Real Madrid require a rebuild in the future but Zinedine Zidane's men need their swagger back now

Andy West 20:24 02/02/2018
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  • Was Real Madrid’s 4-1 win at Valencia last weekend the start of a serious revival, or merely a late but brief sign of life from a gradually decaying team?

    We will find out soon. Los Blancos’ season – and the future of many of the group’s individuals – will now be defined by their Champions League campaign, which will be renewed in less than two weeks with the first leg of the mouth-watering last sixteen tie with Paris Saint-Germain.

    The way Madrid have been playing recently, Neymar, Mbappe, Cavani et al will make easy work of disposing with the reigning European champions, which would probably signal the end of Zinedine Zidane’s eventful managerial reign at the Bernabeu.

    And that’s not all because other senior players such as Luka Modric (32 years old), Marcelo (29), Sergio Ramos (31), Karim Benzema (30) and Cristiano Ronaldo (32) could even follow him through the exit door, or at least be relegated to less prominent roles. A major rebuild could be not too far away.

    Whatever the long-term future, though, we all know that this Madrid team and these Madrid players – both collectively and individually – are capable of performing at a far higher level than they have demonstrated this season, and if they are able to return to their best there’s no reason why they can’t make history by retaining the Champions League title for the third successive season.

    But time is short. Two weeks is not very long for Madrid to recover their best version, and Saturday’s game at Levante followed by next weekend’s home meeting with Real Sociedad will therefore be absolutely crucial in determining their mindset ahead of the showdown with PSG.

    As Zidane noted in his pre-match press conference on Friday, “This is the time for us to put our foot on the accelerator.”

    It is indeed. And to continue the analogy, they can’t afford to slip back into reverse once more as they did after two of their recent false dawns, when they thrashed Sevilla 5-0 and Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 at the Bernabeu to suggest that a corner had been turned but then failed to build on it and suffered poor results.

    Last weekend’s victory at Valencia could prove to be another of those unsustained mini-recoveries, and a lot depends on Saturday’s trip to Levante – mentally, this weekend’s game is about a lot more than just three points.

    Zidane’s team were flattered by the margin of their victory at Valencia, but probably the biggest plus was the way they dug in to ride a storm of Valencia pressure in the second half before surging clear with two late goals.

    That suggested a sense of unity and togetherness which could easily have been obliterated by the poor season they have endured, and along with the late flourish of excellent goals from Marcelo and Toni Kroos it could spark a much-needed boost in confidence.

    But that victory must only be a starting point, and it’s not only imperative that Madrid win on Saturday but also – to return to Zidane’s line – that they start to shift through the gears and actually play well.

    Levante should be compliant opposition. The Valencia-based club have faltered badly following a bright start to the season and are now just two points clear of the relegation zone, having failed to win any of their last nine league games.

    They have been particularly poor at home, gaining just two points from their last seven outings at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, so they really are the kind of opposition that Zidane’s team should be comfortably outclassing.

    If Madrid can do so, building on the progress they made last week at Valencia, this period of the campaign could well prove to be a turning point for the better.

    But if the bad old ways return, Zidane and his players will be under more pressure than ever with that PSG date just around the corner.

    Last weekend’s game at Valencia was perhaps only about the result; now, it’s the performance that counts as well. This weekend they need three points, but they also need to get that swagger back.

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