Which Should Real Madrid Prioritise: La Liga or the Champions League?

Real Madrid as contenders in La Liga's 2015/16 title race looked near-impossible before the season's last El Clasico.

Zinedine Zidane's side were 10 points behind Barcelona, and heading onto the Nou Camp, where the league leaders had not lost all season. Somehow winning 2-1 (despite Sergio Ramos seeing red), Madrid snapped their arch rivals 39-game unbeaten streak, and earned a foothold.

What they cannot have envisioned was Barca losing their next two league matches, dropping nine-consecutive points.

Once double-digits, the gap is now reduced to one.

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Four matches remain in Spain's top domestic league, and one slip from Barcelona and Atletico Madrid (combined with 12 Madrid points) would give Los Blancos their first league title since 2011/12. An improbable statement three weeks ago.

It leaves Zidane is a slight predicament.

The Frenchman's primary conflict (not accounting for various injures/suspensions) comes via the UEFA Champions League. Preparing for Manchester City in Europe's pre-eminent club cup competition, Madrid are one semi-final away from meeting Atletico or Bayern Munich at the San Siro.

UEFA's scheduling means the semi-final will influence three domestic matches. Zidane must contend with Manuel Pellegrini's side twice in the space of one week, but also account for the ramifications vs. Rayo Vallecano, Real Sociedad and Valencia.

It is conceivable, victories in those matches win Madrid La Liga on the season's last day—that chance must be taken seriously. Luis Enrique's men opened the proverbial door, and the Madrid clubs must be ready to walk through, but Champions League football cannot exactly be relegated.

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"

La Liga goals by Real Madrid:

2009/10 = 102
2010/11 = 102
2011/12 = 121
2012/13 = 103
2013/14 = 104
2014/15 = 118
2015/16 = 101

Centurions

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 20, 2016"

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Should Zidane's question be prioritisation, winning his club's 11th European Cup must come first.

Three victories and the trophy is theirs without debate. Four wins in La Liga is no guarantee of silverware. That said, getting past Manchester City, then beating either Diego Simeone or Pep Guardiola, at a neutral ground, is arguably harder than winning four matches against mid-table league sides.

Madrid's rookie manager must carefully construct a balance.

It appears both trophies are realistic targets, but miscalculations in team selection or substitution patterns could prove fatal in both arenas. Making sure players are rested to play the Champions League, but have enough left to dispatch their league fixtures, is imperative.

Manchester City are challenging for a top-four position in the Premier League. Madrid's task becomes infinitely more challenging if Pellegrini is forced to seek an alternative route into the 2016/17 Champions League (albeit for Guardiola's summer takeover).

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

For clubs like Real Madrid, these problems are fantastic ones to have.

While other footballers are thinking about their summer holidays or preparing for international competition (the Copa America, Euro 2016, etc.), the Spanish giants are getting ready for 2015/16's final kick.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and others have at most seven matches left to play this season. Worst-case scenario: They take no silverware and enter a summer filled with questions surrounding top players' futures and possibly receiving a new manager. Best-case scenario: They win all their matches, earn a double, Zidane gets a summer to further improve his squad and 2016/17's foundation is set.

In the meantime, the 43-year-old French manager must prioritise the competition fully in his hands, if La Liga ends up falling in his lap as well, one cannot be sure where Zidane's already-massive legend goes from there.

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*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase where not noted.