Zidane signs up to 'unocerismo'

“Worried about the game? No. Injuries bother me, because I always want to have my players available.” In this way, Zinedine Zidane responded to a question about what intrigued the French coach at the beginning of the season. Zizou couldn't have been more sincere. Injuries, four in the last week, and the absence of a natural scorer has largely modified his game book. From being a vertical and vertiginous team to having Cristiano at the top of the attack, now Madrid have turned the tables: they have become more solid in the defensive back. Suffice it to say that he only received six goals in the last 11 games of the last league. In this campaign, only Betis has managed to pierce the goal on two occasions. Neither Real Sociedad nor Valladolid managed to find the meshes of the goals that Courtois defends.

But it should be noted that Zidane, who has adopted Simeone's mentality of going match by match, has copied something else to the Argentine coach: Of the last ten league games that Madrid have played (seven from last season and three from the current one), the whites have won seven by the minimum: four games he beat them scoring a single goal. Something he did against Espanyol, Getafe and Athletic (all three in a row) and Valladolid in this new campaign. He scored two goals against Granada and Villarreal (both games won 2-1), while Betis knew how to come back to triumph (3-2) in his visit to the Verdiblanco field. Only Real Sociedad (0-0), Leganés (2-2) tied him. The most comfortable victory was achieved against Alavés (2-0) at the Alfredo Di Stéfano. Benzema, from a penalty, and Asensio were the scorers. Gone are those goals with which he began his career on the white bench: two handyman, one to Deportivo (5-0) and another to Sporting (5-1) in their first two games in January 2016.

That process of exchanging offensive joy for defensive muscle has resulted in a new Zamora trophy for Thibaut Courtois, who along with his defense, left a clean sheet in 18 games last season. In this new campaign, he has already added two goals without conceding in three games. Of course, leaving a notch in the form of a paradón in each game. The whites have not won this award since Iker Casillas did it in the 07-08 campaign. Only Oblak has conceded fewer goals in a campaign in the last five years. Madrid face Levante today, the last team that defeated the whites without allowing them to score. Another tough litmus test for Zidane's men …