Zidane praises Bale, confirms he will stay in Real Madrid

Real Madrid earned a convincing 1-3 win in the opening game of their 2019-2020 La Liga season against Celta. Coach Zinedine Zidane gave Gareth Bale the chance to start and revealed during the post match press conference that the Welshman will stay in the Spanish capital past this summer.

“He is going to stay. Every single player we have here gives us reasons to think positively about the team. We have to focus on our current season. Hazard’s injury is very bad luck and it did not change the plans we had for Bale. Gareth, James and everybody who’s with us will defend this shirt as it deserves to be defended,” said Zidane when asked about Bale.

The French coach was happy with the team’s performance.

“We completed a very good game from the get go. Also when we were down to 10 men. We struggled to get this result and we’re satisfied and happy. There won’t be many teams capable of winning here. Our preseason was tough but we worked well knowing that the important thing was the real competition,” explained Zidane.

He also praised the defensive work from his wingers.

“It’s tough to play away and we played a complete game. We did well all game long and I appreciate the effort everyone put in. Vini and Gareth’s defensive work was crucial, and the same can be said about Lucas and Isco’s. Everyone played well defensively and we know what we can do offensively,” he added.

Zidane was asked about the lack of depth he has in the midfield. Modric’s red card could expose Madrid’s weakness in that part of the field but Zidane isn’t worried.

“We will handle the season with what he have. We have the players to take care of it,” concluded the coach.