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

#3. Luka Modric’s form is a real worry for Zidane

There were some exceptionally poor performers for Real Madrid on the evening, but none were quite as bad as Luka Modric. The usually reliable Croatian misplaced passes – from simple five yard passes to mighty sixty yarders – ran around without any real purpose in midfield, stemmed the attacking mojo of Madrid rather than catalyse it, and generally lost possession with alarming regularity. The low point of his performance came mid-way through the second half when unable to get a through ball under his control (it was a rather wayward one from the poor-on-the-day Gareth Bale), he tried to get it onto his path by stooping low and using his hand. He was extremely lucky to walk away unbooked after that.

The Croatian genius, no one is denying his ability, is going through a major slump in form... and with so many critical fixtures coming up so soon, Zinedine Zidane will be hoping that his midfield heartbeat finds his playmaking boots – and fast.