La Liga 2016-17: Real Madrid 3 - 0 Alaves: 5 Talking Points

#1. Zinedine Zidane has taught this Madrid side to win ugly, but will that be enough for Madrid’s demanding fans?

Zinedine Zidane’s men broke their own La Liga record as they scored in their 50^th consecutive game, and they just keep on marching on to the summit of La Liga with a sort of remorseless efficiency that would have made many a Roman emperor proud. I have said this before, and I say it again – because it’s important... forget the class and the skill and insane touch that Zidane exhibited on the field of play in his prime, what defined him was a bloody-minded determination to come what may that very few people on earth process.

It is this attribute that he has now imbued into his Madrid side – and they are winning games where they seem unable to get out of 1^st gear in, and drawing matches where they have no right to... basically continuing to pick up point after valuable point.

The Bernabeu, though, much like the ancient Coliseums of Rome, is not an easy crowd to placate. They don’t just demand winning... they demand winning in style and eking out points against lowly opposition is not only frowned upon, but actively discouraged.

But then everyone tends to forget one thing - in the hullabaloo generated by the decima, and the undecima, what many of us fail to remember is that the last time Real Madrid have won the league was way back in 2011-12. That’s six years, SIX, and counting and as Zidane has shown this season, it may just be that winning ugly is what is finally going to get them the domestic success they so crave.