Real Madrid head into Wednesday night’s Champions League tie against Borussia Monchengladbach knowing that they need to win to be sure of qualification from Group B.
A victory would see them qualify for the Round of 16 stage of the premier European tournament rather than drop into the Europa League for the first time in their history.
Zinedine Zidane’s time in charge of a team that did the ‘three-peat’ seems a distant memory now, with the Frenchman already on borrowed time at this point.
Even if results do manage to go his way in the interim, Don Balon are reporting on the emergence of a surprise candidate to take over from him next summer.
Julian Nagelsmann has jumped to the top of the queue, and his credentials would’ve only been enhanced after his RB Leipzig side knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League on Tuesday.
That’s because, as Don Balon note, former favourite, Mauricio Pochettino, is getting close to taking over at PSG from Thomas Tuchel, whom the French club are believed to be about to dispense with.
Real president, Florentino Perez, also considers Raul too inexperienced and he will stay coaching Real’s youth team, Castilla.
The only stumbling block to any deal for Nagelsmann would appear to be his contract with Leipzig, which isn’t due to expire until 2023. However, what Perez wants, he usually gets.