Zidane admits Real's La Liga title hopes are over

Andy West 03:07 29/02/2016
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  • First setback: Zidane.

    Zinedine Zidane accepts his Real Madrid team must significantly improve if they want to claim any silverware this season, but confessed their league challenge died on Saturday night at the Bernabeu.

    Los Blancos have collected just one point from their last two league outings, with Saturday’s derby defeat at the Bernabeu against Atletico coming on the back of a 1-1 draw at Malaga to destroy their hopes of catching leaders Barcelona.

    The loss – the first suffered by Zidane as coach – was a case of the same old story for Madrid when they come up against high-quality opposition, with Los Blancos now gaining just one point from their five meetings this season with La Liga’s top five.

    And Zidane is making no excuses for their lacklustre display, rejecting the opportunity to blame the defeat on injury problems.

    “The problems are mental, not physical,” he said. “Atletico had a game on Wednesday night against PSV Eindhoven and look at how they played. When you are against a side who played three days ago, you have to do more – run more, take your chances. Losing a derby at home is a big blow.”

    Zidane also conceded that his team has no realistic chance of challenging for the league title, despite his pre-match assertions that the result of Saturday’s derby would not be decisive.

    Madrid remain in contention for the Champions League, leading Roma 2-0 from the first leg of their last-16 tie.

    “The league is over,” he shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean we can treat it as though it’s finished. We still have games to play and now we have to prepare to win on Wednesday.”

    Ronaldo’s U-turn

    Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has backtracked on his criticism of his Real Madrid team-mates following Saturday’s defeat.

    Ronaldo lambasted his fellow Los Blancos players by suggesting Real would be top if everyone was as good as him. However, Ronaldo issued a subsequent statement to Madrid sports daily Marca claiming he was referring to his fitness levels having not missed a minute of La Liga action this season.

    “When I said this I was referring to my level of fitness, not play. I am not better than any of my teammates,” he said.

    Ronaldo had in particular questioned the role of Madrid’s squad players in the absence of the injured Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Pepe.

    However, Real captain Sergio Ramos launched a staunch defence of the rest of the squad.

    “We are proud of everyone that is part of the squad and the work of all the players that get fewer minutes (on the field),” said Ramos. “Players like Vazquez, Jese or Borja (Mayoral) are giving everything because they know how hard it is to get their chance here, but Cristiano is free to offer his opinion.”

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