Levante vs Real Madrid - Zinedine Zidane's squad in good spirits ahead of Levante clash
Posted Wednesday, March 02, 2016 by PA
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane claims "everything is fixed" within his squad following Cristiano Ronaldo's outburst as they prepare to tackle bottom club Levante.
Los Merengues head to Ciutat de Valencia on the back of a 1-0 home defeat to city rivals Atletico, which leaves them third in the Primera Liga table, some 12 points adrift of leaders Barcelona.
In the aftermath of the loss at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo appeared to launch into criticism of his team-mates, claiming: "If we were all at my level maybe we would be leaders."
The Portugal forward later insisted his comments were referring to fitness levels rather than ability, with so many of Madrid's other key men injured like Gareth Bale, who has now resumed training following a calf problem.
Zidane maintains there is no disharmony in the camp as his men aim to refocus on matters in hand.
"The coach must speak to the players after the game, together and then later individually. He (Ronaldo) spoke to me and to everyone. It's now in the past," Zidane said at a press conference, reported on the club's official website.
"We know how important Ronaldo is and we are all with him. Everything is fixed and the most important thing is what's coming up.
"We are going to take it forward together. From the inside, not from the outside."
Zidane added: "We didn't expect to lose the derby, but that is now in the past. We have to look at what is ahead.
"You can lose games. We lost against a team who played better and what you have to analyse is what we have to do so it doesn't happen again.
"My main interest is moving forward together. We are all in the same boat and no-one wants out.
"While I am the coach, we will always fight. We are only concentrating on doing the best we can and winning."
Despite Barcelona's dominance, Zidane will continue to stay positive.
"The message that I transmit to the players is that we must concentrate on each game, give our best and try to win," he said.
"We are currently third, we want to be second, and if we are second, we will try to go further and get closer to first."
Wales forward Bale has not featured for Real Madrid since mid-January, but if all goes well could be back in contention for the home game with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
"He is a fundamental player for Real Madrid and I prefer it that he is with us. When he is ready, it will be harder to pick the team, but I like the fact that he is training with us," Zidane said.
Midfielder Luka Modric, however, is out with a foot problem, Zidance confirmed, while Karim Benzema (hamstring) and Marcelo (calf) are both sidelined, with defenders Dani Carvajal and Sergio Ramos unavailable because of suspension.
Levante lost 3-0 at Villarreal on Sunday, but have some decent home form with three wins out of four - and tested Barcelona a couple of weeks ago before eventually going down 2-0 following a last-minute goal from Luis Suarez.
Zidane said: "Levante are going to go out as always, they are going to try and do their best and bother Real Madrid, but we must be prepared to play our game, as always and to try to win."
Levante midfielder Jose Luis Morales insists his team-mates have not given up on retaining their top-flight status, now some four points from safety.
"We are confident we can be safe, even though it will be very difficult," he said, quoted on the club's official website.
"We asked fans not to stop trusting as while things are not mathematically certain, we have to fight for every game."
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