On the hot seat for most of the season, Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid got a much needed, statement win Saturday over Sevilla. Here is what the French manager had to say following the win.
All quotes come via the Real Madrid official website.
Opening Statement
"“We can be very pleased because putting five past Sevilla was no mean feat. I’m thrilled with Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals and for the guys who haven’t had so much game time so far and did a fantastic job today. I’m happy with how we played and the goals, but it was a game just like any other. It was important to take the three points so we’re pleased. It was a very complete performance. We played with a 4-4-2 today, I knew the Sevilla wingers play very high up and we had to stifle them and the full-backs. We had one less player in the center but it was fine, it was what we decided to do. We played brilliantly on the counter-attack with Marco and Lucas giving us real pace. We managed the game very well. At the end and with the substitutions, we moved to a 4-3-3”."
Was the first half the best of the season?
“I don’t think they were the best 45 minutes of the season. Perhaps in terms of the goals, but in terms of how we played, we did very well against Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. We’re feeling great because we’ve scored five goals against Sevilla, a team that can cause you real problems, and we kept a clean sheet as well.”
On the number of goals scored
“I hope we can keep scoring lots of goals. That’s eight in two games. We have to carry on in the same way. We’re improving in every sense, in our general play as well, because if you play well, you make more chances. We created a lot today and scored five. That’s the first time we’ve managed it this year.”
“We’re happy. We did very well and it was very important for morale to get the three points before going away to prepare for the game on Wednesday. Everyone thinks that it’ll be easy, but it won’t be. We’re going to travel tomorrow and we want to do a good job and win another trophy.”
On the FIFA Club World Cup
“Our objective is to always play this way. We’ve scored eight goals in the last two games but we’ve been doing well in the last four. Things are going to come together but we have to carry on with our work. We’ll have to give our all on Wednesday, like we did today. That way we’ll have a better chance of winning the game.”
On Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance
“It’s perhaps the perfect week for him. I already said that we had to be careful with him and I’ll say it again because I know how ambitious he is. Sometimes he doesn’t score and he’s not happy but you always have to be careful with him.”
On Jesús Vallejo
“He’s going to come with us to Abu Dhabi. He’s had a great game and he’s always ready. He always trains well.”
Raphael Varane and Gareth Bale’s recovery status
“They’ll travel with us and we’ll see how things go there from one day to the next. On Tuesday they will train normally and we’ll see what we can do. I can’t tell you anything else. We’re not going to push anyone, as is always the case.”
Next: Three takeaways from Real Madrid’s 5-0 win against Sevilla