News about David Alaba

PETE JENSON: Former Manchester City forward Brahim Diaz shone for Real Madrid, but the team's injury-plagued defense conceded to a late penalty, putting them only two points ahead of next week's top-two clash against Girona. Barça descended on Xavi's Barça, a young Brazilian who later saw the red. Marcelino did not mince his words when explaining why he hooked Sorloth at halftime, and he didn't mince his words elsewhere. oh, and a Sevilla player was touched up while attempting to get a throw-in (yes, that really happened). Here are ten things we learned from LaLiga.

PETE JENSON, SPAIN: If Real Madrid sign Kylian Mbappe this summer (and PSG are committed to it happening), then the Spanish team will have the world's best under-25 team, one that may dominate the game for a decade. It will be the result of years of focusing the transfer market more efficiently than every other club in world football. First came the significant change in philosophy from signing the biggest names for the highest price, something that has resulted in Paris Saint Germain's biggest mistake in ten years of struggling to win the Champions League.

Bayern Munich is expected to make an opening offer for Raphael Varane, the defender who has had troubled for regular playing time at Old Trafford this season, earning just five Premier League starts, with the likes of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, and Jonny Evans all appearing ahead of the 30-year-old. This has fueled rumors that he may have left the club, with reported interest from Saudi Arabia and former Madrid - where he might have displaced injured David Alaba.

After falling out of favour at Manchester United, Raphael Varane has reportedly made a decision on a potential transfer to Saudi Arabia. The defender has struggled for regular playing time at Old Trafford this season, getting just five Premier League starts, with the likes of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, and Jonny Evans often starting ahead of the 30-year-old. With rumors from Saudi Arabia and former Real Madrid, he could have left the club, where he may have to replace injured David Alaba.

Real Madrid's defense is facing an injury crisis after David Alaba underwent surgery after rupturing his ACL in his left knee during their 4-1 victory over Villarreal on Sunday. Since breaking his ACL in August, Eder Militao is also out of action, leaving Antonio Rudiger and Nacho as the only remaining fit central defenders.

Teams are pushing their squads to their limits with games to plan for every few days in December, with the tumultuous festive season well and truly underway throughout Europe. Liverpool's drab and lethargic 0-0 draw against Manchester United on Sunday brought the Premier League to an end, and the Premier League will return against Manchester United in another round of fixtures on Thursday. Arsenal secured pole position in the Premier League thanks to their 2-0 victory over Brighton on Sunday and capitalised on Manchester City's 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace without star man Erling Haaland.

Real Madrid beat Barcelona by seven points over eight points and eight clear of Atletico Madrid, but excitement about returning to the top of La Liga was dampened by David Alaba's persistent injury. Bellingham scored the first time in 20 games in all competitions, but it wasn't all positive news, with Alaba losing in the first half due to a suspected cruciate ligament tear. Bellingham has center-forward numbers and he scored a center-forward's goal to snap the deadlock in 25 minutes. Lucas Vazquez moved from the right to Luka Modric, clipping a sublime ball into the middle, and Bellingham dominated a header past Filip Jorgensen.

Barcelona's Gavi has joined a growing number of players to suffer from a serious ACL injury, with many key players around the game also struggling with the knee injury. Although in action for Spain, the 19-year-old sustained the season-ending injury against Georgia, pulling up and clutching his knee after 26 minutes. Barca has already linked with potential replacements in the forthcoming January transfer window to fill the hole left by one of their key players, with reports that the player will miss Euro 2024 as a result.

Lindsey Vonn, an American skier, booed Tom Brady as she cheered the New England Patriots against the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL Germany game on Sunday. The 39-year-old Vonn revealed a snapshot from the field before kickoff in Germany and said she was cheering for the Patriots in Europe. 'Let's go Patriots, Colts!! 'I love the vibe here in Frankfurt,' she posted on Instagram. Tom Brady, who is back with the Patriots today, would be proud.'

According to reports, Real Madrid fired Chief Medical Officer Niko Mihic. According to Marca, the Spanish team has become more worried about injuries. Mihic's main point of dissatisfaction with Arda Guler's recuperation, with the young midfielder yet to play for the club after suffering multiple injury setbacks.

PETE JENSON: We can take 'Madrid' out of any signing Mbappe' as seriously as the reports about him being 'primed to announce him every day,' last summer and the summer before that. But it does seem that the Paris Saint-Germain forward, who will be 25 next month, will no longer be identified as a king and will not be paid by Qatar.

SIMON JONES: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, a footballer, has travelled to a pioneering neuro rehabilitation center in Germany in the hopes of putting his injuries behind him. Although several Premier League stars are still relaxin on the beach, the 26-year-old England national has headed to Munich and a clinic that has been used by Germany's top athletes, including Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer and Austria captain David Alaba of Real Madrid. Neurotraining is based on stimulating the brain and nervous system to release more physical energy and endurance in the body. Top sprinters have already used it to battle hamstring injuries, and Bayern Munich and Germany football players are now incorporating the techniques regularly.

