Cristiano Ronaldo has paid tribute to the managerial skills of Zinedine Zidane, as the Frenchman is close to guiding Real Madrid to their first league title since the 2011-12 campaign.

The Spanish club have been going through a major doubt in terms of the domestic honours, despite lifting the Champions League twice in the last three years. Carlo Ancelotti was responsible for ending their long wait for success in this competition, and it helped with the 10th major honour in European Cup history. Zidane managed to take the club even further by helping them win the title last season, while he is on the course of becoming the first manager in Champions League history to retain the title.

Zinedine Zidane is backing his Real Madrid attackers to come good against Athletic Bilbao.

The team has a great opportunity to re-establish their lead in the Spanish La Liga when they host Athletic Club at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night. After having seen Barcelona claim a crucial victory against Valencia on Saturday, Real Madrid are now under pressure to win against Athletic Bilbao in order to reclaim the top spot in the league. Several Real Madrid players have already claimed that winning the league is the priority for the club after having been European champions in two of the last three seasons.

Zinedine Zidane has said that Real Madrid have found a great player in Varane. Defender Varane is expected to complete a move from Lens to the Bernabeu early next week with Zidane, who is an advisor to Madrid president Florentino Perez, instrumental in luring his countryman to Spain.

Zidane is confident the 18-year-old will blossom under Jose Mourinho after comparing him to former France centre-half, and current Les Bleus boss, Blanc.