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Saturday, August 18, 2018, 17:38
Lopegegui needs goals as Real Madrid kick off league campaign
By Xinhua
Saturday, August 18, 2018, 17:38 By Xinhua

Real Madrid's Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui reacts during the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy football match between Real Madrid and AC Milan in Madrid on August 11, 2018. (GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

MADRID - Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui needs his side to kick off their Liga Santander campaign with a convincing win when they entertain Getafe in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday night.

Real Madrid's 4-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in Wednesday's European Supercup final has set alarm bells ringing after a summer which saw Zinedine Zidane step down as coach to be replaced by the former Spain boss and Cristiano Ronaldo move to sign for Juventus.

ALSO READ: Tough summer leaves Lopetegui with work to do to lift Madrid

The only new faces so far in the Madrid squad are right back Alvaro Odriozoloa and 18-year-old Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr, who was actually signed a year ago. Consequently the pro-Real Madrid press have spent the past 48 hours focusing on who the club could sign before the transfer window shuts at the end of August.

Valencia striker Rodrigo, a former Real Madrid B-team player, could be the favorite, but there will be no new arrivals before Getafe visit the Bernabeu and Lopetegui will once again look to Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to fill his attack on Sunday.

Bale and Benzema combined well for the Frenchman to score on Wednesday, although Bale faded after halftime and Benzema tended to drop too deep. Meanwhile Asensio was unfortunate not to hit the target with several decent efforts.

Should their fortunes change and Madrid win with ease, it will ease the pressure on Lopetegui, while at the same time making his long term job harder by persuading club president Florentino Perez he doesn't need to dip into the transfer market again this summer.

READ MORE: Lopetegui: No extra pressure on UEFA Super Cup derby match

The closure of the Italian transfer market means Luka Modric will not be moving to Inter Milan this summer and the Croatian will probably start on Sunday, while there is a slight doubt over Casemiro who limped out of Wednesday's game.

Lopetegui's biggest decision this weekend will be whether he continues with Keylor Navas in goal or decides to give a debut to Belgian international Thibaut Courtois, who arrived from Chelsea a fortnight ago.

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