Karim Benzema's first-half brace propelled Real Madrid to a 5-0 thrashing of Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League on Wednesday, putting the holders one win from the last 16 after a third straight victory under Santiago Solari.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has denied reports he was involved in an attempted kidnapping in Paris, saying people should “give me a break”.

Associates of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema are suspected of involvement in an attempted kidnapping with the aim of recuperating money owed to the star player, French news site Mediapart reported on Thursday.

The Paris Appeal Court will re-examine the case against Real Madrid star Karim Benzema for his alleged role in the blackmail of fellow international Mathieu Valbuena on October 4, sources told AFP on Friday.

Gareth Bale scored twice including an incredible overhead kick after coming off the bench as Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final in Kiev on Saturday.

Karim Benzema scored twice at the Bernabeu yesterday to lift Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich and 4-3 on aggregate on a night filled with drama and all that makes football the beautiful game.

Real Madrid are within touching distance of a third consecutive Champions League triumph after Karim Benzema scored twice to eliminate Bayern Munich on Tuesday and book their place in the final.

Zinedine Zidane sprung a surprise by dropping Casemiro for Real Madrid's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Casemiro started on the bench for the first time in this season's knock-out stage, with Mateo Kovacic coming .....

Zinedine Zidane left out both Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema from Real Madrid's starting line-up for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Bayern Munich.The holders started with Isco and Lucas Vazquez either side of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema were once the untouchable trio, but only one of Real Madrid's feted "BBC" can be sure of their place against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo's first La Liga goal for over a month ensured Real Madrid closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to seven points by squeezing past struggling Malaga 3-2 on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema both scored twice as holders Real Madrid crushed APOEL 6-0 in Nicosia on Tuesday to seal a place in the Champions League last 16.