Record-breaking Ronaldo, assist-king Kroos and the Clasico stats

Saturday saw another absorbing Clasico encounter but what records were set by the players of Real Madrid and Barcelona?

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Find out the facts from Saturday's Clasico which Real Madrid won after beating Barcelona 3-1.

- Real Madrid have won two Clasicos in a row with Iker Casillas as captain for the first time in all competitions.

- The last team to have scored as many goals in the opening nine games of a La Liga season were also Real Madrid in 1959/60 (33).

- Karim Benzema has scored four goals in his last three league 

games

 against Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu.

- Neymar has scored his last eight goals for Barcelona from just nine shots on target in all competitions.

- Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in his last 11 games, his best run scoring for Real Madrid.

- Karim Benzema is the only player to have hit the woodwork twice against Barcelona in a La Liga game (2003-2014).

- Real Madrid have scored more fast break goals than any other team in La Liga this season (four goals).

- Lionel Messi has been booked seven times vs Real Madrid, three more than versus any other side in all competitions.

- Toni Kroos is the Real Madrid top assister in La Liga this season with five, three of them from set pieces.

- Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in 16 of his last 17 league appearances (25 goals).

All data supplied by Opta.

Robben: There is no chance I'll leave Bayern

The former Real Madrid winger says he is perfectly settled at the Allianz Arena and is not convinced he is in the form of his life at present

Arjen Robben says there "is not even a one per cent" chance of him leaving Bayern Munich in the foreseeable future.

The Dutchman is rated among the very best players in the footballing world having fired the Bavarians to the Champions League in 2013 and played a starring role in their record-breaking 2013-14 campaign.

His success at the Allianz Arena means he feels perfectly settled and the 30-year-old is adamant he has no desire to move on from Pep Guardiola's side.

"I am 30 now, it is not like I want to go to a new league," Robben told The Daily Telegraph. "I have been in England, I have been in Spain, so I don’t have that desire, but that is all to do with the club I am with now.

"I am 100 per cent convinced I will stay here for a very long time. I am enjoying it so much in Germany. It is the perfect club with the perfect coach for me.

"My family is happy, we have lived here for five years and I am exactly at the place I want to be. It cannot be better than it is at the moment, so you don’t need to have thoughts about other clubs and other leagues.

"If you see me again in three years in the Premier League, then who knows, but at the moment, there is not even one per cent of me thinking about going to England or anywhere."

Many believe the 30-year-old is in the prime of his already-illustrious career, but the former Real Madrid and Chelsea winger is unsure if his lack of injuries have accentuated his quality.

"People asked me last season, and during the World Cup, whether this was the best I have been in my career, but I don’t know sometimes," he added.

"I don’t get that kind of feeling, but maybe it is for others on the outside to judge. It is maybe more noticeable now because I am playing well over a longer period.

“Before, I would do well for three or four months, maybe play even better, but then there would be an injury and you have to come back again. But now, being fit continually, I can keep my level and that means you can enjoy your football more."

Robben starred in midweek for Bayern as they thrashed Champions League group-stage rivals Roma 7-1 in Italy and the attacker believes it may have been the best performance since he arrived in Germany from Real Madrid five years ago.

"Everything we did Roma didn’t have an answer for and, yes, we scored some great goals too," he continued. "Everybody expected a difficult game, but it was remarkable, also for Roma and their fans.

"It was one big surprise because, after 35 minutes, it was already 5-0, which was quite impressive I think. Maybe it is the best we have played, but we have had so many great 

games

, especially the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, home and away, in 2013."

Bayern are back in action on Sunday with a trip to second-placed Borussia Monchengladbach, who could reduce the deficit at the top of the Bundesliga to one point with a win.
 

Liverpool, Chelsea and the teams Ronaldo has struggled to score against

ANALYSIS: The Ballon d'Or winner boasts an incredible club scoring record, particularly at Real Madrid, but he finds some opponents tougher than others

By Miles Chambers

Cristiano Ronaldo is in the form of his life for Real Madrid. With 19 goals in 12 

games

 in all competitions this season, the 29-year-old is virtually unstoppable right now.

And, having hit an incredible 271 goals in 258 appearances since signing for Madrid from Manchester United in 2009, and a total of 394 club goals in 581 career games, it is fair to say that Ronaldo is not scared of any opponent.

However, there are some teams who have fared well against the current Ballon d'Or holder - and one of those is Wednesday's Champions League opponents, Liverpool.

In nine games against the Reds - all of which came during his six seasons at Manchester United - Ronaldo scored just two goals. He has never registered at Anfield, the venue of this midweek's game.

