Real Madrid missed the chance to close the gap on Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table to six points following a goalless draw at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday night.
Here, we look at the key talking points from the San Mamés Stadium.
NO RESPITE FOR REAL MADRID
With his team under pressure following a poor run of form, Zinedine Zidane sent out Real Madrid for Saturday’s game in Bilbao with the motivation of catching up two points on Barcelona after the leaders drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo earlier in the day. It was a great opportunity for Los Blancos to make up some lost ground, but they couldn’t take it after being held to a frustrating goalless draw.
And in truth, although they hit the post twice through Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, the point was about all they deserved. It could have been worse, in fact, with returning goalkeeper Keylor Navas making some decent saves to preserve a clean sheet.
This wasn’t a terrible performance from Zidane’s men but they should have created more clear chances considering the amount of possession they enjoyed, and the reliance upon crosses by full-backs Marcelo and Dani Carvajal is a cause for concern. The return of Marco Asensio and Gareth Bale from injury could not come quick enough – and Zidane should also certainly consider giving more playing time to out of favour Dani Ceballos.
SUSPENSIONS GALORE FOR SEVILLA VISIT
The late dismissal of skipper Sergio Ramos for a pair of dubious yellow cards was not the only bad news for Zidane on the disciplinary front, with Dani Carvajal and Casemiro also picking up their fifth yellow cards of the season to earn suspensions for next weekend’s home meeting with Sevilla.
Ramos, of course, will also miss that game, which is threatening to become a real banana skin for Zidane’s men. Sevilla have hit form in recent weeks, winning their last three games, and if they can – as expected – clinch progression to the knockout stage in the Champions League in midweek, they will be heading to the Bernabeu with confidence sky-high.
Zidane will have to spend the week working out how to reshape his back four, with the most likely scenario seeing Nacho at right-back and youngster Jesus Vallejo in the middle. But it would be the first time that quartet has ever played together, and Achraf Hakimi provides another option on the right, allowing Nacho to step into the middle alongside Raphael Varane. Whatever decision he comes to, it’s a headache Zidane could do without.
A familiar sight: Ramos received his marching orders.
ATHLETIC IN FALSE POSITION
One of the surprises of the La Liga campaign so far has been the struggles of Athletic Bilbao, who have finished 4th, 7th, 5th and 7th in the last four seasons but entered this weekend’s meeting with Madrid well down in 16th place, having only won three league games so far.
On the evidence they presented in San Mames on Saturday night, however, the storied Basque club won’t be down there for much longer. They fully deserved their point against the reigning champions, and could even have taken all three if battle-hardened front duo Aritz Aduriz and Raul Garcia had made the most of their chances.
Athletic’s current position is also skewed by the fact they were handed a particularly tough start by La Liga’s fixture computer, and they have already played against all the top six. With some more winnable contests coming up, they could well climb into the top half of the table before the winter break.
Bilbao are expected to climb up the table.
