Zidane: “Benzema deserved to score”

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane praised the performance of his team after the solid win against Alaves this Saturday. The coach was pleased with Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to let Benzema take the team’s last penalty after the Frenchman delivered two assists.

“I was pleased to see Cristiano’s gesture, it’s very important for me. Football is a team sport and that was a nice gesture, offering it to Karim. He deserved to get his name on the scoresheet because he put in a great performance. He links up and moves between the lines very well. The mood in the dressing room is really good,” said Zidane.

“Benzema plays with a lot of pressure on him, but he’s used to all of that. He needs that pressure to get himself in the game and link up with his teammates. He did very well. I’m pleased with the gesture that we saw from Cristiano on the penalty, it’s a real plus. Karim is Real Madrid’s number 9 and people will always demand more of him. What I’m interested in is seeing my team perform as they did today,” he added.

The BBC of Benzema, Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo completed a very good performance and could be set to start the return leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

“The BBC have always delivered. We want the players to be at 100%. They played very well today, with Lucas Vázquez as well. They all put in fantastic performances and I’m thrilled with the contribution of the four of them, they’re very focused. I won’t answer questions about the BBC being untouchable. Everyone is extremely focused and that’s the most important thing,” explained Zidane.

The team has been playing good football lately and appear to have regained some of their confidence. If they can keep this up, they will compete for the Champions League title.

“These types of games help you from a confidence point of view. We’ve been playing much better since the game against PSG. I think perhaps we needed a performance like that. We want to keep up this fine run and continue playing well. We know we have to give 100% every time we step out on to the pitch,” concluded Zidane.