Had Real Madrid made the trip to the Basque Country to face Alaves even just a few weeks ago it’s likely they would have been dealt some sort of blow. Before the visit of Zinedine Zidane’s side on Saturday, Alaves had lost just one game at home (to Sevilla) all season long. They were in good form and fancied their chances of taking something from Real Madrid.
By full time, though, the capital club were celebrating a well-earned three points. The conditions at Mendizorrotza were atrocious, with heavy rain making the pitch a difficult surface to play on. This was the sort of game Real Madrid would have drawn or lost earlier in the season, but they are a different sort of group of players now.
Real Madrid have made real progress in recent weeks. The defeat to Real Mallorca at the end of October has proved to be a watershed for the club. Since then, the capital club have gone eight games without suffering defeat. They have played well over that spell, but they have also dug deep when required. It was required to claim the victory against Alaves on Saturday.
The result took Real Madrid to the top of La Liga and with Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano to face Atletico Madrid on Sunday night there’s a real chance that Zidane’s men will make that position stick beyond the weekend. This could prove to be a real turning point in their season.
While the malaise at Barcelona seems to grow with every match, with Ernesto Valverde coming under increasing pressure, Real Madrid are becoming more and more comfortable in their own skin. Zidane looked to be something of a dead man walking, in managerial terms, earlier in the season. Now, his squad appear to be fighting for him again.
Of course, there is a long way to go until the end of the season, but Real Madrid are more than playing their part in a title race that will surely witness many more twists and turns. They have absorbed a lot since the summer and look to be a better team and a stronger group of characters for it. That might serve them well as their contest with Barca at the top of La Liga goes down to the wire.
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