Zidane turns attention to Champions League after Real Madrid’s win over Leganes
Posted Sunday, April 29, 2018 by PA
Zinedine Zidane said his Real Madrid players are fully prepared for their “biggest game of the year” after goals from Gareth Bale and Borja Mayoral earned a 2-1 win over Leganes.
Zidane made 10 changes, including resting Cristiano Ronaldo, for the clash with their mid-table opponents with more than one eye on Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
Real will go into the game with a slender 2-1 advantage from last week’s first leg in Germany but Zidane acknowledged his side cannot afford to take anything for granted despite being favourites to advance to another final.
He told a post-match press conference: “I don’t know how significant the first-leg advantage will be in the Champions League. We know what happened against Juve and last year against Bayern as well.
“We need a huge performance, we must play better than we have done all year if we’re to qualify. We’re ready. We’re going to give it all we’ve got to make it to the final.”
Real’s win on Saturday moved them to within a point of second-placed city rivals Atletico, who play on Sunday, but Zidane accepted his side’s LaLiga campaign was hit by losing too many points in the first part of the season.
“I’m pleased with the attitude of players today with 10 changes, guys who haven’t had much playing time,” added Zidane.
“The attitude was exemplary. It was a fantastic first half and we dropped off a bit in the second, but we took the three points.
“We can’t be happy with our performance in LaLiga overall. We dropped too many points early on but we have improved. Now we have to go back to work because it’s the biggest game of the year on Tuesday”.
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