Real Madrid have had a dream last few months. They beat Barcelona 2-1 in a thrilling El Clasico in April before winning the Champions League in a pulsating encounter against their crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid. Now, Madrid are on the verge of creating more history.
Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Real Sociedad in their opening league fixture means that they have now won 13 La Liga matches on the trot and they need just 3 more wins to break the record. The 1951 Madrid squad had won 15 matches continuously, and victories over Celta Viga, Osasuna and Espanyol will ensure that ZIdane’s men break another record.
One disadvantage for the All whites is that their star forward and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly unavailable for all the three matches, but if Bale’s performance is anything to go by, the Welshman looks all set and ready to be the star of his team.
Zidane delighted with Bale and Asensio after opening day triumph
Bale returned to pre-season training later than most of his Real team-mates due to reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016 with Wales, which Zidane said made his dominant performance against Real Sociedad even more impressive.
"I'm delighted for him because he's behind the rest of the players in terms of fitness but you couldn't tell," Zidane told a news conference."He started in the best way possible, scoring an early goal, because this is a difficult ground if you don't take your chances. He has already said this is going to be an important year for him and he is already proving it.
"While Bale is into his fourth campaign since joining Real from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, Asensio was making his league debut for the European champions after returning from an impressive loan spell at Espanyol.The Spaniard, who signed from Mallorca in 2015, was chosen ahead of Isco and James Rodriguez and scored the best goal of the game, bringing down Raphael Varane's long pass before producing an effortless chip over goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
"It hurts my head choosing who to play but I have to decide and he started and did very well," said Zidane of Asensio. "He is working hard and he has talent and quality. He is great on the ball and moving between the lines. His goal was stunning.
"I want to make all the players feel important," added Zidane, who faces his first full season in charge of the club after leading Real to the Champions League title in May, little more than four months after succeeding Rafael Benitez.
"I have a lot of quality players but they are all doing well, not just in attack, but at the back too, where we conceded few chances and kept a clean sheet."