PETE JENSON: Real Madrid were without Vinicius and Karim Benzema, but it didn't matter because Rodrygo scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season. On 29 minutes from the edge of the area, the first was a direct free kick. Bono, the Sevillan keeper, was uncertain if he should expect a left-footed free-kick from David Alaba or a right-footed assault from the Brazilian, but he didn't have time to miss Rodrygo's attack. The winner had a much better shot than the one before. Real Madrid went beyond being shielded from a free kick with Rodrygo's quick ball passing to Luka Modric, who played it to Toni Kroos. His pass brought Rodrygo back to life, with him turning and turning the back-pedaling Montiel dizzy before rolling his shot past Bono.

PETE JENSON (SPAIN): Barcelona wrapped up the league championship with four games to spare at Espanyol, and the celebrations were full even though there was no one in the stadium to watch them do it. Real Madrid climbed to second place despite missing seven key players ahead of their journey to Manchester, but the team managed to avoid a key player from returning to Manchester due to a player's injury. Valencia won by a large amount in their quest to stay up, but Atletico Madrid shocked Elsewhere Madrid by defeating them. It was Barca weekend, but the 10 things we learned this week were dominated by Barca.

All season, Erling Haaland has dominated the news. And rightly so. Fans have grown used to seeing the Norwegian's name plastered across the front pages with 51 goals this year and counting. Yet, as the hour came at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, with Manchester City trailing by a goal over the reigning Champions League champions, it seemed Haaland would finally be out of the headlines. At least for charitable causes. As David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger matched him for size, force, and speed, Real Madrid's experienced defense shackled the City hitman and kept him uncharacteristically quiet throughout the match.

PETE JENSON: Jose Mourinho won the Champions League final with Inter in 2010, but he didn't even come back to Milan for the celebrations. The final had been held in Madrid, but he had already agreed to Madrid, so he stayed in Madrid, although his players' celebrated without their coach at the San Siro the following day. Mourinho had just won the first European Cup in 45 years, fulfilling the hopes of a tearful president Massimo Moratti.

JACK GAUGHAN: Manchester City's players enjoyed their spa treatments in the luxurious Rosewood Villa Magna on Wednesday morning, celebrating the fact that they are seven games removed from immortality. Real Madrid was the hardest obstacle to overcome, with the next two major challengers to their Treble aspirations. On Sunday, the minds are on Everton, but Real is in town on Wednesday. So what did we learn from the first leg that will impact on the blockbuster second?

CHRIS SUTTON: Manchester City came from behind to earn the first leg of their Champions League semi final against Real Madrid on Tuesday night. Despite a strong start to the game from City, Vinicius Junior put the hosts in front on the stroke of half time. Kevin de Bruyne tied the game together with a superb outside-of-the-foot kick in the second half.

PETE JENSON: Juventus will be 13 points behind Napoli in Serie A on Tuesday if they defeat leaders Napoli. Last week, they were 31 points behind, but these things happen both in the courts and on the field. The decision by Italy's top sports court overturned the Italian Football Federation's decision in January to dock Juventus 15 points. And it isn't over yet. The case has been returned to the Italian Football Federation's appeals court to make their decision anew.

PETE JENSON: Real Madrid beat Cadiz 2-0 to close the gap on leaders Barcelona, who play Sunday, with no Vinicius. For the first time this season, the Brazilian was restrained in the first half, and although his direct running and finishing were missing in the first half, Madrid found their range eventually through Marco Asensio, the most likely route to goal for defender Nacho Fernandez. Carlo Ancelotti had left Vinicius with Toni Kroos, and had also reserved Luka Modric and David Alaba on the bench.

In spite of allegations that he punched Villarreal's Alex Baena on Saturday, David Alaba maintains he and other Real Madrid stars are right behind him. Following remarks made by the 21-year-old about Valverde's family earlier this year, the suspected incident is thought to have occurred after Madrid's 3-2 home loss at the Bernabeu. In a cup match, Baena has denied telling Valverde: "Now that your son is not going to be born." Valverde's wife was believed to have made the remark about the possibility of losing the couple's second child at the time.

After being threatened with racial abuse for not selecting Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema, David Alaba insists Austria's vote for Lionel Messi was determined "as a team rather than me alone." Messi was named the world's best male footballer at FIFA's annual awards ceremony on Monday night, just over two months after he led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar. Kylian Mbappe and Benzema, the PSG superstar, claimed his second best title and first since 2019. The award is given by coaches, captains, and journalists from around the world, and FIFA has published a complete breakdown of who selected who.

Real Madrid has been dealt with a double blow after David Alaba and Rodrygo sustained injuries during the game over Liverpool. Alaba, 30, was forced to miss 27 minutes during their 5-2 Champions League last-16 first leg victory at Anfield due to a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Nacho. The Austrian has been practically ruled out of Real's match against Atletico in the Madrid derby on Saturday.

Real Madrid rallied to lift the Club World Cup in an eight-goal match against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal. The Spanish kings were struggling throughout the course of development but they ultimately won. Moussa Marega reduced the deficit by showing his determination to overthrowen David Alaba and finish with a goal in the face of goal that left Madrid's advantage less than half-time.