Zinedine Zidane talked to the press after Real Madrid’s 3-7 loss to Atletico de Madrid in MetLife Stadium.
“What happened is we started the game very poorly. In a top-level match such as this we had a very bad start. We were 2-0 after eight minutes and didn’t show signs of changing anything at all. It was a very tough first half, we never got into the game. We just really lacked the intensity you need at this level. We know they scored seven goals and we can’t allow that to happen. The players are well aware and they’re disappointed. We don’t need to dwell on it, this is a preseason game. They were better in every aspect of the game and that’s all there is to it,” admitted Zidane.
Real Madrid completed a very disappointing performance against Atletico de Madrid but coach Zinedine Zidane remains positive and believes that his team will compete for titles next season.
“We’ll be motivated, I have no doubt about it. I’m convinced we’re going to have a good season. We can’t be pleased with today’s defeat, that much is clear. But I’m convinced I’ve got a team here that is going to compete at the top level. We need to rest up a bit and start thinking about the 17th of August. It’s just the way it is at this stage. This won’t change what we’re looking to achieve this season. We’re motivated and hungry to keep going. It was a friendly, but it wasn’t a friendly to Atlético. I’m sure this team will go on to achieve big things this year and we’ll see that very soon,” explained the coach.
It’s fairly clear that Los Blancos need to keep improving their squad before the end of the current transfer window. However, Zidane is not worried.
“I’m not concerned, but I’m hurt. You don’t play to lose. But we can’t be looking backwards, it was a bad game and now we have to focus on what went wrong so we can try and make sure it doesn’t happen again in the next match,” said Zidane, who appears to be looking forward to the start of the season.