Real need to banish doubts

MADRID: Life without Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane has got off to a rocky start for Real Madrid after losing the Uefa Super Cup to Atletico Madrid and they will be eager to smooth over those cracks in their opening La Liga game against Getafe on Sunday.

Real finished 17 points behind runaway champions Barcelona last season although they compensated by lifting a third consecutive Champions League title. However, the departure of Ronaldo, their leading scorer for the past nine seasons, to Serie A champions Juventus means they are lacking firepower ahead of the new campaign.

New coach Julen Lopetegui begins his first season in La Liga with the blemish of being sacked by Spain on the eve of this year’s World Cup.

Lopetegui’s only spell in charge of a top European club was a trophy-less tenure with Porto lasting 18 months.

His already unstable reputation could be further tarnished if Real fail to get off to a flying start against Getafe, especially as they face stiff competition in the title race from Atletico and Barca, who have had far busier transfer windows.

“We have to get the most out of the team and start to lift ourselves up now and start thinking about a league season which we are very excited about,” Lopetegui said after the Super Cup defeat by Atletico on Wednesday.

“We want to strengthen ourselves in this competition. I don’t think we have any less hunger, I see a lot of excitement in the players.” – Reuters