Despite admitting his side were under the cosh in the first-half, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane was a happy man after overseeing Los Blancos’ 2-1 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.
“We can be happy, satisfied with that result. It was tough at the start and we struggled to get the ball. We were better in the second half. Winning here is not easy,” Zidane told the media after the tie in Munich.
Bayern Munich defender Joshua Kimmich broke the deadlock with a fine goal midway into the first-half but Real fullback Marcelo ensured the sides would head into the interval level with a sweet strike of his own.
“We suffered in the first half. We have the motivation to do well, but we struggled. We like playing here and playing well. We started badly but finished well. They had their chances but we controlled the game.”
Post the interval, the introduction of Marco Asensio proved to be the difference as the Spanish winger took advantage of some sloppy defending by Rafinha to score what turned out to be the winner.
Keylor Navas’ positioning in the opener was criticised, with many feeling the Costa Rican went down too early, but Zidane stressed it wasn’t the custodian’s fault solely but the team’s as he insisted, “The error prior to the goal is down to all of us. We were not set up well and it was a consequence of errors, not just Keylor.”
The French tactician was wary terming the return leg a formality as he pointed out Juventus’ performance against Los Blancos in the quarters was proof that one can never take your opponents for granted.
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“We will have to fight. We are happy, but we know we have to suffer in the return leg, nothing is sorted yet. After what happened with Juve, we now we have to change things. if not, trouble will find us”.
Zidane singled out the likes of Lucas Vazquez, who ended the tie playing at right-back, and Marcelo for praise after the priceless away win.
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“In the second half, he had two or three saves and he did well. We suffered without the ball. (Franck) Ribéry was great. In the second half, even with Lucas Vázquez at right back due to (Dani) Carvajal being injured, we did well down that side. We got a good result”.
“Besides the goals he scores, he’s a key player in terms of the game plan we look to impose. He’s a difference-maker in attack,” Zidane enthused on the topic of Marcelo.
The return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu takes place on May 1.