MADRID — Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have not been included in Real Madrid’s squad for Saturday’s Spanish league match against Deportivo La Coruna.
That means Madrid will be missing all three of its first-choice forwards, with Gareth Bale recovering from a foot injury.
Coach Zinedine Zidane also dropped his best midfielder, Luka Modric, from the squad.
Instead, Zidane called up reserve team forward Mariano to join Alvaro Morata and Lucas Vazquez in attack.
Before releasing his list, Zidane said that he wanted to give Benzema some rest ahead of the Club World Cup in Japan, but he didn’t give any indication that he would also drop Ronaldo and Modric.
Madrid hasn’t lost in 34 consecutive matches, equaling a club record. It leads the Spanish league by six points over Barcelona.
