"Cristiano? He can come off now and again and that’s that"
The Real Madrid coach discussed the Athletic victory, his substitutions and his keeper and well as the upcoming international break.
Zinedine Zidane spoke to the press after his side’s 2-1 victory over Athletic in San Mamés.
Benzema: “Everybody had a good game, but it’s true that Karim had an excellent game.”
Ronaldo substitution: “Towards the end we wanted to have a bit more balance with a 4-4-2. Cristiano? He can come off from time to time and that’s that. He was happy with his game.”
"Gareth helped out right up to the last ball"
Marcelo and Iñaki Williams: “He wasn’t badly positioned; they were looking to do that… Gareth also helped out right up to the last ball we cleared from our half. We suffered for the win. We read the game well and what is pleasing it that we knew it was an away game and that it would be difficult, and we won.”
Modric substitution: “We wanted to play Lucas Vázquez in the [midfield] line and defend more in a block to have more balance. That doesn’t mean that we sat back to wait for them, but the opposite: it was to achieve more balance because we were playing a bit further back in the second half, especially at the end. With two up front we were looking to play a bit closer together and we sent on Isco and Morata because Cristiano and Gareth had given it everything. When you’re running a lot up front it’s difficult. Isco and Morata did very well.”
International break: “If they don’t play in the second game? I’m not going to get involved in whether or not they should come back early, they’re with their national teams and we wouldn’t think about changing that. I’m going to have a rest, they’re not, but that’s the way it is. When they come back we have nine games in 25 days and that’s where everything will be on the line. We have a squad of 24 and we’re going to need them all, I’m sure about that.”
"We won today, among other things, thanks to Keylor"
Keylor Navas: “There is no debate here and there hasn’t been for a long time. We’re with Keylor. All three keepers do their jobs very well. There are times when you can make a mistake and today he made saves and we won, among other reasons, because of him.”
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| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
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| Upcoming matches |
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