AFP, Madrid :
Just days before Paris Saint-Germain touch down in the Spanish capital, Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid have the chance to boost their fragile confidence when they face Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday.
The reigning European champions have been shipping a worrying number of goals in the build-up to their Champions League last-16 showdown with the likes of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe.
Zidane’s side have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight outings, and they could pay a heavy price for any goals conceded against the French giants in next Wednesday’s match at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“It shows that we need to work even harder. That’s football — whoever your opponents they are there to make things difficult for you,” said Zidane after last week’s disappointing 2-2 draw at Levante.That result left Madrid fourth in the table, a point behind Valencia in third but with a game in hand.
Real Sociedad lie in the lower half of the table but they score goals for fun — witness a 5-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna last weekend.
They also have one of the worst defensive records in Spain, so Cristiano Ronaldo — who turned 33 this week — will hope to fill his boots along with Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.
Just days before Paris Saint-Germain touch down in the Spanish capital, Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid have the chance to boost their fragile confidence when they face Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday.
The reigning European champions have been shipping a worrying number of goals in the build-up to their Champions League last-16 showdown with the likes of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe.
Zidane’s side have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight outings, and they could pay a heavy price for any goals conceded against the French giants in next Wednesday’s match at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“It shows that we need to work even harder. That’s football — whoever your opponents they are there to make things difficult for you,” said Zidane after last week’s disappointing 2-2 draw at Levante.That result left Madrid fourth in the table, a point behind Valencia in third but with a game in hand.
Real Sociedad lie in the lower half of the table but they score goals for fun — witness a 5-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna last weekend.
They also have one of the worst defensive records in Spain, so Cristiano Ronaldo — who turned 33 this week — will hope to fill his boots along with Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.
