"We'll fight to the end"- Zidane
"You might think La Liga is lost and it's all over, but I don't, and the players don't. We'll fight right to the end", said Zinedine Zidane after their 1-1 draw at La Rosaleda.
Zidane refused to admit that La Liga is as good as lost, with Barcelona nine points clear of Real Madrid after today's 1-1 draw with Malaga in La Rosaleda. Here's what Zizou had to say post-match:
This draw has made it very difficult for you in La Liga, are you going to park league ambitions and focus on the Champions League?
"Today we dropped two points, but we'll never throw in the towel. There are still a lot of points to play for, 38 points to play for, and we're going to keep going. It was a difficult game. We're not going to relax, for me there's no such thing. We've got La Liga and the Champions League and we're going to fight right until the end".
Do you think Barça or Atleti might tire themselves out in the Champions League and lose focus on La Liga?
"There are points at stake and there's still a long way to go in the Liga season. The other teams can drop points, but I'm not thinking about the other teams. I'm just thinking about us carrying on regardless of what happens. We prepared well during the week and I'm going to have to sit down and analyse the game. The players put a lot of effort in today. The game was there to be won and it's true that they fashioned a lot of chances against us".
Do you come away feeling that the team played badly?
"I don't think that we didn't play well. We struggled a bit, particularly with the second ball. They dominated in some areas, but we didn't play badly. We had a lot of chances. Today you might look at it and think that we played badly and I might think the opposite: that we had chances to score and win the game. We might also have lost the game.Our last few games give us reason to be optimistic".
"We had the game at our mercy and didn't kill it off"
How can Real Madrid be so strong at home, and have so many problems away from home?
"Our last Champions League game was away from home, and it was tough, but we won. Today it was also difficult and we had the chances to win the game. I need to analyse it with my team and reflect back on it. With hard work and everyone working together we can achieve something. You think that La Liga is lost, but I don't and certainly the players don't".
It was a surprising line-up: Isco in as a false-9, Kovacic in for James, Cristiano on one wing and Jesé on the other, and the fact that you didn't use your three substitutes.
Isco wasn't playing as a striker, he, Luka and Mateo all moved around. I made only two subs because sometimes, if you see the team needs a change, you take the decision. That's all".
Do you see this as one point gained or two points lost?
"Maybe. Everyone has an opinion. We had the game at our mercy and didn't kill it off, lots of opportunities. A lot to think about".