Zinedine Zidane insists Alaves were wrong to round up on the referee as Real Madrid’s two penalties “were clear”.
Madrid ran out 4-1 winners against Alaves on Saturday to move them top of La Liga, but their victory was marred by two penalties in their favour, the first of which involved a debatable Deyverson handball, while the striker was wrongly flagged offside in what would have been a one-on-one with Keylor Navas.
“I’m happy for our performance and how we suffered because the first half wasn’t easy, neither was the start of the second,” the Coach said after the game.
“When we show we can suffer and play with a little movement, we know what we can do. It was a difficult win for how our opponents played, but it’s a deserved win.
“Criticism of Ronaldo? I don’t have to say anything, he did his talking on the pitch.
“He scored three goals and he’s very happy, not only for his goals but also because he was very good in all aspects of the game. With work, you always get what you want.
“Morata or Benzema? They’re both doing very well. Morata scored and Benzema didn’t, but both are doing fine.
“Do Madrid play with fire? We played with a cool head. Thinking you won’t win at Madrid doesn’t exist.
“The referee? I don’t talk about referees, either for or against them, but the two penalties were clear.
“A bigger win than Madrid deserved? Maybe for how Alaves worked. The four goals were a little hard on them.
“Pepe? When we go back to Madrid, we’ll do an MRI on him and see the results.
“I can’t say anything about his recovery time, so the only thing I can do is continue working with all players that are ready and for him to come back as soon as possible.”
