has dismissed any rumours linking him with a return to Spain with Real Madrid. Sergio Aguero arrived from Athletico Madrid only in the summer for around £ 38 million. Real Madrid initially tried to sign him, but were unable to do so due to their rivalry with the Athletico Madrid club. Now that he has moved to another club, Real Madrid are targeting the Argentine as a potential strike partner for Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. Even though Aguero is relatively new to the Premier league, he has already scored 24 goals this season for Manchester City.

However, Aguero has dismissed the rumours linking him with a move back to Spain saying that he is extremely happy with life in Manchester and wants to win a lot of trophies with City. City currently challenging for the Premier league title alongside their rivals Manchester United. Even though United are the favourites for the title due to their extraordinary experience, City believe that they can win the title for the first time since 1968. Sergio Aguero said that he would like to achieve a personal target of 30 goals in his inaugural season in the Premier league.

“None of the stories about Real Madrid have come from me and the City fans can rest assured I am happy here. First and foremost, the major aim is to win the league title this season. Then I want to stay here for a long time after that. I’m very, very happy here. From the moment I arrived, everyone has treated me really well,” Aguero said regarding the reports linking him with Real Madrid. Real Madrid have already secured the signing of one Premier league great in the form of Ronaldo in 2009. Aguero could be their second major acquisition from England.

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English club Manchester United are monitoring the situation surrounding Real Madrid defensive midfielder Sami Khedira. The German international Sami Khedira moved to Real Madrid in the summer after he was convinced by manager José Mourinho that he would have an integral part within the squad. Sami Khedira was clearly one of the best players at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, Real Madrid managed to sign him for an extremely low transfer fee. Upon his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu, however, Sami Khedira has found that the situation is totally different at Real Madrid.

Due to the presence of numerous players capable of playing in his position, Sami Khedira has not always been the first choice for José Mourinho. Hence, it has been rumoured that he would be willing to consider offers from other clubs in order to play regularly. Manchester United were seen as one of the destinations prior to the move to Real Madrid. Manchester United were keen on replacing Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes, and it seemed that Sami Khedira was the perfect fit because he had the abilities of both players infused into one package. However, it seems that the time has finally come for the German international to move to Manchester United, as the English club are currently monitoring the situation surrounding him.

Benfica pair Javi Garcia and Nicolas Gaitan are also on the watch list for Manchester United. It will be interesting to see if the English club will be coming with a concrete bid in the summer for the German international. Like many other transfers, it is very likely that Manchester United will also have a backup in case Sami Khedira does not desire to move to England. The German international may want to spend more time at Real Madrid given the fact that José Mourinho is expected to leave in the summer.

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Real Madrid not only continued their dominance in the domestic league, but also in the domestic cup as well after entering into the quarter-finals following their 1-0 win over Malaga. Still, not everything was rosy for José Mourinho and Real Madrid, as influential midfielder Sami Khedira suffered an injury and had to be stretchered off.

Real Madrid will be facing Barcelona in the next round, which is something worth watching given that the two clubs have been the best in the league by far. Real Madrid were coming into the match with the lead to protect, which was achieved from the 3-2 win in the first leg.

Karim Benzema, who is looking like every bit of the player Real Madrid paid £ 35 million for two years ago, once again scored the goal that helped the Spanish club record a 1-0 win over Malaga. Real Madrid have been focusing on winning every competition this season and the 1-0 win looks like the perfect recipe for doing so. It will certainly in still a lot of fear within the other clubs in Spain given that they have only watched Real Madrid score a number of goals this season. However, they managed to show to the other clubs that they still have the capability to scrap for 1-0 win.

The gloss from the victory, however, was taken away from the side after the injury to Sami Khedira. Real Madrid need every player available in order to fight on all fronts, and the injury to Sami Khedira is something that José Mourinho would not have wanted at this stage of the season. However, José Mourinho confirmed after the match that the injury was not as serious as expected initially, while also confirming the fact that he expects Khedira to be back soon.

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