Madrid: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is hopeful of having striker Karim Benzema fit to face Juventus in the first-leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.
The French international missed his fifth consecutive game as the European champions kept alive their La Liga title hopes with a 3-2 win at Sevilla on Saturday, thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick to remain within two points of Barcelona.
Gareth Bale did make his comeback from two weeks out with a calf problem at the Sanchez Pizjuan as a second-half substitute and could well start against in Turin in midweek.
“Benzema we will see in the next two days,” said the Italian.
“Tomorrow we will see if he can train with the team. The good thing is that Bale played 30 minutes without any problems. We have recovered a very important player (in Bale) and it would be even better if we could get Karim back too.”
Whilst Madrid were pushed to the last minute to finally end Sevilla’s 34-game unbeaten run at home stretching back 13 months, Juventus were able to rest a number of key players as they sealed their 31st Serie A title with victory at Sampdoria.
However, Ancelotti insisted that the confidence gained from such a big win is just as important as the energy his side spent in Andalucia.
“It is a very important victory because it allows us to fight for the league and it gives us confidence for the game on Tuesday given the way in which we played.
“Hope is the last thing to die. Therefore, we have to have hope until the end. We have to win the next three games.”
Barcelona looked in supreme form as they humiliated Cordoba 8-0 to register their 26th win in 28 games.
