Zidane calm after Madrid's 4th consecutive draw: 'This is not a crisis'

A run of four straight draws isn't enough to concern Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane.

Not yet, anyway.

Sloppy defending allowed visitor Eibar to find an early go-ahead goal at the Santiago Bernabeu, and even though Gareth Bale responded minutes later with a header of his own, Madrid failed to end a frustrating winless streak.

Los Blancos also dropped points against Villarreal, Las Palmas, and Borussia Dortmund, with Zidane juggling the lineup in recent weeks to compensate for injuries.

Marcelo, Casemiro, Luka Modric, and more recently James Rodriguez - who dropped out of Sunday's contest because of a calf issue - are all stuck on the sidelines.

Related: James Rodriguez suffered calf injury prior to Eibar clash

But Zidane isn't ready to panic. It was only a few weeks ago that Madrid won a record 16th consecutive La Liga match.

"This is not a crisis. This is just October. We cannot go crazy," the Frenchman told reporters following the 1-1 deadlock. "Something is happening for sure - four draws in a row, especially the three in La Liga.

"When you are ahead, after the start of the season we had, it is difficult. But I will not lose my head, nor will the players."

Despite the disappointing downturn, Madrid is still level with neighbour Atletico atop the La Liga standings with 15 points. Barcelona's 4-3 loss to Celta Vigo later Sunday eased the potential damage of the Eibar result.

The international break comes at a good time for Zidane's lot, which could use the next two weeks to recover from their various ailments.

Not that it's an excuse.

"We can't blame fitness issues, we just need to work with more intensity, starting with me," added Zidane. "When the players return from international duty, we have to turn this around, we can't continue like this."