Gareth Bale must improve, says Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti

Gareth Bale: The Welshman has come in for criticism

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti admits Gareth Bale "has to improve" but says it would be unfair to pick out the Welshman for criticism.

Bale has been particularly poor in recent weeks and is currently on his longest goal drought since joining the La Liga giants from Tottenham 18 months ago having gone eight games without finding the net.

Los Blancos have been overtaken by arch-rivals Barcelona in the domestic title race after suffering their fourth defeat in 14 games in 2015 at Athletic Bilbao but remain favourites to ease into the last eight of the Champions League for a fifth consecutive season.

Everyone must do their bit. I don't think Bale is happy with how he is playing and he understands that he has to improve.

Ancelotti on Bale

The European champions hold a 2-0 advantage against Schalke in Gelsenkirchen from three weeks ago ahead of their second leg clash at home on Tuesday night.

Ancelotti insists Bale should not be singled out for criticism given the poor performances of the whole team in 2015.

"I think we would have to drop the whole team using that criteria given the whole team isn't playing well," said the former Chelsea boss.

"I would have to drop Karim because he hasn't scored in a few games. I would have to drop Cristiano, the central midfielders, I am making a more general consideration of the team that has to improve.

"Everyone must do their bit. I don't think Bale is happy with how he is playing and he understands that he has to improve."

Ancelotti also revealed that his star front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale will always start when fit and believes his faith in the players that delivered a club record four trophies in 2014 will eventually be rewarded.

"I have complete confidence in them (Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo)," he said.

"They have given us so much in the past and our identity is not going to change.

"There has been a general drop in form, not just of the three of them, but of the whole team.

"Right now the team is not helping our strikers much.

"We are not playing fast, we are passing the ball too much and we need to try to find the right pass to make the most of our strikers' potential."

After the Schalke game, Real will host Levante this weekend before travelling to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona on March 22.

Roberto Di Matteo insists Real Madrid are not in crisis

Roberto Di Matteo: Won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012

Roberto Di Matteo has dismissed suggestions his Schalke side are meeting Real Madrid at the right time as they look to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit on Tuesday night in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Madrid beat Schalke 9-2 on aggregate on their way to winning the Champions League for a 10th time last season, but have stumbled recently in La Liga.

Carlo Ancelotti's men were beaten for a fourth time in 14 games in 2015 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to surrender top spot in La Liga to Barcelona for the first time in five months.

"I don't believe Real Madrid are in a crisis. I hope the media is right that the strikers are not in good form. We will need a little bit of luck as well tomorrow night to get a positive result.

"The game on Saturday was different. It was an away game in Bilbao, who are a very strong team, and they didn't allow Real Madrid to get into their flow. Tomorrow they play in front of their home fans and I think it will be different.

Real Madrid lost for a fourth time in 2015 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday

"I think three weeks ago they were talking about a crisis as well with the Real Madrid team. I don't expect a team in crisis tomorrow."

Di Matteo does however believe his side must score first at the Bernabeu on Tuesday if they are to have any chance of progressing.

"We have to score the first goal and if we open the scoring then the match could be interesting for us," said Di Matteo, who won the Champions League when in charge of Chelsea in 2012.

Madrid's star front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale have come in for criticism as the goals have dried up in recent weeks.

Arsenal have beaten Manchester United once in their last 15 matches

Will Arsene Wenger have better luck against Louis van Gaal?

The FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on Monday night is ostensibly a clash between two of English football's heavyweights. However, the recent record between the two teams is remarkably one-sided.

In fact, Arsenal have beaten their rivals only once in the last 15 meetings between the two in all competitions.

The sequence dates back to a two-legged Champions League semi-final between the sides in 2009 when Sir Alex Ferguson's men appeared to invent the template for beating the modern incarnation of Arsene Wenger's side.

The clinical manner in which Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo cut apart the Gunners on the counter-attack in a 3-1 second-leg victory at the Emirates Stadium established a pattern that has been repeated on many occasions since.

