Real Madrid suffered a painful defeat to Atletico Madrid in the derby on Saturday, which pretty much ended their chances of winning the La Liga title for another year.
Cristiano Ronaldo, smarting from the defeat, came out and made a few comments about his teammates, saying some of the players were not up to his level. And while the PR machine has quickly moved to smooth over the issues, with the Portuguese also backing away from the quotes, saying it was misinterpreted, it is obvious problems aplenty lie in the Real Madrid camp.
"The coach must speak to the players after the game, together and then later individually," Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane was quoted as saying by the club's official website when asked about the Ronaldo comments. "He spoke to me and to everyone. It's now in the past.
"We know how important Ronaldo is and we're all with him. Everything is fixed and the most important thing is what's coming up. We're going to take it forward together. From the inside, not from the outside."
Zidane might have been able to ride the new manager wave for a little while, but reality has now hit Real Madrid, who lie a full 12 points behind leaders Barcelona. And the way Barca are playing at the moment, Real Madrid are unlikely to even halve the deficit come the end of the season.
So, all Real Madrid really have to play for, in terms of trophies, now is the Champions League, but they will be determined to gain some of their confidence back with victory over Levante in the La Liga on Wednesday.
"Levante are going to go out and give their all, but we're ready to play our game," Zidane added. "My main interest is moving forward together. We're all in the same boat and no one wants out. As long as I'm the coach, we will always fight. We're only concentrating on doing the best we can and winning.
"Levante are going to go out as always. They're going to try and do their best and bother Real Madrid. We must be prepared to play our game, as always and to try to win. I'm only thinking about the game. We are the players and the people responsible and we're going to try to do well."
Real Madrid will have to do without Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal and Luka Modric for this game against Levante. Gareth Bale is back in training, but hasn't been included in the matchday squad, with the Welshman likely to make his return against Celta Vigo at the weekend.
Where to Watch Live
Levante vs Real Madrid is scheduled for a 9 p.m. CET (1.30 a.m. IST, 8 p.m. GMT, 3 p.m. ET) start, with live TV coverage in India on Sony ESPN. Viewers in India can also watch the La Liga game via live streaming online on Sony Liv.
Audience in Spain can catch Levante vs Real Madrid live on Canal+, Abono and Movistar TV Futbol. Sky Sports 1 will broadcast the match live in the UK, while the onlive live stream option is on Sky Go.
Audience in the US, Canada, France, Australia, Middle East, North Africa and Thailand can watch the game live on Bein Sports, while the action can also be live streamed on Bein Sports Connect.
