Zidane: “Lucas and Asensio have been playing because they deserve it”

Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio have been crucial players for Zinedine Zidane lately. Both men started on the return leg against Paris Saint-Germain and they also featured in the team’s starting lineup when Real Madrid hosted Girona last night. Zidane says that they’ve earned their spot.

“The fact that Lucas and (Marco) Asensio have been playing of late is because they deserve to. They’re performing well and I value the job that they both do, the same goes for all of the other members of the squad,” said Zidane.

The French coach wasn’t too happy with the defensive performance of his team given that Madrid conceded no less than three goals, something they must take care of when the tie against Juventus kicks off.

“We’re in good shape, but we’ve got to look at the finer details. We’re happy with the win and to have scored six, but we’re not pleased about conceding three goals and all from set pieces. We were aware just how much of a threat they were from deadball situations. The goals owed to a lack of concentration on our part. Just after we’d scored, they came pouring forward straight away,” explained Zidane.

Cristiano Ronaldo got some praise from his coach after the four goals he scored.

“He’s a very important player for us. He transmits an important and positive energy to the group. He knows himself very well and knows when he has to stop a little. He’s always in very good form come the end of the season. He’s got an eye for goal and he’ll never lose that. Cristiano has scored 22 goals, three behind Messi and hopefully he can catch him, it’s important for him and for us too. When he’s playing well, the team plays well,” revealed Zidane.

“He’s unbelievably ambitious and that comes across in every training session and in everything he does on the pitch. If he has a penalty in training, he will take it with the maximum concentration. It’s what makes him different from the rest. He’s an important player for our team, but others help him a lot. For example, the move with Karim or Lucas Vázquez’s goal. We scored amazing goals today and that’s down to the whole team,” he concluded.