Zinedine Zidane impressed with Real Madrid’s win at the Allianz Arena
By Ben Sundock
Zinedine Zidane proved himself as an expert tactician Wednesday night in Munich making some very bold decisions with his lineup and substitution choices. Here is what the manager had to say after Real Madrid‘s 2-1 win over Bayern Munich.
All quotes come via the Real Madrid official website.
Opening Statement
"“We can be happy, satisfied with that result. It was tough at the start and we struggled to get the ball. We were better in the second half. Winning here is not easy. We suffered in the first half. We have the motivation to do well, but we struggled. We like playing here and playing well. We started badly but finished well. They had their chances but we controlled the game.”“The error prior to the goal is down to all of us. We were not set up well and it was a consequence of errors, not just Keylor. In the second half, he had two or three saves and he did well. We suffered without the ball. Ribéry was great. In the second half, even with Lucas Vázquez at right back due to Carvajal being injured, we did well down that side. We got a good result.”"
Looking ahead to the return leg in Madrid
“We will have to fight. We are happy, but we know e have to suffer in the return leg, nothing is sorted yet. After what happened with Juve, we now we have to change things. if not, trouble will find us.”
Isco hurt himself and we brought Marco on in his position. The plan was to have Lucas playing further forward and Isco between the lines, but Asensio put a real shift in and did well defensively. He knows just what to do when in possession. He’s very direct and has an impressive eye for goal. I passed on a few things to him about his defensive duties.”
Thoughts on Marcelo
“Besides the goals he scores, he’s a key player in terms of the game plan we look to impose. He’s a difference-maker in attack.”
Why did Gareth Bale not feature?
“I have to make choices and I’ve got some very good players in the squad. There are some players who are performing well at the moment. There are still more games to come and I’ll be relying on him. It’s not true that I don’t play him.”
My thoughts
While it may be very difficult for the gaffer to leave Gareth Bale on the bench, I think in this match it was a good decision. I agree with Zizou’s decision to not start the Welsh international, but I disagree with his choice of Karim Benzema over Gareth in the second half.
Bale would’ve added some much-needed pace to the wing with Lucas Vazquez dropping to play right-back. Benz does not provide a ton of pace moving the ball forward and he doesn’t scare teams in front of goal like Bale does.
I thought Marcelo was very good moving forward, but was awful getting back on defense. On the lone Bayern goal in the first half, Marcelo was nowhere to be found down Madrid’s left flank as Joshua Kimmich flew forward and scored easily with little pressure.
Next: Tactical analysis from Real Madrid’s win over Bayern Munich
Zidane clearly needs to address Marcelo’s positioning as this has been a theme all season. The Brazilian is such an offensively-minded fullback he dedicates his focus and energy to getting forward.
Especially for the second leg, Marcelo needs to not push all the way down the wing. Hold the lead and do what you are supposed to Marcelo: defend!
I expect to see the same starting XI from Zidane in the second leg minus maybe Isco and Dani Carvajal who both suffered knocks in the match. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.