Carvajal closing in on Real Madrid comeback

Any team in the world robbed of players of that calibre would struggle to replace them adequately, and it would only be unusual if Madrid were not suffering during their absence – the fact that they are is entirely predictable.

Sevilla, who ended Real’s unbeaten run two weeks ago, had won five in a row in the league but got off to a nightmare start at Espanyol when defender Nicolas Pareja was dismissed in the second minute, foreshadowing a costly defeat. They are one point above Sevilla.

“We did not play well, we made lots of errors in the first half and in the second half they were completely superior to us, we were nowhere near our usual level”, Luis Enrique said.

Zinedine Zidane’s side put behind them a hard week, which saw them crash out of the Copa del Rey to Celta Vigo, to turn in a comprehensive performance against a high-flying La Real side at the Santiago Bernabeu side.

The hosts led when Cristiano Ronaldo played in Mateo Kovacic for his first La Liga goal.

They lost another game a further three days later to Celta Vigo at home before beating Malaga – their first win in four games – and securing a draw against Celta again – bowing out on aggregate.

Real midfielder Casemiro said: “Playing for Real Madrid is very demanding”.

Real Madrid are still on top of the log. Zinedine Zidane’s side dispatched Real Sociedad 3-0 last Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“This is an important win for us”. But since they broke the record with 40 straight games without a loss, they have struggled to find their form. The team aficionados hope that the 2016-2017 season will still be a successful one, even without the Copa del Rey and the possibility of a treble.

The Dominican Republic worldwide plundered goals for Real Madrid Castilla last term, the Spanish giants second-string, and was made a part of Zinedine Zidane’s full squad for 2016/17 as a result. Meanwhile, Zinedine Zidane revealed Gareth Bale is making good progress in his rehabilitation from an ankle injury, but the former Tottenham Hotspur star will still have to wait for his comeback.