SPORTS : at Real Madrid nobody doubts Ronaldo

Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal has said “nobody doubts” Cristiano Ronaldo as he heads into his 400th game for the club on the back of a frustrating run of form.

Ronaldo has yet to score in La Liga this season, having missed the first four games through suspension and had 18 unsuccessful shots in the recent games against Real Betis and Alaves.

Madrid travel to Borussia Dortmund for a Champions League game on Wednesday — Ronaldo’s 400th game — and speaking at the prematch news conference, Carvajal said: “Nobody doubts Cristiano.

“I have the good luck to enjoy him all year — every training session is spectacular.

“He always pulls us along, and the shots will end up going in. Whenever he does not score for a while, he ends up shutting us all up.”

Madrid have kept just one clean sheet in their first six La Liga games, falling seven points behind leaders Barcelona, but Carvajal said he believed Zinedine Zidane’s side would solve those problems.

“If I knew why I would tell the boss and we’d correct it,” he said. “We have conceded goals — it is something we must correct. But we are at the start of the season, and we will get tighter at the back.”

Madrid’s previous six trips to Dortmund have brought three defeats and three draws, but Carvajal said: “We are not coming here thinking about never having won here.

“We know we can take a big step towards making the last 16. This is a big game, which all the players want to play. We hope we can enjoy it.”