Ancelotti: Real Madrid are playing poorly

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti openly admitted that his side are in a period of poor form after Saturday's 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao.

Los Blancos were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Villarreal and their defeat at San Mames means that Barcelona can displace them at the top of La Liga with a win over Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Sunday.

Gareth Bale went desperately close to cancelling out Aritz Aduriz's headed opener for Athletic when his long-range cross-cum-shot struck the post but, for the most part, Madrid struggled to break their Basque opponents down.

Indeed, Ancelotti was the first to admit that Madrid, who have scored 75 goals in La Liga this season but just one in their last two games, are not at the top of their game right now.

"I think we pushed hard in the second half and we were attacking all the time," the Blancos boss told reporters.

"The team has a problem in that we need to have a clearer idea of what we're doing in attack.

"We don't circulate the ball fast enough and the strikers are not getting any chances.

"It's weird to say that Real Madrid have troubles in attack because we have scored many goals but it's true.

"My team is playing poorly and I have to take all the responsibility.

"But I will not give up because the league is complicated and it is not finished. We will work hard to turn things around."

Madrid next face Schalke in the Champions League on Tuesday before resuming their Liga title challenge at home to Levante on Sunday.

Tottenham join Alderweireld race

Tottenham have expressed an interest in Atletico Madrid's Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld, currently on-loan at top four rivals Southampton. The 26-year-old is set to command a fee of £10m.

Barcelona monitoring Henderson

Jordan Henderson is a top target for Barcelona, who are looking to land the 24-year-old on a free transfer. The Liverpool midfielder, tipped to skipper the side once Steven Gerrard moves to LA, has 18 months left on his current deal.

Pogba agrees PSG deal

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly won the race to sign Juventus superstar Paul Pogba. The 21-year-old is set to leave Turin in the summer and will head back to native France, snubbing the likes of Manchester United.

Coping with Fear in Your Relationship

It doesn’t have to be this way. There is another way to deal with fear:

1. Name the underlying fear. 

Some examples are: Fear of falling apart, fear of rejection, fear of not being understood, fear of being judged, fear of being alone, fear of loss, fear of change, fear of aging, fear of being overwhelmed, fear of your needs being ignored, fear of boredom, fear of lack of control, fear of failure, and fear of helplessness.

2. Tell your partner that you have some fear arising inside of you, and share those fears. 

Own your fears instead of blaming your partner. For example, say ‘I am feeling afraid of a loss of control of our finances’ instead of ‘You always have to be the boss with our money.’

3. Listen to your partner’s fears. 

Do not try to minimize, negate or ‘fix’ the fears. Do not try to bully your partner’s fear into submission. Do not belittle, humiliate, shame, and threaten the fear. Do not make snide remarks such as ‘Oh, you are always afraid of something,’ or ‘Why can’t you just relax and be happy for once?’ By trying to run the fear out of town, this technique to try to avoid a difficult conversation will backfire and leave you with a bigger mess.

4. Recognize that your partner’s fears are likely to trigger your own fears. 

For example, if your partner voices a fear of boredom, you may interpret this to mean that he or she is judging you as not being interesting enough, and you may feel a deep fear of rejection. It is important that you do not take over the whole discussion with your reaction-fear, and leave no space for your partner’s fear. On the other hand, it is also important that you make some room for your own fear, letting your partner know how you feel.

5. Focus on the fear and do not get detoured into specific details of the relationship. 

For example, don’t let ‘I feel fear of loss of control of our finances’ turn into ‘Why can’t you stop spending money on golf?’ Plan to discuss concrete and practical relationship issues at another time, when fear is not running the show. (And then stick to that plan!)

6. Contain the fears within boundaries. 

Recognize that these ‘fear’ talks will occur regularly throughout the course of the relationship, but keep each discussion within a reasonable time limit, such as 10 to 20 minutes. Kindly support each other to move on and enjoy life once the fears have been named and heard. Don’t set the boundary with anger and bullying by saying things like ‘Aren’t we done with this yet? Can’t you just let it go already?’ If one person is not done processing, gently but firmly plan for another time to talk the next day.

No one is very good at this. It goes against our lifelong patterns that have been set up to push fear away. Even if we move slowly in this direction, however, it can lead to a triumph of love over the destructive potential of fear, and make the difference between a relationship living or dying. That is not to say that love and acceptance transforms fear into rainbows and butterflies. Even within the arms of love, fear is still raw, painful, and deeply unsettling. But when fear becomes an accepted ‘citizen’ in the relationship, it is no longer the enemy. It’s just the colicky baby that needs your time and attention once in a while.

Roma keen on Sagna

Bacary Sagna is said to be fed up with the lack of first-team opportunities he has been afforded this season at Manchester City. Roma manager Rudi Garcia is keen to bring him to Serie A in the summer.

City line up ambassadorial role for Yaya

Manchester City are considering offering Yaya Toure a prestigious job behind the scenes at the club when he decides to retire. The Ivorian has two-and-a-half years left on his current deal.