A long way to go in LaLiga title race, insists Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane insists there is still a long way to go in the LaLiga title race after Real Madrid continued to cling to the coat-tails of city rivals Atletico with a 2-0 victory at home against Valencia.

First-half goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos won the game as Zidane’s team moved above Barcelona and into second place in the table, five points behind leaders Atletico who have two games in hand.

It was a third straight victory in LaLiga for Real, after just two wins in seven games in all competitions, and Zidane hailed the improvement.

“We’re going to carry on with what we’re doing,” the Real boss told the club website. “We’re not going to be looking at the others. We’re on a good run and we want to keep going because it’s very important.

“The improvement is obvious because we believe in what we’re doing. During a season you sometimes have problems and you have to overcome them. We’re doing that and we have to keep going because there’s still a long way to go.

“I’m pleased for them. We played a very good match defensively, we all read the match well because everyone defended well without the ball. And while creating chances and keeping the ball, we were a threat.

“We had good attacks, especially in the first half. We have to continue.”

Real suffered an injury blow as Dani Carvajal went off with what looked to be a hamstring strain.

The full-back is the latest in a series of injuries to hit the squad and Zidane is becoming frustrated by it.

“As a coach, I don’t understand them,” said Zidane. “We’ve had a lot of injuries. I’m concerned because when you lose a player it bothers you.

“It’s an injury he’d recovered from and I’m sorry for Carva because he was feeling fine. He played really well for 25 minutes and he’s an important player for us and I can’t explain all of these injuries.

“I always want all of my players to be with us. There’s nothing worse for a coach than having an injured player. Carvajal has now gone and hurt himself again a little bit and I hope it’s nothing serious.

“I can’t tell you anything at all. We’ll have to see what the injury is and how long he’ll be out for.”