By Daily Sports on January 28, 2018

Real Madrid are back in business. Zinedine Zidane's side beat Valencia 4-1 at Mestalla on Saturday and Los Blancos will take heart from a performance that shis season.

Wednesday night's 2-1 loss to Leganes in the Copa del Rey saw Madrid side crash out of the Copa del Rey on away goals at the quarter-final stage and was the latest embarrassment in an increasingly calamitous campaign for the current Spanish and European champions.

Already 19 points behind Barcelona in La Liga, the cup competition should have been a priority for Real, but Zidane gambled and rested key players for the game against Leganes. The gamble backfired.

Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the senior stars left out for the cup clash and the Portuguese issued a rallying cry on social media after that defeat. "Cheer up team. Cheer up madridistas," he wrote on Twitter. "We still have many battles to win."

"I like living here," he said. "I’ve been in this city since 2009 and I love the climate and the people. It’s close to Portugal and you can get there by car. Spain is a great country, I love it. Of course, I want to stay here, I love this club," the Portuguese said.

He also called for more fight after recent disappointments. "Our goal is to win the Champions League, because it’s the biggest prize," he said. "We haven’t been at the required level. I hope the situation improves and the only way of changing it is to work harder."

•Photo shows Cristiano Ronaldo

Source Daily Sports

Posted January 28, 2018

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