Fabio da Silva scored for Man Utd in their last FA Cup clash with Arsenal

Indeed, United won four of the next six games against Arsenal, including the most recent FA Cup meeting between the sides - a 2-0 win in March 2011 - but worse was to come for Wenger in the Premier League later that year.

United's 8-2 demolition job at the start of the 2011/12 season sparked a brief period of manic introspection in north London as Arsenal questioned their own credentials against their rivals.

Arsenal suffered a famous 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford in August 2011

The result directly led to Arsenal's deadline-day splurge that included the acquisition of Per Mertesacker to help bring a bit more steel to the back-line.

But while the accomplished German centre-back can be regarded as a successful signing, he has done little to stem the tide against United.

Exposed

Instead, he was ruthlessly exposed by the visitors' counter-attacking tactics when the two teams last met at the Emirates Stadium in November.

United punished Mertesacker's lack of pace with the breakaway for Wayne Rooney's decisive strike and once the 30-year-old had been passed on the halfway line, his attempts to make up the ground were always going to end in vain.

Wayne Rooney punished Arsenal when the teams met at the Emirates Stadium

With Gabriel unavailable due to a hamstring injury, Wenger cannot turn to new personnel in the hope of finding a fresh answer to the questions United will impose.

So will Wenger turn to a more circumspect approach like the one that did for Manchester City in January? Could Louis van Gaal’s slower passing game play into the hands of the Gunners?

Or will it become one win in 16 for Arsenal against Manchester United? We’ll find out at Old Trafford on Monday night.

Charlie Austin v Harry Kane: Tottenham striker won the battle of the England hopefuls at Loftus Road

Harry Kane celebrated a brace in Tottenham's 2-1 win at QPR

Roy Hodgson was at Loftus Road on Saturday to see the top two English goalscorers in the Premier League go head-to-head. Charlie Austin and Harry Kane have both been linked with an England call later this month but it was Kane who stole the show with a brace in Tottenham’s 2-1 win over QPR.

As well as those goals we delve deeper to assess how the two men compared. Who covered the most ground? Who made the most high-intensity runs? Who played the most passes and which man fashioned the most chances for team-mates?

Goals

Kane showed great courage for the opening goal of the game, putting his head in where it hurts to beat both Nedum Onuoha and Robert Green to Andros Townsend’s lofted free-kick. His second effort – Kane’s 26th of the season in all competitions – was even more impressive.

Kane rounded Robert Green to score a crucial second goal at Loftus Road

Having broken the offside trap in latching onto Ryan Mason’s through-ball, Kane ushered Nacer Chadli away from the ball and took full responsibility himself. Using his team-mate as a decoy, he confidently rounded Green and slotted the ball into the empty net with his left foot. It was a finish of a man playing without a doubt in his mind.

Chances

Although Kane saw an early header well saved and should have done better with a wild effort in following up a Christian Eriksen strike, Austin came even closer when he saw a left-footed shot cannon off the underside of the bar with the scores goalless. It was a well-struck effort and perhaps the moment when the QPR striker might have suspected it wasn’t to be his day.

Austin had nine shots but six of them were blocked as he failed to find the net

In total, Austin had nine shots – more than anyone else on the pitch – but found the target with only two of them. Indeed, six were blocked and he was also a little unfortunate to see a strong handball shout turned away at close range, but he did play a part in QPR’s goal with some good work in the channel to feed Bobby Zamora in the build-up to Sandro pulling one back.

Physical

There has been some suggestion that Kane has been tiring in recent weeks with fears of burnout being floated. However, that was emphatically not the case at Loftus Road where the 21-year-old forward covered more ground than any other player on the pitch – running 11.58 kilometres.

Austin was left frustrated by his afternoon in front of the watching England boss

By comparison, Austin ran only 8.91km, the least of any outfield team-mate who played the full game. Kane also made more high-intensity sprints than his QPR counterpart and clocked the greater top speed too – hitting 31.90 km/h during the first half.