Ronaldo's most difficult opponents have been Chelsea. He has scored just once in 15 games against the Blues, although that solitary strike arrived in United's 2008 Champions League final triumph in Moscow.

Other English clubs that can be proud of their record against the Portuguese include Blackburn (three in 12), Sunderland (one in five), Charlton (one in five) and Birmingham City (two in eight).



Away from England, Espanyol are the standout bogey side in Spain, with four goals in 10 games. The 29-year-old actually prefers playing a more illustrious Catalan opponent in Barcelona - against whom he has struck 13 times in 24 outings.

The only English team that he's faced more than once where he has a ratio of 1:1 or better is actually Manchester United, having scored twice against them in the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2012-13.

Ronaldo did not score more than 11 goals per season in his first three years at Old Trafford and 'only' scored 117 times in 290 competitive matches under Sir Alex Ferguson, compared to his aforementioned 271 strikes in 258 games at Madrid.

It is worth remembering, too, that once upon a time Ronaldo was taunted by some for not performing in big games. Liverpool were United's fiercest rivals throughout his time in England and his small tally helps to explain how this reputation was forged.

The former Sporting player also failed to net in his first 26 Champions League games (excluding qualifiers) for United, whereas he is now on the verge of becoming the competition's all-time top goalscorer.

Clearly, a lot has changed since Ronaldo last played at Anfield in 2007, although Liverpool will be hoping that his hoodoo against them continues on Wednesday evening.

Why has Wenger turned his back on Belgium's golden generation?

COMMENT: The Gunners have spent big in recent times but with their rivals possessing so much Belgian talent, has the Frenchman missed a trick?

By Richard Jolly

The Belgians are everywhere. Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois are two of Chelsea's premier players.Vincent Kompany is Manchester City's captain. Romelu Lukaku is Everton's record signing and Kevin Mirallas their most exciting winger. Adnan Januzaj is Manchester United's greatest teenage talent andMarouane Fellaini one of their most expensive signings. Jan Vertonghen is among Tottenham's most coveted individuals and Nacer Chadli is their top scorer. Simon Mignolet is Liverpool's goalkeeper and Divock Origi will become their centre-forward.

So they are everywhere. Except at Arsenal. Thomas Vermaelen's summer sale to Barcelona made them the exceptions, the only Premier League powerhouse without a sole member of the Belgian golden generation. These are players whose abilities were too abundant for their homeland to contain them. Anderlecht host the Gunners with plenty of homegrown players, but none of the calibre of Kompany and Courtois. They don't have the hallmarks of Hazard or the price tag of Lukaku. There is only Steven Defour, the national team's great enigma, the prodigy who never realised his potential.

Which raises the question: why not Arsenal? There is a theory that some of the current crop may be too outspoken and independent-minded for Arsene Wenger's taste, but he is no stranger to Belgium. He used to park emerging African talents at Beveren, and should still regret his decision not to recruit Yaya Toure to join brother Kolo and his fellow Ivorian Emmanuel Eboue in London.



He is the manager who is consistently ahead of the curve when buying on the continent. His squad contained Frenchmen before they won the 1998 World Cup and a Spanish playmaker, in Cesc Fabregas, long before tiki-taka brought his country European and global titles. He had bought three Germans in the days when they were serial semi-finalists and saw them became world champions as Arsenal players.

Yet it would be wrong to say he has a blind spot when it comes to Belgians. Indeed, they were a rarity at the upper end of the Premier League when Vermaelen joined in 2009. He hoped to bring in Vertonghen, too, only to rather ruin his case by telling a ball-playing defender he may have to operate in midfield. He spotted Hazard's potential but was outbid by Chelsea who, as European champions, had rather greater pulling power.

He was linked with Fellaini, but it would have been a stylistic mismatch. The midfielder has proved too direct for United, so it is hard to imagine him towering over Arsenal's diminutive technicians while passing in perfect harmony. Christian Benteke, too, may suit another brand of football.

And this is where Arsenal and Belgium differ most. Arguably the one flaw in the golden generation is the absence of a conductor of the orchestra, a passer in chief. In contrast, Arsenal have too many. Wenger has bought a surfeit of creators.

As ever with Arsenal, money is an issue, too. It is possible to pick a Belgium starting XI that, in their most recent permanent transfers alone, cost over €240 million. That equates to an average in excess of €22m per man.

