BENZEMA KEEPING HIGAUIN OUT

Karim Benzema has been in spectacular form this season so much so that he has been able to keep out regular goal scorer Gonzalo Higuain out of the side. He once again proved that he has the mantle to take part in the big matches and score regularly.

The 1-0 win over Malaga was a result of the Karim Benzema goal, which proved to be enough for Real Madrid to progress to the quarter-finals. Real Madrid will be meeting Barcelona in the quarter finals of the Copa Del Ray, a competition José Mourinho is considering to be extremely important.

José Mourinho has revealed that he wants to emulate the success of Barcelona in recent seasons by being in contention for every major trophy from the end of the season and winning every single one of them. Barcelona famously achieved the sextuple a few years ago and a widely regarded to be the best team in the world. However, Real Madrid have shown that they have more than enough quality to overtake Barcelona in the league, as they have done so in the table. Real Madrid are currently lead Barcelona by five points in the la Liga table, while they are also focusing equally on the cup competitions as well.

“We played an intelligent game tonight. It was a difficult series and we showed a lot of effort to win it,” Madrid manager Jose Mourinho said after the match. More than the win, it provides José Mourinho with the opportunity to take revenge for the 3-1 home defeat his side suffered at the hands of Barcelona just before the Christmas break. He has also witnessed Barcelona lift the Club World Cup for the second time in three years, and he will be looking to bring an end to the Catalan club’s progress in this competition.