Technical

Both men are capable of holding the ball up well but it was Kane who was involved more. Austin completed only seven passes in the first half with just four of them (at a completion rate of 44%) coming in the Tottenham half. Kane, meanwhile, was a little more active on the ball in completing 10 passes in the opening 45 minutes at a success rate of 77 per cent.

Austin's left-footed shot in the first half cannoned off the crossbar

After the interval, the pattern continued with Kane completing 20 passes in all to Austin’s 12 and making almost twice as many passes in the opposition half. That’s not to suggest that Austin was merely a poacher as he did produce a fine flicked through-ball to Matty Phillips only for the winger to be crowded out when he looked to be clean through.

Any other business?

Austin might not have been able to find an equaliser for his struggling side, but the striker does deserve credit for his work at the other end. He found himself tracking a Kyle Walker run during the second half and when the ball fell nicely for Eriksen he did brilliantly to clear from near the goal-line.

Kane showed his appetite to score when heading Tottenham ahead

Harry Kane: Spurs gaining momentum after Capital One Cup final disappointment

Conclusion

Clearly Austin’s effort could not be faulted and Hodgson is will be encouraged by his performance that the QPR man is worthy of further attention when the England squad is announced later this month. But Kane’s display showed why the Spurs striker is entitled to feel he ought to be pushing for a place in Hodgson’s team let alone his squad. His wonderful season continues.

Louis van Gaal prioritises Champions League for Manchester United

Louis van Gaal: Top four the main aim for United boss

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has underlined his belief that Champions League qualification is the priority at Old Trafford.

United take on holders Arsenal on Monday with an FA Cup semi-final spot at stake but Van Gaal's over-riding target this season remains a top four finish.

Van Gaal said: "I want to get always the goals that we have set, and the goals we have set is the top four, and a trophy would be fantastic. It's fantastic for the players and the manager but our role in our first year together is to win a place in the Champions League.

" I think that Arsene Wenger is right - I think that Arsene Wenger is always saying right things - for a club, Champions League is the highest level and that's why he's saying that.

"To finish in the first four is a fantastic result and for us at Manchester United even more I think. If you win the FA Cup you are not in the Champions League but you have won a title."

Meanwhile, Marouane Fellaini believes United can take confidence from their last-gap win over Newcastle in midweek into Monday's quarter-final.

Fellaini told MUTV: "It will be a challenge. Monday is a massive game. We have to win it in one game because playing at Arsenal would be difficult. The FA Cup is a special competition, a big trophy in England. I lost a final. I played in a semi-final. This season, I can win it.

"We have showed spirit already a lot of times now and we have to continue like that. We have a big game on Monday, so it is good for the confidence.

"We always keep going and scored in the last minute (against Newcastle). The spirit was good, we kept going and that is important."

Striker Robin van Persie will miss the game against his former club due to an ankle injury, and defender Jonny Evans has been banned for six matches for spitting at Newcastle's Papiss Cisse.

Lionel Messi scores record-breaking 24th La Liga hat-trick as Barcelona crush Rayo Vallecano 6-1

Lionel Messi: Celebrates after scoring against Rayo Vallecano

Lionel Messi scored a record-breaking 24th La Liga hat-trick and Luis Suarez struck twice as Barcelona beat Rayo Vallecano 6-1 at the Nou Camp to return to the top of the table in emphatic style.

The Uruguayan got the ball rolling with an early goal and Gerard Pique doubled the lead shortly after the break, before Messi scored a treble inside 12 minutes which took him one hat-trick clear of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Both sides had their right-backs sent off, with Tito getting two yellow cards for Rayo and Dani Alves getting a straight red for bringing down Alberto Bueno, who scored a consolation goal for the visitors, only for Suarez to pounce again in stoppage-time.

