Zidane: I put Lucas Vázquez on the left to try to win the match

Real Madrid couldn’t get a second goal away at Leganés and were held to a 1-1 draw, even with Gareth Bale and Lucas Vázquez — two substitutes who Zinedine Zidane discussed afterwards — coming on for the final stages.

Interestingly, the Spaniard played on the left side of the pitch, an unfamiliar position for him. “It was to try to win the match,” Zidane said when asked in the post-match press conference about this decision. “When we make a change it’s to do something. It was tricky for him having to play on the left, and not having much time.”

As is the case every press conference, Bale was brought up too. “You ask me about him every time,” Zidane remarked. “He is an important player. Today I wanted to make a change and that’s that. In the end, as was the case with Lucas Vázquez, it’s hard to do something in 10 or 15 minutes.”

The coach admitted that overall he was frustrated with the performance and result. “What we have to do is try to do things better. We have to try to play better because we should play better. The first half wasn’t very good, although the second half was better. We have to give a little more in everything.”

Karim Benzema did come in for some praise, though, with the striker netting his 18th goal of this LaLiga campaign. “I think he is having a really good season, especially in terms of goals,” Zidane said of his countryman. “He’s a fantastic player and what’s changed this year is that he is scoring many more goals. He is doing well for the team, so I’m happy.”

Finally, Zidane was asked about the devastating fire in France at the Notre-Dame. After a short pause to compose himself, Zidane discussed the tragedy. “Whenever something like this happens, it’s complicated,” he replied. “I don’t wish anything like that to happen anywhere. The truth is I don’t know much about it, as we were here preparing for the match, but I hope there are no victims.”