4 problems at Real Madrid that appointing Zinedine Zidane will not solve

#3 He can’t do a lot about the strength of their rivals

Appointing Zidane as boss doesn't make catching Barcelona any easier

Zidane has arrived back at the Bernabeu with 11 games of the 2018/19 season remaining – and while Real have been eliminated from the Champions League, they still have an outside chance of winning La Liga. Sure, they’re currently in 3rd place, and trail leaders Barcelona by 12 points, but greater deficits have been overcome before. The only problem? Zidane can improve Real, but he can’t do a lot about the form of Barca or Atletico Madrid, who sit in second place.

Admittedly, Barca might not be doing quite as well as they were this time last season – in 2017/18 they’d won 21 of their 27 games and remained unbeaten, but they’re still looking incredibly strong – scoring an average of 2.5 goals per game, and Lionel Messi appears to be at his imperious best once again, scoring 26 league goals already.

Atletico meanwhile remain as tough a side to break as ever, and are looking just as consistent as they did last season – they’ve conceded just 17 league goals thus far, the least of any side in La Liga, and they can still call upon the attacking talents of the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Saul and Thomas Lemar.

Zidane can attempt to make Real stronger than they are now – it may well take more than a season to achieve this of course, meaning seeing 2018/19 as a write-off – but there’s very little he can do about the strength of his 2 greatest domestic rivals. Essentially, Real are up against two of Europe’s biggest and best clubs, and the return of Zidane doesn’t make that any easier for Los Blancos.