Real Madrid’s El Clasico Record under Zidane

As the grandstand El Clasico clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Camp Nou draws closer, it is worth looking at Zidane’s impressive record against the Blaugrana. The French manager has participated in nine matches — seven in La Liga and two in the 2017 Spanish Super Cup — involving Los Blancos’ arch rivals.

Zidane has managed four wins, three draws and two losses in his clasico contests with the team racking up fourteen goals in the process. They have also outshot Barcelona on a cumulative basis both overall (+21) and when simply focusing on shots on target (+12).

The most productive players offensively were Ronaldo, Benzema, Asensio, Marcelo and Bale when output is adjusted for minutes played. Two of the names are no longer with the team while Asensio and Marcelo are some ways from the peak form they demonstrated in some of the listed games. Benzema has probably experienced the least amount of regression if any at all. All told however, all five players along with their teammates have stepped up to the challenge time and again when it was needed.

There are countless great memories that emerged from clasicos in the Zidane era. One that stands out and in hindsight marked the beginning of the manager’s stellar run in this particular fixture is his very first match against Barcelona. The team rallied from being a goal down, suffering a red card and a disallowed Gareth Bale goal to win the match. That was a statement win and just one of many beautiful (and some frustrating) moments that would follow.

The official club website shared a compilation of goals scored by current players in recent clasicos which brings back great emotions from amazing moments. Hopefully the team adds some more to the collection after the upcoming game.