A ‘happy’ Zinedine Zidane believes it was ‘important’ for Cristiano Ronaldo to score his first League goal of the season during Getafe-Real Madrid.
Ronaldo netted the winner at Coliseum Alfonso Perez to move Madrid into second place, and Zidane – on his 100th match in charge of Los Blancos – says his side must now look to close the gap on Barcelona at the summit.
“We started the game very well, we had chances to score more goals,” the Coach said after the match.
“We eased off a bit in the second, but with character and the changes we made, we took hold of the match. These are three important points.
“Ronaldo? It was important that he scored his first goal [in the League]. Now we’ll see how he’s going to go from here.
“I’m happy for him, Karim, Isco, Marcelo… Little by little, I hope we get all our players back.
“We know we can score at any time, but it’s true that we found it tough at the beginning of the second half.
“With patience, however, we got back into the game. Isco came in very well and gave the pass to Cristiano. We’ll see if we can cut the deficit on the others.
“Rotations? After an international break, several players have taken part in big matches and you have to make decisions.
“The others who stayed back trained well. I’ll need everyone and everyone played very well.
“We had 10 minutes of difficulty, but it’s normal over 90 minutes. We’re going to play every three days and I have to consider this. It’s a deserved win.
“We need Isco and all our players. When he gets the chance to play, he does well. The most important thing is the team. Individualities make the difference, but it’s the team that will always win.
“Control? We started the second half poorly, opposite to the first. After that, we changed formation and players, and we found the gaps.
“Llorente and Achraf? "Achraf gives us a lot of possibilities going forward. He works hard physically.
“Marcos’ a very sincere player, he’s doing things purposefully and given defensive balance to the team. I’m happy with both of them.”
