Zidane: “We’re ready to complete a great performance in Sevilla”

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane talked to the press ahead of Sunday’s trip to Sevilla to face Julen Lopetegui’s side. Los Blancos completed a very disappointing performance last Wednesday and will try to bounce back from that defeat with a quality win against La Liga leaders.

“We travel to what’s a tough ground for away teams. We know who we’re up against, they have been performing well since the start of the season. It’s an attractive game for us. We want to put in a good performance and that’s what we’re going to do. The players are all set and ready to deliver a great performance,” explained Zidane.

Some reports in the Spanish press published right after the loss in Paris suggested that Zinedine Zidane’s job might be in jeopardy, but the Frenchman isn’t worried.

“If I read what’s being said then I’m already out. I’m not interested in what goes on outside of here. All that I’m bothered about is what I’m going to do with the players. I feel strong. I’ve never thrown the towel in and am going to keep working and keep going up right until the last minute and up until I’m given the chance to work with my players,” said the coach.

Zidane isn’t surprised about the criticism he’s received ever since the season started. Real Madrid have not played well and some of his decisions might be questionable, but Zidane isn’t worried about the critics.

“It’s the way things go. We’ve always had difficulties, even when we’ve been winning. There have been some tough times at this club and we’ve always managed to get through them. There have been tougher times than this in the past. I’m not interested in what’s said outside of here. I’m only interested in the job I have to do. It’s in tough spells like this that your real strength comes out,” revealed the coach.

Zidane didn’t want to reveal the role he had in the past transfer window. He was asked about the club’s decision not to sign Van de Beek nor Eriksen when it seemed like they had the chance and the Frenchman just didn’t want to confirm whether he had the final decision or not.

“I’m not going to tell you whether I did or not. It’s a club issue and the squad is what it is. You’ll next be asking me about Pogba. The squad is what it is,” said Zidane.

The club legend mentioned the team’s lack of intensity as the main reason why Madrid lost 3-0 against PSG.

“There are times, like on Wednesday night, that we lacked intensity. Everything was there in the first half against Levante, when we looked really strong from the off. In Vigo, which is a tough place to go, we were clinical in everything we did. We’ll be looking to reproduce that in tomorrow’s game,” concluded Zidane.