Lucas Vazquez has vowed that Real Madrid will “keep fighting right until the end” in the LaLiga title race but he admits that city rivals Atletico Madrid have the edge.

Vazquez netted the opener in Real’s 2-0 victory against Celta Vigo on Saturday as Zinedine Zidane’s side took over top spot for the first time since October.

A run of three losses in six games saw their lead slip in November but Real have now moved ahead of Atleti by a single point, although Diego Simeone’s side have three games in hand.

Real are defending champions and the competition's most successful club but, although his side are on top, Spain attacker Vazquez admits he does not believe Zidane’s team has the advantage.

"The league has been very competitive. There are no easy games because every team makes it difficult for us," the 29-year-old said.

"Atletico has the advantage, but we’ll keep fighting right until the end for everything".

Zinedine Zidane has no plans to rest Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema as he vowed slowly ease Eden Hazard back to full match fitness.

Benzema failed to register a single shot on goal in Madrid's 2-0 win over Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Saturday and twice missed the target from good positions.

The 33-year-old has started 15 of Madrid's 17 LaLiga matches this season and only goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Raphael Varane have played more minutes.

When asked in a post-match media conference if Benzema, who has scored eight goals in LaLiga, needed a break, following a slightly jaded showing, Zidane disagreed.

"I don’t think he’s tired," Zidane said.

"I think he did well and I took him off so that another player could play. We’re in a great spell. We’re doing the right things and we have to continue like this."

Hazard came off the bench for another run out late in the second half against Celta as he stepped up his return from an injury-hit start to the season.

"We are going to go little by little," added Zidane. "Little by little, you have to recover feelings.

"We have to take it slowly and not force anything. He has to get back to his best and take it slowly. That’s all it is."

Madrid's possession against Celta was 41 per cent which was the lowest recorded in a win under Zidane at home in all competitions.

The Madrid head coach was, however, satisfied with the manner in which his side were able to manage the game against Celta.

"We played a complete game from the beginning to the end," Zidane explained.

"We controlled the game well, we had a good balance, when it came to pressing up and getting the ball back, we did everything well.

"You have to control when the rival team has strong moments in the game, but the feelings are good, out of nine games we won six and three draws."

Goals from Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio gave Madrid the victory as the pair assisted each other in what was the fourth duo to combine between them in a single LaLiga game this season.

Zidane added: "I am happy for Asensio. He has had a major injury and now he is much better and improving every time.

"Vazquez is very reliable, very involved and I am happy for what he is doing. We played a very serious game. I'm happy for everyone."

Real Madrid are reportedly close to agreeing a deal with David Alaba, while Manchester United are expecting the asking price for Jadon Sancho to drop.

Alaba, 28, is set to leave Bayern Munich with his contract expiring at the end of the season.

The defender is free to speak to other clubs, and Madrid are making their move.

TOP STORY – MADRID CLOSE TO ALABA SIGNING

Real Madrid are close to landing Bayern Munich defender Alaba on a four-year deal, according to Marca.

Alaba is likely to have offers from multiple clubs after establishing himself as one of Europe's leading defenders.

The Austria international has won nine Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues among numerous other trophies with Bayern.

ROUND-UP

- With Jadon Sancho yet to hit top form for Borussia Dortmund this season, Manchester United may be able to land the attacker later this year. 90min reports United believe they can land Sancho for less than £100million (€112.7m) after not meeting Dortmund's valuation of £107m (€120m) in the close season.

- Lionel Messi's future remains a major talking point. Sport reports the Barcelona star – who is out of contract at the end of the campaign – will wait until the end of the season to decide between the LaLiga giants, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and MLS.

- Real Madrid are apparently eyeing a replacement for Marcelo. AS reports the LaLiga giants are tracking Sporting CP left-back Nuno Mendes, who is also linked to Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus and PSG.

- Liverpool are also linked with centre-backs after long-term injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, while potential exits have been mentioned. However, the Liverpool Echo reports the Premier League giants are not expecting any senior departures in January, which would mean Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi remain despite speculation over their futures.

Sergio Ramos has not been named in Real Madrid's squad for their LaLiga match Celta Vigo on Saturday.

The Madrid captain did not train on Friday and, according to Marca, is struggling with a stomach issue.

Ramos, the only unexpected absentee from a 23-man group, has scored twice in 13 league appearances this season.

