Zidane hopes he will be vindicated

REAL DID NOT JOIN TRANSFER FRENZY

Zinedine Zidane, whose Real Madrid side go to Levante this weekend, will soon find out if he was right to refuse to add to his squad in the January transfer window.

There were no new arrivals at the Santiago Bernabeu, with a move for the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga the most notable transfer that didn’t happen in La Liga.

Kepa signed a new long-term contract in Bilbao after Zidane insisted he did “not need a goalkeeper”. Instead he will stick with Keylor Navas, who faces his former club today.

Madrid appeared to be in a full-blown crisis after they were dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Leganes, but they have won their last two games in La Liga, scoring 11 goals in the process.

A 7-1 defeat of Deportivo was followed by a 4-1 win at Valencia last weekend as Real moved to within two points of third-placed Valencia with a game in hand.

“A crisis for Madrid is losing one game but nobody doubts their quality. All the small teams would like to go through the crises they have,” said Levante coach Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz, whose team drew 1-1 at the Bernabeu in September.

Cristiano Ronaldo, with four goals in two league games, has been struggling with a calf knock. However he is expected to play.

Barcelona, who are 11 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top, put their unbeaten league record on the line as they visit Espanyol tomorrow.

It will be the third Catalan derby in under three weeks, after Barca won 2-1 on aggregate in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.

However, the game falls awkwardly for Barcelona, in between the two legs of their Cup semifinal against Valencia. Atletico host Valencia tomorrow night.

Among the busier clubs in the January window were Sevilla, future Champions League opponents of Manchester United.

They have brought two players back to Spain on loan from England – midfielder Roque Mesa from Swansea City and Everton striker Sandro Ramirez.

“Sevilla have been interested in me for 18 months. They knew how much I wanted to be here,” said Mesa, who endured a difficult last six months at Swansea.

Sevilla face Eibar after drawing 1-1 at Leganes in their Copa del Rey semifinal, first leg. – AFP

Picture: Getty Images KEEP CALM. Although Real Madrid tried to strengthen their goalkeeping stock during the transfer window, they are happy to stick with the embattled Keylor Navas for now.