This was a merciless performance from Luis Enrique's side, who go one point clear at the top of the table after Real Madrid lost at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, reclaiming top spot for the first time in 2015.

And Messi's hat-trick - his sixth of the season and 32nd for Barca in all competitions - takes him level with Ronaldo at the top of the league's scoring charts with 30 goals from 25 starts.

Barcelona needed just two minutes to open the scoring in this fixture last season and they took the lead with five minutes gone this time.

Suarez got ahead of Rayo's high defensive line to latch onto a through ball by Xavi and smashed the ball past Cristian Alvarez for a fifth goal in four matches.

The Uruguayan was released again a few minutes later and raced towards goal to round Alvarez but took the ball wide of the area and his cross was booted away by Abdoulaye Ba.

The Senegalese defender then brought Suarez down in the box and was fortunate not to concede a penalty.

Rayo had done well to get to half-time just a goal down but Barca finished them off after the break.

Pique got the first goal of the second period, converting on the rebound as Jordi Alba's looping header from a corner struck the top of the far post.

Lionel Messi scored his 32nd hat-trick as Barcelona beat Rayo Vallecano 6-1 to return to the top of La Liga

Then Suarez was brought down by Tito in the area, leading to a penalty and the full-back being shown a second yellow card.

Messi took the penalty and sent it into the arms of his Argentine compatriot Alvarez, but the referee ordered a retake and this time Messi slammed the ball into the opposite corner.

He got his second seven minutes later when Suarez's first-time shot was spilled by Alvarez, and all Messi had to do was nudge the ball home from a few yards out.

His third goal was the most impressive. Alba came speeding down the left and Messi took the pass in his stride, dancing past Antonio Amaya and Alvarez to slot into an empty net and take his total number of hat-tricks for Barcelona to 32.

But Rayo did manage to salvage a consolation goal. Bueno broke free from the defensive line and should have got his shot away sooner but was caught by Alves and the Brazilian was shown a straight red card.

The Spaniard smashed his penalty into the top corner to score a fifth goal in two games.

But there was still time for one final Barca goal and Suarez completed the rout, receiving a through ball from Messi and rounding Alvarez to score with ease.

Man Utd v Arsenal combined XI: Paul Merson reveals who makes his team

Ahead of Arsenal's trip to Manchester United on Monday night, we challenged Gunners legend Paul Merson to pick his best combined XI from the two squads.

Merse is backing Olivier Giroud to lead his line, with Wayne Rooney and Alexis Sanchez preferred to Angel di Maria, Juan Mata and Mesut Ozil. 

Danny Blind is in charge of protecting the back four rather than Francis Coquelin, but the creativity in central midfield comes from an Arsenal pairing.

There's a combination of Louis van Gaal and Arsene Wenger's defences, while David de Gea, who kept his ninth clean sheet of the season at Newcastle on Wednesday, is preferred in goal.

MERSON'S COMBINED XI (4-3-2-1): David de Gea; Kieran Gibbs, Marcos Rojo, Laurent Koscielny, Antonio Valencia; Santi Cazorla, Daley Blind, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain; Alexis Sanchez, Wayne Rooney; Olivier Giroud

Merson's combined Arsenal and Manchester United XI

The Soccer Saturday pundit told Sky Sports: "I normally find it really easy to pick a combined starting line-up but it was actually incredibly difficult due to their inconsistencies, especially choosing who would play in defence.

"It sums it up for both back fours that I’d consider Michael Carrick as one of the best centre-backs but Rojo edges him as a slightly better defender.

"United have been struggling and were lucky to get the win over Newcastle. De Gea being their best player says it all.

"Blind is a class player and just edges Coquelin, while Ashley Young is unlucky not to get in as he's been one of United’s better players.

"For me, Rooney has to play anywhere in the final third – his run of not having a shot for that long was ridiculous.

"Di Maria would have been in there at the start of the season but it just shows how hard this league is when you’ve got a player of his quality struggling."