Former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti offered words of warning regarding squad injuries to the club's management.
In his weekly column on the Chinese website, Sina Sports, the Italian manager said that Karim Benzema's current absence and previous injuries to players such as Gareth Bale and Marcelo are a sign that something is amiss with Los Blancos.
"The statistics show that something is terribly wrong," he said. "Since the beginning of the season, there have been 22 injuries at Madrid. Each person can draw his or her own conclusions, but in a club such as Madrid, this situation is not normal."
Ancelotti, who will coach Bayern Munich next season, accused the club of finger-pointing and over-analysis after losing in the derbi to Atletico Madrid last week, 1-0.
"The Bernabeu once again had doubts and they began to look for someone to blame and that is not new," he said. "A few weeks ago everything came easy to the club and now there are problems again. The analysis is taken to extremes."
However, Ancelotti said Zidane is right to take a hard look at the club.
"Of course Madrid need to be critical of their own game, they need to analyse their mistakes and fix them," he said. "I am positive that Zidane and the players are doing that. Together they can overcome obstacles. Those who think that Atletico and Barcelona are not at the same level, they are wrong. In these past three years, [Atletico coach Diego] Simeone has built one of the best squads in Europe."
Regarding Cristiano Ronaldo comments last week that his teammates were not playing up to their level, Ancelotti said:
"He was referring to the injuries of his teammates. In fact, the injuries have had a huge impact on Madrid, as they did in my last season there."