No, it wasn’t pretty or easy Wednesday night in Abu Dhabi as Real Madrid pulled out a close 2-1 win over Al Jazira, but manager Zinedine Zidane had high praise for his players in his post-match press conference. Here’s what he had to say.
All quotes come via the Real Madrid official website.
Opening Statement
"“There’s not much to say. We deserved the win and a place in the final. That’s all we’re worried about. It was a very strange first half. It’s unusual not to score when you create that many chances. The great thing about football is that we had another 45 minutes to change things and that’s exactly what we did. We were patient and we turned it around. We had to stay calm. These things can happen in football sometimes.”“The good thing is that we were able to get back in front after the break and it’s a deserved win. Any opponents can get a goal against you. They were very good on the counter-attack. That’s a weapon they had with their three guys up top. At half-time, I told the players to stay calm because the chances were going to come. We got the win, though not without digging deep. There’s no such thing as an easy win in football. I said that much yesterday. We have to congratulate Al Jazira because they did a great job.”"
Looking ahead to the final and thoughts on Gremio
“We saw yesterday’s game, and another of theirs as well. I know the team, having seen a few of their matches, but I don’t know much about the Brazilian league. They’re a good side and we’ll have to put in a strong performance because it’ll be another tough match.”
“We’re up against a good team from Brazil who are in the final just as we are. They deserve their place in the final too, they’ll want to win it just as much as we do. It’ll be a difficult game and now we have to rest up and start our preparations tomorrow.”
Opinion on Karim Benzema’s struggles in front of goal in the match
“Karim Benzema is doing fine. He didn’t score tonight but he’s doing alright. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and to focus on his goalscoring. He put in a good performance and created a lot of chances, but the ball just didn’t want to go in for him.”
“I’m a bit disappointed for him because he was keen to score. But there’s no need to get het up and we’ve now got to focus on Saturday’s game. I’m pleased with all of their performances.”
Thoughts on VAR technology and it’s effect on the match
“The referee disallowed Casemiro’s goal for offside. That’s what they said, anyway. We’re not going to go into the details, but it took about three or four minutes to reach a decision and it’s not a pleasant experience.”
“You’ve got to take the positives from these things and try to improve the more negative aspects. If a quick decision is made, the whistle goes, you keep playing and that’s all there is to it, but for it to take four minutes is a bit odd.”
My reaction
I love Zizou’s answers to these questions. I feel like many of the questions received were some of the topics that all the writers for The Real Champs discussed following the match.
Karim Benzema struggled in front of goal yet again. It’s no mystery. Yet, Zidane seems content with leaving the French striker in the match despite his struggles.
Should Zizou look for an alternative starter at striker? I think so. However, I don’t think he will.
As I said in my three takeaways from the match, Real dominated this match and deserved to win. It is a good thing Zizou recognizes this and is happy with his team’s showing.
The VAR had too much of an impact in the match, whether it was for the good of Real Madrid or not. I was a little bit surprised with the frequency the technology was used and how much it affected the match.
Grêmio is a defensive minded team and Zidane recognizes the challenge of the match ahead. Real Madrid is not a guarantee to win this match, and they realize that.
It should be interesting to see if Sergio Ramos makes his return Saturday and whether or not Zidane will rest Karim Benzema or not.
Next: Three takeaways from Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Al Jazira in the Club World Cup