“The treble is our objective, but it’s still a long way off,” manager Zinedine Zidane said ahead of Real Madrid’s trip to Sevilla for the Copa de Rey last-16 second leg against Sevilla earlier this month.
At that time, Real had just matched the Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions and were travelling to Seville with a 3-0 advantage from the first leg at the Bernabeu. Talk of trebles and further records was an almost daily occurrence.
Madrid duly bettered the mark set by Luis Enrique’s Barcelona by going one more game without tasting defeat, albeit in dramatic circumstances as they overturned Sevilla’s 3-1 lead to claim a draw in the final 10 minutes.
Just nine days later, though, Zidane has tempered expectations as his side prepare to visit Celta Vigo, who claimed a 2-1 lead in the opening leg of their Copa quarterfinal clash. Madrid have won just one of their last four games in all competitions.
“We are going to give everything and we will not throw it away at all,” said Zidane. “I do not think it’ll be our biggest failure if we don’t get through, but I’m not thinking about that.”
Celta’s stunning victory at the Bernabeu was Real’s first home defeat in almost a year and came on the back of Sevilla’s 2-1 Liga victory a few days earlier. The previous time Madrid lost consecutive matches was in November 2015 when the wheels started to come during Rafa Benitez’s short-lived tenure.
It doesn’t take much to spark a crisis and, while Real lead the Liga table with a game in hand, Zidane was right to chuckle that recent hand-wringing in the pro-Madrid press made it appear that his side “are in a relegation battle.” However, the aura of invincibility that sowed doubt in the minds of so many opponents in the first half of the season, has been smashed.
Celta are extremely well-placed to reap the benefit. Manager Eduardo Berizzo was able to rest a raft of key players at the weekend, among them Real’s chief tormenters from the opening leg: Iago Aspas and Theo Bongonda. They both started on the bench in a 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad, while Daniel Wass was left out entirely.
Zidane currently has entirely the opposite problem and will have to contend without several first-team regulars on Wednesday.
Dani Carvajal joined the lengthy injury list with a hamstring problem ahead of the first leg, while Marcelo and Luka Modric both limped out of the weekend victory over Malaga. To compound Zidane’s problems Raphael Varane was a late omission from the squad, leaving just two senior central defenders: Sergio Ramos and Nacho.
It will likely force Zidane into starting Fabio Coentrao despite the left-back only returning to training on Tuesday. Castilla left-back Achraf Hakimi has been drafted into the squad as cover for the cover but it is surely too big a leap to expect the 18-year-old Moroccan to step into the breach in such an important game.
On the right, the only alternative to the error-prone Danilo is for Lucas Vazquez to drop back, a role he filled with flying colours against Malaga after Zidane left the struggling Brazilian on the bench, despite having to switch Nacho to the left early on following Marcelo’s departure.
Celta will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of going against such a makeshift back line but Real’s recent malaise runs deeper still, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema having accounted for just four goals since the turn of the year.
One of those came from the spot and another was deflected, while the other two came in the 5-0 rout of Granada. Benzema missed a stoppage-time sitter in the first leg against Celta and Ronaldo spurned several golden opportunities against Malaga.
Berizzo’s game plan worked to perfection in the Bernabeu, the visitors soaking up the home side’s high-pressing tactics and hitting on the break. In Balaidos, Celta can afford to be more expansive, just as they were against Barcelona in October. Playing a 4-3-3 formation, the home side raced into a 3-0 lead and eventually triumphed 4-3.
Real start the game needing to score twice without reply to end the tie in 90 minutes. If Celta find the net — Real’s record of just six clean sheets in domestic and European competition this season will not discourage them — that number rises to three.
Given Zidane’s injury concerns and the visit of high-flying Real Sociedad on Sunday, extra time is the last thing needed. Against a Celta side with the scent of a famous upset in their nostrils, a depleted line-up is going to have to be considerably more convincing than it was vs. Malaga.
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