adminMADRID. — Real Madrid are out of the Champions League football and out of the running in the Spanish La Liga but they might have more to play for than Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in their final 10 games of the season.
Atletico’s defeat to Athletic Bilbao before the international break means Barca sit 10 points clear in the league, their cushion allowing them almost complete focus on Europe, where they face Manchester United in the quarter-finals next month.
Most alive then among the table’s top three is perhaps the sense of renewal at Real, where Zinedine Zidane’s reappointment has been quickly followed by reports of a summer overhaul and 500-million euro spending spree.
Zidane has insisted his current squad should not feel on trial in these final two months but the speculation will not have been lost on his players, whose futures look increasingly under scrutiny.
Potential targets Eden Hazard, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe were the latest trio on the front page of L’Equipe on Thursday but Neymar, Sadio Mane, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane and Matthijs de Ligt have all been mentioned too.
“We will change things, for sure, for the years to come,” Zidane said at his unveiling earlier this month. “We will have time to talk with the president and with the club about what we can do.”
Madrid face Huesca tomorrow when Zidane’s picks will offer another clue as to his thinking.
Spanish La Liga Fixtures
Today: Getafe v Leganés (2pm); Barcelona v Espanyol (5:15pm); Celta de Vigo v Villarreal (7:30pm); Deportivo Alavés v Atlético Madrid (9:45pm).
Tomorrow: Levante v Eibar (12noon); Rayo Vallecano v Real Betis (2pm); Sevilla v Valencia (4:15pm); Real Valladolid v Real Sociedad (6:30pm); Real Madrid v Huesca (8:45pm). — AFP
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter