Levante boss laughs off 'crisis' talk at Real Madrid

Levante head coach Juan Muniz has laughed off the severity of the "crisis" at Real Madrid ahead of Saturday's meeting between the teams in LaLiga.

Zinedine Zidane's side are 19 points behind league leaders Barcelona, although they have played a game less, heading into the clash at Ciutat de Valencia.

A shock Copa del Rey exit at the quarter-final stage to Leganes forced Zidane to admit his future could well depend on the outcome of their Champions League last-16 clash with Paris Saint-Germain, the first leg of which takes place on February 14.

Muniz feels it is useful to play against the biggest teams while they have European commitments, but he insists the problems at the Santiago Bernabeu are issues most coaches would dream of having.

"It's true that it's good to face the big teams when they have to play in the Champions League, but crises for big teams are ones the little teams would like," he told a news conference.

"With [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Gareth] Bale, [Karim] Benzema or Isco, the crises are different. Losing a match is a crisis for Madrid. They are one of the best sides in the world; the crises are relative.

"When a machine works well, it goes to Mestalla and wins 4-1."

Madrid have shown improvement in their form in their last two league matches, with their 4-1 win away to Valencia last time out preceded by a 7-1 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna.

Muniz, whose side sit just two points outside the bottom three, knows they cannot afford any mistakes if they are to get a result.

"Madrid are third or fourth in LaLiga and in the Champions League. We'll have to have a perfect game on Saturday and not make a single mistake," he said.