Stuttering Real seeks Clasico response

Knives may well be out for Zidane if he fails to get a win at Barcelona

October 22, 2020 09:25 pm | Updated 09:25 pm IST - Madrid

Abject defence:  Zinedine Zidane has a job on his hands as  he tries to coax a crumbling backline to hold good against Barcelona.

Abject defence: Zinedine Zidane has a job on his hands as he tries to coax a crumbling backline to hold good against Barcelona.

Real Madrid won LaLiga only three months ago because of its defensive steel and a relentless will to win but ahead of Saturday’s Clasico against Barcelona, it appears to be a team unravelling.

After losing 1-0 at home to Cadiz for the first time in its history last weekend, Madrid fell 3-2 in the Champions League on Wednesday to Shakhtar Donetsk, which had 10 first team players and nine staff missing due to coronavirus infections. “We lacked a bit of everything but above all our confidence, which is the most important thing,” said Zinedine Zidane.

It means it might not be a vintage Clasico this weekend but for Madrid it has become more important now, and for Zidane too.

Two defeats in a week is one thing but three, the last of them against Barcelona, would the alter the dynamic. Zidane has credit in the bank but he will also know this run cannot continue.

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