Esnaider: Ronaldo can be unstoppable

Newly appointed Getafe coach Juan Esnaider is hoping Cristiano Ronaldo does not have his best day when his side welcomes Real Madrid on Saturday.

Esnaider arrived at the club earlier in the week to replace the sacked Fran Escriba as the Spanish club looks to avoid relegation from La Liga.

Ronaldo, fresh off a superb hat trick in the Champions League after single-handedly turning Real’s 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 aggregate win against Wolfsburg during the week, could strike another blow to the club’s survival hopes.

And Esnaider admitted there is little anyone can do if Ronaldo is at this best.

“Cristiano knows what he is capable of,” the Getafe coach told AS.

“Ever knowing how he can hurt you, if he has a good day, you cannot stop him.”

The Argentine coach, a former Real Madrid player himself, said he did not expect to encounter a distracted team as Zinedine Zidane looks to balance his side’s Champions League heroics with a thrilling La Liga title chase.

“I do not think that Madrid are distracted by the Champions League,” he said. “The challenge of the league is there for them.

“[We can win by] believing in ourselves. If you do not think you can win, the game is very difficult.”

Madrid are four points off the title pace set by fierce rivals Barcelona with four games remaining.

While Esnaider says Madrid is as tough a test as he could have asked for in his first game in charge of Getafe, he had some ideas about how his side could prevail.

“Any game against Real Madrid is special for me given my past,” he said. “But I have an idea about how we can play them.

“We have prepared ourselves to counter what they have and take advantage of our own strengths.”