Zidane: Real Madrid relaxed for five minutes and that was enough

Posted Monday, January 16, 2017 by Marca.com

After seeing his charges give up two goals in the last 10 minutes of the game, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane admitted that a temporary loss of focus cost his team three points.

Los Blancos looked set to extend their unbeaten streak to 41 games after Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot, but a Sergio Ramos own goal and a stoppage time winner from Stevan Jovetic gave Sevilla a 2-1 win.

The result means Jorge Sampaoli's men consolidate second position in the LaLiga table, while Real remain on top with just a one-point lead, albeit with a game in hand.

"We relaxed for five minutes and that was enough to let the win escape for us," Zidane told reporters after the final whistle.

"It's hard to take considering how the game went, but that's football and we have to accept the result. We'll use this as motivation for our next game."

The Frenchman was unsurprisingly quizzed about his decision to employ a 3-5-2 formation with three central defenders.

"Personally, I thought we played with great personality with three centre-backs, and I was pleased with how hard the other players worked," he said.

"We managed well for 85 minutes, but lost focus for just five."

The defeat means Real's unbeaten streak will not move beyond 40, but the 44-year-old was philosophical on this matter.

"It's logical that one day the unbeaten run would come to an end. I always said that the season will be tough right until the end," he noted.

Also on the agenda was captain Sergio Ramos, who followed up his panenka penalty kick heroics midweek with an own goal to let his former side back into the game.

"I'm proud of our captain. He played a great game, and own goals can happen in football. He showed great personality," the French boss stated.

"Sevilla showed that they are genuine contenders for LaLiga. As for us, we're hurt because a defeat is never pleasant, but we'll analyse our performance and see what needs improving.

"We aren't going to change anything, and we will continue working hard as we have done so far."