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.

Mourinho: "After Madrid to England, that's for sure"

José Mourinho has again insisted that sooner or later he intends to return to England and coach in the Premier League. He said this in an interview to Sky Sports, in which he assured that "after Real Madrid, I want to coach in England again". "That's for sure. I keep repeating the same thing, I'm sure that it's where I want to be", he said.

"When I talk about my future in Spain, they immediately twist my words, but I can't deny something I’m so sure about", stated the Portuguese coach.

When asked if he had any preference or had ruled out coaching any English club in particular, Mourinho said: "I could coach at any English club, at all of them. I'm a Blue, a London Blue, but above all else, I'm a professional".

Mourinho left Chelsea in September 2007, having managed the club for three seasons. Last season, it was speculated that the Portuguese might leave Real Madrid and return to take charge of one of the bigger Premier League sides.

Right now, he hasn't wanted to set a time frame for his return to England or limit his managerial options, insisting that he's open to any club. Mourinho has also insisted on a number of occasions that he would like to coach the Portuguese national team one day. However, according to his most recent comments, this would have to wait until after his second spell in the Premier League.

Villa: "The national team is like my family"

David Villa wants to enjoy every minute of his time with the Spanish national team. The team spent ten months without its number 7, the amount of time it took him to recover the serious injury that ruled him out of Euro 2012. Now he's only thinking about one thing: having fun. Congratulations to him and the national team because the best goalscorer ever produced by Spain is once again where he should be, on the pitch in a red shirt.

"I missed my teammates, experiencing all of this, arriving at training camp and training with the national team. Fortunately I can now experience these moments again. This team is like part of my family", Villa explained emotionally.

The Barcelona forward gives thanks to Del Bosque: "I have to be grateful for the faith that the coaching staff have placed in me. I love to come away with the national team and be with my teammates. They really are like my family. I really enjoy it and it's obvious that I was looking forward to coming back. It was tough being away, but I’m back again now".

Villa says he feels "increasingly better. I feel very good and I'm improving daily. I have increasingly more acceleration and speed".

"Goals are the most important thing for a striker, but right now I'm just looking to play and improve my match fitness after so long without playing", he concluded.