Navas to Replace Absent Courtois

Courtois in serious trouble as he is declared “missing” by Real Madrid’s

Zinedine Zidane made a bold call in restoring Keylor Navas to the starting XI in his first match back in charge of the club, and whilst there is no suggestion Courtois would immediately take back his place, the fact he hasn’t trained suggests a continued absence from the matchday squad entirely. In order to cover the position vacated by the former Chelsea stopper, Castilla goalkeeper, Moha, was called up to take part in Monday’s senior training session.

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Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior worked briefly on their own respective recoveries on Monday, although the Valencia match is expected to come way too soon for both.

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Real Madrid picked their second victory in as many games since Zidane’s return in the match against Huesca. It was a hard-fought win against a side that will give their all in the battle to avoid relegation. Things started badly for the Whites with a goal from Hernandez in the 3rd minute, but the reaction was immediate, with the first chance coming with 13 minutes on the clock. Odriozola was very sharp, crossing for Benzema who missed the target from inside the six-yard box.

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The same players were involved again two minutes later. A ball in to space from Isco was met by Odriozola who crossed for Benzema but his shot was collected by Santamaría. There was a feeling that the equaliser wasn’t far away and that proved to be the case. Benzema held up the ball in the 25th minute and started a very fast move in which he combined with Brahim, forcing Santamaría to parry his shot. Brahim was very smart, picking up the rebound and setting up Isco, who scored to level things up.

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The match was all square at the break, although things could have been different had Chimy Ávila been able to take advantage of a loose ball on the edge of the area just before the interval.Benzema was once again in the thick of the action right after the restart, with his effort from the edge of the area in the 46th minute drawing a fine diving save from Santamaría.

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The Frenchman left an even bigger mark on proceedings in the 61st minute. Bale conjured up a sublime cross with the outside of his boot that Benzema met with a looping header, which caught the visitors’ goalkeeper by surprise, and Ceballos was on hand to prod the ball over the line with an acrobatic finish.The Whites had completed the comeback and were now looking to further extend their lead and they came close to doing just that in the 70th minute. Lucas Vázquez, who had earlier come on in place of Brahim, slipped the ball to Odriozola, who found Bale with a neat pull-back, only for the Welshman to sent his effort over the bar from inside the six-yard box. Four minutes later, Etxeita drew Huesca level when he finished following a set piece.

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However, Real Madrid just don’t know when they’re beaten and despite the setback of being pegged back, they hit an 89th-minute winner, courtesy of a moment of genius from Benzema, who deserved to have found the net far earlier on. The Frenchman picked the ball up on the corner of the area and settled himself before unleashing a sumptuous curling effort that nestled into the top corner of the helpless Santamaría’s net. This win means that it’s two wins in as many games for Zidane. The Whites now face another tough test on Wednesday night, when they travel to Mestalla.

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