Zinedine Zidane has played down Real Madrid’s 40-match unbeaten run by saying trophies are more important records.
Madrid advanced to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Thursday night with a 6-3 aggregate win over Sevilla. Trailing 3-1 on the night with seven minutes remaining, Madrid secured a 3-3 draw to ensure a new Spanish club record for most matches without defeat.
However, the only targets Madrid have set themselves involve trophies, Zidane insisted.
“The treble (Primera Liga, Uefa Champions League and Copa del Rey) is the goal that everyone wants,” he said. “But this is far off and that is only achieved day after day.”
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This season, Madrid have won the Uefa Super Cup and the Club World Cup. They top the Primera Liga table and in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Madrid will take on Sevilla again on Sunday at the Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium in the Primera Liga, and captain Sergio Ramos believes the fighting spirit displayed in salvaging a draw on Thursday bodes well for the next fixture against the same opponents.
“Being at Real Madrid, you’re forced to fight until the end and despite the fact we looked to be going through, the team reacted well and earned the draw,” Ramos said.
“We can improve on certain things but we didn’t lose and we continue on our unbeaten run.”
It has taken 30 wins and 10 draws for Zidane’s side to break the Spanish record Barcelona set in the 2015/16 campaign.
“It’s no mean feat, that’s a lot of games unbeaten,” Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez said. “The bond this team has is really strong. These runs are positive if they lead to winning titles at the end of the season.”
Ahead of Sunday’s clash Madrid are four points clear of Sevilla at the top of the standings and have a game in hand.
* Reuters
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