At space of 15 days, to Real Madrid it has faded the possibility of win three titles in one go. The Super Cup, losing in the semifinals to him Athletic, the Cup, doing it against Alcoyano, a worthy Second B, and has the Almost impossible league with a sequence of two draws and a loss in the last five matches of the championship … Now, everything is reduced to a kind of all or nothing to the Champions. Zidane gambles his future in this competition. Single win it may ensure its continuity in the post. But the first objective, as is logical, is Atalanta (gone on February 24, return on March 16).
Zidane has before four matches in which fit the pieces of the puzzle to face that 24-F match with guarantees. They are Huesca, Getafe, Valencia Y Valladolid. A test bench that will last almost 25 days and that will allow you to outline your final bet to gamble on those seven Champions League matches that would remain in case Madrid came to dispute the final. It will not be difficult, therefore, to see that the League rotations, because for that February 24 there can be no escape routes in the eleven chosen.
At this point it seems obvious that Zidane does not trust more than 13 or 14 men than he has on the staff. In that eleven guy what should play it in Champions there is only a doubt: under normal conditions it would be Hazard the one who will accompany Benzema and Asensio, but do not rule out the possibility that it was Lucas Vazquez the chosen one (if the Belgian still does not take flight) and that Asensio ended up playing on the left. For the rest, and now from the bench, only men like Valverde (45% of the possible minutes) and Vinicius (47%) to a lesser extent (it is difficult for Rodrygo to reach that confrontation against Atalanta) can have prominence.
Watch out for Captain Ramos.
The other aspect what most worries Zidane is Sergio Ramos. For the coach, the fact that his renewal is still pending is a handicap because it thins the atmosphere. Either way, with the League lost, he is going to delve into the idea that the player himself has already started to dose his efforts. With the captain the numbers speak for themselves. He was not in five of the team's eight losses this season. Even more, in Champions the Madrid has lost eight of the last ten gamesI know that he, by penalty or injury, has not been able to play.
The Madrid of the Zidane's first stage lost 16 of his 149 games. The one with the second stage the French coach has lost 19 of his 90 games. It is clear that all the signs lead to the conclusion that the European company this more complicated than ever this year. In the last two seasons Madrid fell in eighths (before Ajax and City). Since Cristiano left the team has only been able to lift her the strange Coronavirus league. An oasis in the last three seasons although, in this last one, there is still the burning nail of the Champions League.