Zizou does it again
Real boss matches Ancelotti’s feat of 31-game unbeaten streak
MADRID: Zinedine Zidane has matched another feat by Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
With two first-half goals by Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane’s Real defeated Sporting Gijon 2-1 in the Spanish League on Saturday to equal the 31-game unbeaten run by Ancelotti’s team in the 2013-14 season.
Zidane already matched the former Real manager by winning the Champions League last season, a title Ancelotti won with the Spanish powerhouse in 2014, when Zidane was an assistant coach.
“This is positive, but it’s not my individual achievement,” Zidane said.
“It’s an achievement by the whole team. You have to congratulate the players on these numbers.”
Saturday’s win in pouring rain at the Bernabeu – thanks in part to a late penalty kick missed by Sporting – also gave Real a six-point lead over Sevilla, who jumped to second place by defeating Valencia 2-1.
Real, who have won six in a row in the league, have not been defeated since April at Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League. They have won 23 games since then.
Their all-time unbeaten run of 34 games was under coach Leo Beenhakker in the 1988-89 season. Barcelona hold the unbeaten record in Spain of 39 consecutive games last season, a streak that ended with a defeat to Real.
The hosts got off to a good start as Ronaldo – who had a hat trick against Atletico Madrid in last weekend’s derby – scored from the penalty spot in the fifth minute and from a header in the 18th minute.
“We can be happy with the three points but we can’t be happy with the performance of our team,” Zidane said. “We let the game become difficult for us.”
It was Real’s first game since losing Gareh Bale because of a right ankle injury that is expected to sideline him for at least two months. — AP