The centre-back has contributed to five clean sheets, averaging 1.1 tackles, 2.8 clearances, 1.5 interceptions and 0.3 blocks per 90 minutes.

He has made only a single error leading to a shot and received three yellow cards.

Madrid will have to adapt to the absence of the talismanic Ramos, having won just one of the three prior league games he has missed this term.

However, the defending champions are unbeaten in 12 against eighth-placed Celta in LaLiga.

Zinedine Zidane is aiming to "take advantage of the moment" at Real Madrid as he is unsure how long his Santiago Bernabeu reign will last.

The four-year anniversary of Zidane's initial appointment at Madrid is approaching, but the head coach revealed last month he was not discussing an extension to a contract that expires in 2022.

The Frenchman was asked prior to Saturday's game against Celta Vigo if another four years at Madrid - this time unbroken by a spell away - could be on the cards.

However, unable to provide any promises over a long-term stay, Zidane responded: "It takes a lot out of you, but it's a great position here.

"I'm lucky enough to say I'm manager of Real Madrid and take advantage of every moment. I can't say a month, a year or four years. Life is just about the day to day.

"That's what I'm interested in: the day to day, to give everything I can, in every training session, every game. That's what I'm interested in.

"The rest? I don't know what's going to happen in one week. That's why we have to take advantage of the moment."

Zidane will hope to have added to his 11 major honours by the time he does depart, although this season's LaLiga title race is far from straightforward.

Defending champions Madrid can at least briefly move above Atletico Madrid if they beat Celta, against whom they are unbeaten in 12 in LaLiga, but Zidane's men have already played two more games than their city rivals.

It is advantage Atleti for now, yet the former Ballon d'Or winner is not overly concerned.

"Being first means you have an advantage, and that's it," Zidane explained. "We just have to keep on going. We can't control [Atleti being favourites].

"They have an advantage because they're first, and that's it. People are speaking a lot about Atletico now, because, as I said, they're first.

"But the nice thing about this league, right up until the end, it's going to be an open league - as it always is. We'll see."

Despite their strong recent record against Celta - scoring in 28 consecutive home LaLiga meetings, their longest ongoing such run against any side - Madrid were held 2-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu last season.

Eighth-placed Celta could draw against Madrid in consecutive matches for the first time since May 2003.

Zinedine Zidane is not entertaining speculation about transfer talks with David Alaba as Real Madrid battle to defend their LaLiga title.

Bayern Munich defender Alaba is out of contract in Germany at the end of the season and negotiations over an extension have so far proved fruitless for the European champions.

The Austria international has been mooted as a target for Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain as well as Madrid, although Zidane's outfit are considered favourites for his signature in some quarters.

Alaba was a key part of the Bayern team that won the Champions League last season.

However, since the start of 2019-20, he has committed four errors leading to shots in the competition, a joint-high among defenders. None of these have resulted in goals, while Madrid's Raphael Varane has made the same number of mistakes but been punished on all four occasions.

Alaba's statistics over this period are very similar to Varane's, playing 13 games to his 14 and having 29 fewer touches and seven fewer successful passes.

Varane is also just four tackles, two blocks, five clearances and seven interceptions ahead of his counterpart.

Rather than being signed as a competitor to Varane, though, Alaba could partner the World Cup winner as talismanic Madrid captain Sergio Ramos approaches his 35th birthday.

Either way, the speculation does not interest head coach Zidane, who said ahead of facing Celta Vigo: "We've got all our players here. I'm just thinking about the game tomorrow with the players that I have here.

"Then maybe you're going to ask me about the players that are playing a lot or not playing a lot. We have 22 players, 25 with the goalkeepers, a very big squad.

"We have enough to think about with the games that we have not to be thinking about players that aren't even ours. Please, we're thinking just about the game tomorrow."

While Zidane is keeping his focus on LaLiga, where Madrid trail Atletico Madrid by two points, the need to bring in a player of Alaba's calibre would become urgent if a new contract for Ramos was not agreed.

The PSG-linked skipper, Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez are all free agents, like Alaba, in June 2021.

"Yes, we all want [contracts to be signed]," Zidane said. "We want the situation to be sorted as quickly as possible.

"It's in everyone's interests, it would be good for everyone, so hopefully it can be sorted out quickly."