Zinedine Zidane pleads for calm amid Real slump

Madrid: In the space of just five games Real Madrid have gone from red hot La Liga title favourites to trailing rivals Barcelona by seven points ahead of Saturday’s trip to Alaves.

When Madrid swept a crisis-ridden Barca aside 5-1 in the Spanish Super Cup last month, Zinedine Zidane’s men were expected to romp to the title.

Instead, disappointing home draws against Valencia and Levante were compounded as Real failed to score for the first time in 74 games when Real Betis became the first side other than Barca or Atletico Madrid to win at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga for six-and-a-half years on Wednesday.

“We have dropped seven points in a small number of games but there is a long way to go and we can’t throw everything we have done until now in the bin because of two or three average games,” insisted Zidane.

Going on the road this weekend may come as a relief to Real as they have shone on their travels this season in wins at Deportivo la Coruna and Real Sociedad as well as beating Barca and Manchester United in the Spanish and Uefa Super Cups respectively.

And while Real have endured a rough start to their title defence, Alaves are suffering a nightmare start to the season themselves as they have lost all five matches so far and already sacked coach Luis Zubeldia.

Political all-Catalan clash
Madrid can reduce the gap on Barca to four points before the leaders travel to Girona for a first ever Catalan derby between the two in the top flight.

Barca’s impressive start to the season on the field has been overshadowed this week as the club condemned the escalating political tension in the region in the build-up to an October 1 referendum on independence organised by pro-separatist politicians.

A powerful symbol of Catalonia across the world, Barca called for respect for “democracy, to freedom of speech, and to self-determination.”

Fourteen regional government officials were detained on Wednesday as part of the crackdown by the Spanish government on plans for the referendum. The most enticing clash of the weekend comes at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday lunchtime as third hosts second when Atletico Madrid welcome Sevilla.