Zidane: “You’ll find out tomorrow how Hazard will be used in this game”

Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane were able to breathe a sigh of relief with their Clásico victory on Saturday, but now attention already turns to the Champions League and to Tuesday night’s match away at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Having lost in the first matchday, there’s a need for Los Blancos to put points on the board in their group.

Previewing the match in Monday night’s press conference, Zidane said: “We’re happy with what we did in the Clásico at the weekend as we had a good match as a team for the entire 90 minutes. There are games every three days and now we play another difficult team. If we have another strong 90 minutes then we can achieve a positive result.”

One of the big question marks coming into this game is Eden Hazard, who was a surprise inclusion in the travelling squad. It remains to be seen if he’ll play in this match and for how long, especially because Zidane was vague when asked about this. The coach said: “If Hazard is in the squad then that means he is well and that’s good news. We’re all happy to have him with us. You’ll find out tomorrow how he will be used in this game.”

Another selection decision will have to be made at right-back because Dani Carvajal, Álvaro Odriozola and Nacho are all out injured. Asked about that position, the coach replied: “It’s true that we’ve had problems at that full-back spot, but there are other players who can come in and there won’t be any problems. The season is long and we’re going to need everyone to contribute at some point. I’ve always believed that.”

Finally, Zidane was asked once again about the VAR controversy from El Clásico and all the chatter that has followed in the two days since that game. On that, he said: “No, what is said doesn’t annoy me. We’re just happy with what we did and how we played well as a team. That’s what we need to do again tomorrow. We have to focus and fight because it’ll be a tough game. We’re focussing on that.”