Cristiano Ronaldo prefers Karim Benzema beside him

Guillem Balague returns with his weekly column, and says Cristiano Ronaldo prefers Karim Benzema beside him over any other Real Madrid player. It was another entertaining weekend in Spain as Barcelona struck late to grab a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid, while Ronaldo scored his first league goal of the season to snatch a 2-1 win at Getafe. Elsewhere, Valencia continued their fine form with a thrilling 6-3 win at Betis, while pressure grew on Malaga manager Michel following their 2-0 home defeat by Leganes...

Ronaldo prefers Benzema

It was the return of the Cristiano Ronaldo-Karim Benzema partnership at Getafe at the weekend, the first time they've played together since the Champions League final. Benzema for me is one of the most important players at Real, alongside Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos. He defines the style of the team, and is the perfect forward partner alongside Cristiano, because he links the midfield, moves around and is comfortable in every position up front. I am sure, in fact I know, that Ronaldo prefers Benzema next to him than any other player. It's weird to think that was Ronaldo's first goal in the league, in October, but of course he was out suspended. In any case, he cut a frustrated figure, missed a few chances before the goal, and that's why it took longer than usual for them to get the winner. He seems to leave his best for the Champions League, so I'm looking forward to his appearance this week against Tottenham!

Bernabeu baptism 

As Mauricio Pochettino says on the cover of AS, you haven't been baptised in football until you go to the Santiago Bernabeu. It's a great challenge for Spurs. Pochettino speaks more and more about his project, the fact everybody wants to create a Tottenham way, and that means the chairman, coaching staff and players understand fully what he wants. Now with Spurs' first Wembley win in the Premier League, I want to see them against a Real Madrid side who are not showing the second tier of players, not showing the quality and effectiveness of last season as yet. They have less relevant players on the bench in comparison to last season; last year they had James, Morata, Isco, Asensio, and now with Isco becoming a regular, and Asensio not hitting form just yet, and the goals of James and Morata not being replaced, it seems a good time to be playing Real before they actually reach the level they can. They struggled to score against Getafe, and that's been their biggest problem. They've gone from 3.5 average goals per game to 1.8. It's third in the Premier League against third in La Liga, and I think everybody wants to see what level Spurs' players are at.

Valverde using his bench

Ernesto Valverde seems to work well with the talent he has on his Barcelona bench. It's three games now where he has introduced impacting changes - and he always makes three changes, unlike Luis Enrique, who rarely made three, also making it clear he did not trust the rest of the bench. The changes from Valverde are not just like-for-like, he is actually able to make tactical switches, like swapping the position of Andre Gomes, bringing a midfielder into right-back in Sergi Roberto, and on the right-hand side using an out-and-out winger instead of a false winger. On three occasions this season, the result has changed based on those changes.

There was a fear that October was going to 'put Barcelona in their place', and that the position they were in was a bit false. Many thought the games against Atletico, Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla over the next few weeks would bring difficulties, but they've got through the first game with a draw.

But I think they would like to change around six to eight players between January and next season, which would suggest that they don't have a huge trust in the squad.

From SkySport