Benzema will be absent against Getafe

Karim Benzema will be absent against Getafe. The French striker, with a slight overload, did not participate in Real Madrid’s last training session before the match between the Whites and the Azulón team this Saturday at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, corresponding to matchday eight of the League, and Carlo Ancelotti decided to leave him off the list shortly after stating at a press conference that he was not ruled out for the appointment.

«Benzema has played two games in a row after a month. He is a bit overloaded. He has not trained today, but he is not ruled out. If he’s fine tomorrow he can play”, the Real Madrid coach had pointed out on the eve of a clash in which the whites, after suffering the first setback of the course against Osasuna last weekend, will try to return to the path of victory to get to the classic on the 16th in high spirits.

With the previously confirmed absences of Ceballos, who will be absent for between two and three weeks due to a biceps femoris injury, and Courtois, who is still recovering from the sciatica that has prevented him from playing the last two games, Ancelotti prefers to be cautious with Benzema , with the aim of reaching the fight with Barça at the Santiago Bernabéu in optimal conditions.

It should be remembered that the Lyon native returned to the pitch last weekend, after remaining in the dry dock since September 6 due to an injury to the semitendinosus muscle and an overload on the quadriceps, both in his right leg. This problem caused him to miss two league games, against Mallorca and against Atlético, and another in the Champions League, against Leipzig, before returning to the pitch in the match against Osasuna and completing the 90 minutes of Shakhtar’s visit on Wednesday in the Champions.

The setback against Celtic was a slowdown for an attacker who has not started the season with the finesse of recent seasons. He has registered four goals and distributed an assist in the eight games in which he has participated and against Shakhtar he was seen with some anxiety due to his lack of aim. Despite this, Ancelotti has no doubt that the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or on October 17 will soon recover the best version of him. «He has had this injury that has stopped him a bit, but I see the usual Karim. We have no concern in this regard. It may be that tomorrow he rests because we don’t want to risk it, but we don’t have any worries », he asserted.

A chameleonic Real Madrid

Regardless of the status of the ‘9’, Ancelotti warned his pupils of the difficulty of visiting the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, where Real Madrid saw a run of thirteen games without defeat come to an end on January 2. «The keys are the same as always, get the best out of us, prepare well, despite the difficulties. Last year this game cost us a lot. Getafe have not started so well this season, but in recent times they have done very well. He has intensity and good organization. Winning there will not be easy », he recalled.

He ruled out that any of his soccer players could play with the handbrake on before the World Cup in Qatar is approaching. “I don’t think so. Knowing the players, they want to play, “said the coach, who stressed, in any case, the need to monitor the fatigue of his men with games every three days. »The player is not so sincere in this sense, he says that he is fine even if he is tired. Sometimes he is not sincere in this sense, it costs injuries. I prefer that they be honest, if they are tired, and that they tell me that they prefer to stop. But only two players have told me that in 30 years: one was Pepe, in a Champions League final, and the other Seedorf in a League match,” he explained.

Ancelotti doesn’t fear too much relaxation from his players either, but he did acknowledge that they need to improve defensively. «The psychological is important, but it is what worries me the least. This team has shown that it is very strong in that. Sometimes we have to defend better, that’s what we all think, not just me », stressed the Italian, who wants his team to be a chameleon. «A Madrid that does not have only one identity. There are games where you need to push higher to have more control of the game and others where you have an advantage with the low block. We are not going to see just one Madrid, but a complete Madrid. I don’t like a team with only one identity », he reeled off.

He referred to Courtois, whose availability will depend on his feelings. “He is getting better from his inflammation. We have to think about whether to travel to Warsaw, but for the classic it will be safe », he said. And he also spoke about Kroos, with a renewal offer on the table to which he has not responded. «Kroos is very well physically and mentally. He always trains well, with a smile on his face, he never gets angry or feels the pressure of the games. This seems very strange to me. The renewal is in his hand. If he wants to renew, all Madrid fans will be happy », he limited.