Real Madrid have sacked manager Rafael
Benitez after a run of form which has left them third in La Liga, four points
behind Atletico Madrid and two points behind Barcelona, who also have a game in
hand.
Just a single point separates Real
from Villareal in fourth place and, with growing murmurs of discontent behind
the scenes, Benitez has been relieved of his duties just seven months after
being hired by the club.
The club have now lost three of
their last eight league games, winning four and drawing just one - Sunday
night's game against Gary Neville's Valencia, which appears to have been the
last straw for president Florentino Perez.
Zinedine Zidane, previously in charge of the club's Castilla development team, is expected to step up to take Benitez's place for the rest of the season as they club look for a long-term replacement, with Jose Mourinho recently talked about in association with his old position with Los Blancos.
While the Valencia result may have decided the timing of the sacking, the writing had been on the wall for weeks now - particularly after November's humiliating 4-0 thrashing at the hands of bitter rivals Barcelona, made even worse by the fact that it occurred at the Bernabeu.
The Copa del Rey debacle was a hugely embarrassing moment for the club too, being kicked out of Spain's premier cup competition for fielding an ineligible player through sheer ignorance and carelessness, with all appeals against their expulsion being rejected.
The Spanish side are set to take on AS Roma in the next round of the Champions League when the competition starts back up again in February.
source: 90min
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