Gutsy Real Madrid beat struggling Huesca

MADRID: Real Madrid fought back on Saturday as Raphael Varane scored twice to complete a gutsy 2-1 win against bottom club Huesca and ease the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane.

An angry Zidane told reporters on Friday to show more “respect” after a poor run of results prompted many to suggest Madrid need wholesale changes this summer.

His players responded by digging deep against Huesca, with Varane the unlikely hero, the defender twice finishing in the second half to seal victory after Javier Galan’s stunning strike had put Huesca in front.

Sevilla later prevailed 3-0 over Getafe in a bad-tempered contest at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, the win soured by what looked like a serious injury to Lucas Ocampos.

Madrid were without a number of injured players themselves including Eden Hazard, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez and Sergio Ramos, who the club said on Saturday has undergone surgery on his left knee.

The team also had Thibaut Courtois to thank after their goalkeeper made an excellent save with the scores level, before Varane tapped in the winner.

“We are not comfortable, we were OK, but we have to build and go step by step until we’re playing well again,” said Zidane after the game. “We have to get back to playing with happiness, playing like Real Madrid.”

Zidane was back in the dug-out for the first time since testing positive for coronavirus.

“We won the league last year, not 10 years ago,” Zidane had said on Friday. “Us! Real Madrid! Show a bit of respect for that!”