Zinedine Zidane Defends Real Madrid Style Amid Forward Goalscoring Struggles

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has defended his team's brand of football, with his forwards struggling to find the net in 2020. 

The most recent weekend of La Liga action was a good one for Los Blancos, as Barcelona's loss at Valencia gave them the chance to move three points clear at the summit of the table. They duly obliged on Sunday, with Nacho the goalscorer in a 1-0 victory at Real Valladolid.

Even so, some questions have been asked about Madrid's playing style, with the team far from fluid in recent weeks despite their ascension to the top of the table. It's something Zidane said he wasn't concerned about ahead of the clash with Real Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, per Daniel Lewis of Goal:

"I don't think the Bernabeu would accept a thousand passes without a shot. Everyone has their own style of play. I played at the Bernabeu, and what the fans want to see is their team give their all on the field. It has always been that way.

"When fans see the team sweat for the shirt, that's the most important thing in the end because you can't always win.

"... Two months ago things were not going well, and there was a lot of criticism—that is not going to change. What we want is to continue what we are doing."

Zidane would have been thankful for Nacho's strike at Valladolid, as his team had been frustrated for long spells at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla:

In fairness to Zidane, he's not been able to call upon a consistent attacking setup for much of the campaign.

Eden Hazard, the club's big-name summer signing, has been sidelined since November due to injury, while Gareth Bale continues to have fitness issues. Marco Asensio is also poised to miss the majority of the campaign due to a long-term problem.

While Karim Benzema has excelled in the main this term, he too has had some niggles in the new year, and Luka Jovic has failed to find form since joining in the summer.

Per OptaJose, Zidane has made sure they are difficult to beat regardless, conceding just 13 goals from their 21 top-flight matches this term.

With Barcelona undergoing a spell of transition under new manager Quique Setien, Los Blancos feel like the big favourites for La Liga glory.

Zidane will hope the return of Hazard can give this team something extra in attack in the coming months. Should the Belgium international find his groove quickly and Madrid retain those solid defensive foundations, a strong end to the campaign is surely on the cards.