Zidane: “It’s important not to lose”

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane talked to the press after the team’s 2-2 draw at Villarreal and wanted to remain positive and highlight that his players scored the equalizer twice during the game.

“We came in lacking a bit of intensity and that’s always very important. However, I want to stay positive and our reaction was good because it’s important not to lose,” said Zidane in the post-match press conference.

Real Madrid looked like they were going to earn the lead right when Villarreal found their second goal.

“We were playing well when we conceded the second goal. Our first 15 minutes were not good but then the team woke up and we deserved to score more than them, but there’s an opponent playing and we have to improve defensively because we know what we can do on offense,” explained the Frenchman.

Zidane used Benzema and Jovic together for the first time and left Modric on the bench. Still, Madrid did not create many quality chances.

“It was the plan today, playing against this team, knowing they had problems in the center. We wanted more of a presence forward with Luka and Karim. We didn’t get the goals we were looking for, but it’s a system we can use because we’ve got two good forwards,” said Zidane.

Ramos made a big mistake which led to Villarreal’s opening goal but Zidane did not want to talk about it.

“These things happen in football, I want to highlight the reaction from our team. Now we have to think about the next game,” concluded Zidane.