Marcelo injured on international duty and will be out for three months

Marcelo quickly left the Brazilian national team's training camp in Wroclaw (Poland) after fracturing a bone in his right foot. The Real Madrid left-back will be out of action for almost three months, according to an official statement by the CBF (Brazilian Football Federation).

The Brazilian left-back was injured in training and although at first it was thought that it was only a sprain, upon leaving the pitch unable to put weight on his foot, a medical examination at a Polish hospitalconfirmed that the injury was serious.

Marcelo was given permission by his national team to return as soon as possible to Madrid and it's likely he’'l need surgery. "I'll be back soon. There's a long way to go until the 2013 Confederations Cup and I hope to be there", Marcelo said. Brazil is playing a friendly against Japan in Wroclaw this Tuesday.

It just happens that Fabio Coentrao also injured himself, in his case a thigh injury in the 19th minute of Portugal's World Cup qualifier against Russia last Saturday and he'll now miss Portugal’s next game against Northern Ireland.

Real Madrid is going to find it hard to fill the void he's left in the left side of its defence. An initial solution could be to move Arbeloa over from the right.

Benzema: "Ronaldo has always been my inspiration"

Karim Benzema is in a great moment of form for Real Madrid. After a start to the season in which Higuaín beat him to a place in Real's starting XI, the Frenchman has regained his place in Madrid's attack, scoring important goals against Manchester City, Rayo Vallecano and Ajax. In an interview in UEFA.com, the striker expressed his desire to continue working hard and improving.

"My ambitions have always been the same, to improve every day. I'm lucky to play at a great club. I need to have a good season, like the one I had least year, as well as playing well for my national team. What am I missing in order to be a great player? I don't know. I'm working hard to become a great footballer and I'll never stop working towards that", Benzema said.

The Frenchman's attacking skills have always been compared to those of Brazilian Ronaldo. The Frenchman acknowledged his admiration for the former Madrid player: "During my first season at Madrid I had the chance to meet him. I've been following him since I was a kid and he's always been my inspiration. In my opinion he's the best".

Benzema has also been compared to his fellow countryman Zinedine Zidane. "It's an overstatement to compare me to him, but he's a role model for what I'm doing and for what I want to achieve. I ask him for advice and he gives it to me. I hope to have a different career to his, but I hope to have the same success".

Milan plots Guardiola NYC offensive

This isn't the first time Silvio Berlusconi has attempted to lure Pep Guardiola to take the Milan hotseat, but the team's stuttering start to the season – the 'Rossoneri' lie 11th in the Serie A table – has led him to redouble his efforts to land the former Barça coach. Milan number two Adriano Galliani has revealed plans to fly to New York – he claims he is visiting his daughter, who lives in the 'Big Apple' – at precisely the same time Guardiola's agent, Josep María Orobitg, is in Manhattan.

Orobitg and Guardiola had been scheduled to meet in December, with the coach briefing his agent to turn down all advances in the meantime. He was to take down the details of any offers and bring them to the table in December, when the former Barça boss would begin to make a decision on his future after his sabbatical year. But for some reason, the meeting seems to have been pushed forward.

Milan has sounded out Orobitg on numerous occasions since Guardiola announced he would be leaving Barça, and the Italian media are reporting that Berlusconi would be willing to offer him a four-year package worth €6 million a season after tax.

Guardiola is determined not to rush back to coaching this year, but Milan is equally desperate to get the Catalan tactician on board as soon as possible, whether for what remains of this campaign or in the shape of a pre-contract agreement for next season.

Kaká: "There's more to come"

Kaká's revival continues to pick up steam. After four good performances for Real Madrid, the Brazilian forward continued his march back into form with his national team. The game against a poor Iraq side was a perfect stage on which to shine for a player who was sitting in the stands just three weeks ago. "I never lost the hope of coming back and experiencing what I am now. This is a personal resurgence that I have achieved gradually through a lot of hard work", he stated.

Thursday was one of the most special occasions of Kaká's career, although a few years ago he could barely have imagined that a friendly played against Iraq, played in freezing conditions in Sweden (temperatures were as low as 3° C), would be so important. What would have been a nuisance back when he won the Ballon d'Or has now become a lifeline. "I'm trying to make the most of every match, enjoy it and do a job for the team. I know that I have to take every opportunity I get to win back my place in the football world", the Brazilian stressed.

In Malmo, the forward looked like the Kaká of old, rolling back the years to his Milan days. This is the best shape he has been in since he joined Madrid, as demonstrated by the stunner he scored against Iraq after a 50-metre sprint. Now he is eyeing getting on the scoresheet more regularly: "I hope so. I think I've been improving and flourishing over the last few days and there's more to come. I'm in great form, I feel great physically and now I have the chance to ride that wave. Here's hoping that's the case".

Cristiano – the first player to score in six consecutive 'Clásicos'

Cristiano Ronaldo is in his element when he has Barcelona as an opponent and he proved that once more in this latest 'Clasico' match. With those he scored this Sunday at Camp Nou, he has become the first player in history to score in six consecutive games between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

In the Copa del Rey quarter finals last season, he started his run. Cristiano Ronaldo was on target both in the first leg at the Bernabéu and the second at Camp Nou.

He went on to score the goal that practically decided the 2011/2012 Liga in Real Madrid's favour last April.

During the summer's two Spanish Super Cup matches, Cristiano also scored on both pitches and now finishes things off by securing a brace for the first time on 'Azulgrana' territory.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi went head to head continuing the battle to win FIFA's Ballon d'Or at the end of the year; this time calling it a draw with both scoring two goals each.

Messi and Cristiano steal the show

More than ever, tonight's Barcelona-Real Madrid was a shootout between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The two best players in the world left their stamp on a game that was at once an all-out battle between two top sides and a head-to-head showdown. In the end, the spoils were shared both in terms of the overall scoreline (2-2) and the Messi-CR7 bout.

Braces from Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo saw La Liga's 'Clásico' end all square, leaving things as they were in the league table, with Barcelona retaining its eight-point lead over 'Los Blancos'.

Tito Vilanova's makeshift defence struggled in the first half, in which Mourinho's side threatened to deliver a knockout blow when, after setting up Cristiano for the opener, Karim Benzema crashed a drive off the near post. Had the Frenchman found the net, the whole complexion of the game could have been different.

It was not to be and a major slip-up from Pepe gifted Barcelona a lifeline, the Portuguese centre-back mistiming his jump in the box to leave Messi free to level the scores. Barça grew in stature in the second half and moved ahead through a majestic free-kick from the Argentine wizard which Casillas could do nothing about. However, Cristiano would have the last laugh, making the most of a lapse from the home defence to slot home and restore parity.