La Liga 2022-23: 'Benzema has to get in the best shape by playing' - Ancelotti

Defending champion Real Madrid was up against sixth-placed Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid on Sunday. However, the second-placed hosts received an unexpectedly close contest from the visitors, resulting in a 1-1 draw. While the Los Banclos led at half-time Vinicius Junior's opener in the 42nd, the Los Rojillos levelled in the following half through Kike in the 58th. In contrast, even a red card to the latter's David Garcia in the 78th was not enough for Madrid to capitalise. Meanwhile, the hosts' French striker Karim Benzema looked rusty after his injury return, but club head coach Carlo Ancelotti continued to back him.

Conversing to DAZN, Ancelotti reckoned, "Karim usually scores. The match wasn't spectacular, but after the goal we conceded, the team played as it had to. Karim had no problems starting to play for 90 minutes. He has to get in the best shape by playing. It's a footballing accident that can sometimes happen. We've been quite solid at the back. We had a good balance. We hardly conceded any counter-attacks."

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Since the beginning of the 2020-21 La Liga season, Osasuna has had three draws against Madrid. As the Los Blancos surrendered their top spot to arch-rival Barcelona, midfielder Dani Ceballos considered, "We wanted the three points, we tried until the end, but we have lost two points. We improved in the last minutes, but we have not been able to get the victory. We were not good at facing the goal or with the ball. We lacked a bit of dynamism. We have another game on Wednesday [vs Shakhtar Donetsk in UEFA Champions League] to face in a good way."