Real Madrid will be fine without Ronaldo, says Martinez

Julen Lopetegui has been backed to be a success at Real Madrid despite losing Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus, with Spain international Inigo Martinez impressed with what he has seen so far this season.

Ronaldo made the decision to leave the Spanish capital ahead of the Russia World Cup and arrived in Turin in a deal worth €100 million (£88m/$117m) to Real and €31m a season for the man himself.

The Portugal international is yet to find the net for Juventus despite having the highest number of shots in Serie A across the first three fixtures.

Juventus have claimed maximum points, though, and sit top of the Italian top flight, while Madrid are joint top of La Liga with Clasico rivals Barcelona.

Lopetegui's side have also taken nine points from their first three outings, scoring 10 times across those fixtures.

And Athletic Bilbao defender Martinez hasn't seen anything that suggests Madrid will struggle without Ronaldo's presence in the side.

"We all know what Cristiano has given Real Madrid," Martinez told Goal.

"All of those goals over the years will be difficult to match by a single player, but we are watching a different Madrid and there are the results. They are doing well.

"I was with Lopetegui in the national team and he's a great coach. Surely they will be fine. But we always give it all against Real Madrid in San Mames. It is our party. We all want to win."

Lopetegui was appointed as Zinedine Zidane's successor at Real whilst he was still in charge of the Spanish national team and was eventually sacked as La Roja boss as a result.

Confirmation of his dismissal came a day before the start of the summer World Cup and Lopetegui was sent home from Russia before Spain's opener with Portugal.

Martinez was not part of the Spain squad for the tournament but admits the decision by the Spanish Football Federation may have had a negative influence on the squad.

Asked whether the news came as a surprise, Martinez said: "Not only for me, but for many people - I think it caught us a little unsuspecting. It was a blow.

"They had been training with Julen for some time, getting used to the idea of how to play, their style - to decide to leave a few days before the World Cup is not easy for the players, obviously.

"Many things change. It was a shame, because I think that with Julen, who had been training these players for a long time, it would have been good. And starting that way, whether you want it or not, influences. Even if you try to fix all of that, there is always something that affects you. I think that's what happened. "

Asked what Lopetegui offers his Real squad, Martinez believes that it will take a lot to get the better of Los Blancos this term.

"Julen leads the group well, and that's very important," Martinez continued. "Especially in those teams where it is so difficult to deal with the squad.

"Julen does it well, has a great team, they are all committed and it will be difficult to beat them. We have to do our thing. Julen knows us, and will do everything possible to win us. But we will try to harm them as well as we can.

"They attack a lot and maybe they could suffer with the counter-attacks."