Real Madrid Are In Good Hands Going Forward

Zinedine Zidane emits hope and optimism as the Champions League final and off-season nears.

For 15 minutes, Real Madrid sat at the top of the La Liga table, above Barcelona. Reality seemed too good to be true. Then, news broke that Luis Suarez put Barca ahead just over 1,000 kilometers away in Granada. Hope remained, but 16 minutes later, Suarez doubled their lead and all but claimed the league title.

Zinedine Zidane admitted that Barcelona "deserved" to win the league title and until their minor slip up a few weeks back, they were head and shoulders above their competition. They soared above La Liga, but handed out hope to their competition. In the end, the Blaugrana bested Los Blancos by one single point in the table.

Popular demand declared Real Madrid dead in January and the significance of Zidane's appointment now reigns true. While the club didn't usurp Barcelona in the table, the Frenchman's heroics had his cherished club fighting for the title on the final day, a fortune that seemed unattainable when Zidane took the helm.

Instability has haunted Real Madrid over the past few years and attributed to Barcelona's dominance in La Liga. However, if Florentino Perez can remain calm, the odds that Real Madrid lift the title in 2017 are worth betting on. Since the day the Frenchman took over, the table reads Real Madrid - 53 points, Barcelona - 52 points. In the span of 20 games, Zidane's Madrid dropped just seven points and finished with the best 20-game start for a boss in club history.

Additionally, Barcelona played 21 games in that stretch.