Reasons to still believe in Real Madrid this season

Posted Friday, September 22, 2017 by Marca.com

Anything is possible in football, and if any team is up to the task, it is Real Madrid.

Zinedine Zidane knows that there is still so much to play for this season and the seven point gap between Los Blancos and Barcelona at this early stage is not terminal. Here, we detail why Real fans shouldn't lose hope just yet.

August's double

Perhaps the main reason to believe in a turnaround is because one has so recently occurred. Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup with a convincing win over Manchester United before sweeping aside the Blaugrana in the Supercopa de Espana. With such a dominating performance over two legs still fresh in the memory, Real are capable of quickly returning to the form they showed in August.

When the going gets tough...

Real Madrid get going. So often Los Blancos have pulled out results in maximum pressure and this is more than just a coincidence under Zidane, who reeled Barcelona to within a whisker of the league title in 2015/16 via 12 straight wins. The following campaign, the capital club claimed six victories out of six to end the season amid pressure from the Catalans.

The fixture list

Between now and the December Clasico, Real must take as many points as possible to build up a head of steam. On the immediate horizon are Alaves, Getafe, Girona away from home while Espanyol, Eibar and Las Palmas travel to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid must be looking at the maximum return from those games.

Beat Barcelona

Having lost last season's Clasico at the Bernabeu and almost the LaLiga title with it, Real know that the tables can be turned this year by beating Barcelona when they come to town in December.

Overcoming the big teams

Los Blancos' performance at Real Sociedad showed that they can flick off the bigger fish in the top-flight with ease, with Valencia fortunate to nab a point off them earlier on. Naturally, the clashes with Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Co. will have a bearing on the title race and Real are more than ready for these games.

The big two care not for points gaps

Sizeable margins can be trimmed down with relative ease in LaLiga, and they often are. Back in 2015/16, Real finished one point behind Barcelona despite being 12 points off the pace in Week 26. Similarly, the Azulgrana lost out on goal difference last season despite being six points back with six games left.