Zidane: James anger normal

Zinedine Zidane insists James Rodriguez’s “anger is normal” after the Real Madrid midfielder reacted badly to being substituted against Leganes.

Television cameras caught James slapping his seat on the substitutes’ bench after he was brought off with 20 minutes remaining at Butarque, where Madrid won 4-2, but Zidane assured he had “nothing against” the Colombian.

“Asensio? He had a great game, we know his quality,” the Coach said after the game.

“All the players are making it difficult for me, they’re all doing well and we’re going to need them all. There’s talk about substitutes and starters, but we’re all in the same boat.

“Rotations? It wasn’t a daring bet for me, it was normal, they’re all doing fine and I have the possibility of changing many players. It’s true that I’m happy, but I have a very good team.

“James? I didn’t talk to him, it’s normal that you don’t want to go off and that you want to play for 90 minutes, but these are things that happen and it’s case closed.

“He played well and I’ll stick with that. I have nothing against James, on the contrary. It’s true that he leaves a lot on the pitch, but he’s attacking and [the players] work a lot.

“It also happens with Karim [Benzema]. I’m happy with [James] and I’m his anger about being replaced is normal.

“I do things for the good of the team, I understand his anger and he’ll continue to be important.

“The goals we conceded? We started the game very well, but in two minutes everything changed.

“Not only did we concede, but there was a lack of concentration, although in the second half we controlled the game better.”

Tags James Rodriguez Zinedine Zidane
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