Barca socio drops Neymar case

Jordi Cases claims he is satisfied by the explanations offered by president Josep Maria Bartomeu over the controversial deal and will not pursue legal action against the club

The Barcelona socio who forced the resignation of former president Sandro Rosell after taking the Catalan club to court over an alleged embezzlement of funds in the transfer of Neymar from Santos has dropped the case against the Blaugrana.

Barca insisted from the outset that they paid €57.1 million for Neymar, but Jordi Cases called for greater transparency in the breakdown of the controversial transfer and, when his pleas were ignored by the club, he decided to take Rosell to court late last year.

Cases was unhappy at the lack of clarity surrounding the €40m payment received by Neymar's parents, while one of the third parties involved in the move claimed Santos and Barca had colluded to cut them out of the deal altogether.

Rosell came under increasing pressure in January and eventually decided to resign, leaving vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu to take over and face further legal action from Cases.

But in his first press conference, Bartomeu revealed the documents behind the complex deal which confirmed the total operation had in fact cost Barca €86.2m and some nine months on, Cases has decided to bring an end to the legal action.

"Mr. Jordi Cases Guarc, member of FC Barcelona number 57,819, said this morning in a letter to club president Josep Maria Bartomeu that he is satisfied by information obtained through legal proceedings in relation to the recruitment of Santos player Neymar da Silva Jr. and other related contracts with the signing," Barca said in a statement posted on their official site on Tuesday.

Cases is also expected to reach an agreement to end his legal case against Rosell on Wednesday

Bayern to discuss Reus transfer, says Rummenigge

The Bavarians have long been linked with a move for the 25-year-old and are set to make a decision on a bid after internal talks

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says he will discuss a potential move for Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus with club chiefs.

The Bavarians have signed Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski from BVB in the last two summers and are rumoured to want to pay the 25-year-old's buyout clause next summer, believed to be worth €25 million.

Gotze admitted on Sunday that he was keen to see his old team-mate join him at the Allianz Arena and Rummenigge has now confirmed the Bundesliga champions will make a decision on whether to launch a bid.

"To be honest, we'll discuss the matter internally and calmly. Then we will come to a decision," he toldKicker.

"At the end of the day, the player has to decide too. His release clause is well known. There's nothing more to say."

Dortmund have reacted angrily to Bayern's interest in yet another of their stars, with CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke speaking out against the Bundesliga champions several times for what he deemed to be a public courting of the player.

Bayern were in the race to sign Reus from Borussia Monchengladbach back in 2012 but were pipped to the post by their rivals.

Reus has one goal and two assists from his three Bundesliga appearances so far this season.

Country on radar for IT expansion

The company is providing local students with professional training in collaboration with Pakistani institutes. PHOTO: COMPFIGHT.COM

DUBAI: 

Pakistan is on the radar of many global entities that are keen to either establish or expand their operations in different business segments.

The Information Technology (IT) industry is one of the most attractive sectors for companies as majority of the Middle East lags behind in adopting these technologies.

Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing (SAP) – a European software giant – is also looking to expand its operations in Pakistan. Although they already have a presence in the country, the management has decided to incorporate Pakistan in its long-term business strategy.

“Pakistan is at the forefront of our plans to expand beyond the Gulf,” said SAP Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Chief Operating Officer Hannes Liebe, while talking to The Express Tribune.

“We believe that Pakistan will progress quickly towards the next generation of IT solutions.”

Providing enterprise software and services throughout the world, SAP has only achieved to facilitate limited companies like K-Electric, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), Engro among others.

While attending the recent Gulf Information Technology Expo (Gitex) 2014, held in Dubai, the company also expressed the intention to boost operations in the Middle East in order to change the operational mind set towards managing businesses.

“Among the emerging markets, Pakistan possesses a lot of skill and an eager population with prospects of commercial growth,” said Liebe.

Normally in growing markets, it starts with tailor-made solutions for domestic purposes before moving on to business automation. Finally, the market arrives at implementing cutting-edge technologies, he added.

The company is providing local students with professional training in collaboration with Pakistani institutes in order to develop a competitive human resource pool as part of their expansion plan.

Cloud technology on the horizon

Apart from other services, the management of SAP is interested in expanding cloud technology – a method of networking information with centralised data storage – which is still in its initial phases in the region.

“The rate of adopting cloud technology in this region [Middle East] is extremely low due to a conservative approach,” said SAP MENA Head of Line Business Solutions Deniz Kilyar.

He added that PTCL’s use of SAP’s ‘success factor solutions’ – titled Human Capital Management – has given a preview to the potential despite it being in the application phase.

“After using SAP’s ‘success factor solutions’ through cloud technology, customers are giving positive feedback,” said Kilyar.