Zinedine Zidane insists Cristiano Ronaldo was “happy” to be substituted during Real Madrid’s 5-2 win against Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
Ronaldo scored just six minutes into his return from a knee injury before being replaced on the hour mark, with Madrid 5-0 up at that point, and Zidane made it clear the No 7 had no qualms in being ejected from the match early.
“I [rotated] the team as I did for the international break and the many games that await us,” the Coach said after the game.
“Wednesday is another match. What we want is to continue our good run and put everything in every game.
“We train on set-pieces because they sometimes open up matches and are important details.
“We have players who are very good at heading, but what I value is the victory, more so with players that aren’t starters.
“We know Luka is the player he is. He doesn’t need much information because he has experience.
“I’m happy for his ovation because he deserved it. It was a response to all his work. He’s a lovely lad.
“I saw good rhythm [from Karim Benzema] and I’m content with what he did. He’s ready to start [games], although we’ll see what we do on Wednesday.
“[Ronaldo’s] happy and we all enjoyed him on the pitch. I always want him with us.
“He played an hour, and against Sporting I’ll see what happens. There’s a lot of games and we must be careful.
“[On Mateo Kovacic], the most important thing is to give him confidence, which is what a player must have when he jumps onto the pitch.
“He’s doing very well, I’m happy for him and he shows he wants to play in every training session.
“It’s very difficult to name the team, and [right-back] is the most complicated position because both [Danilo and Dani Carvajal] are great.
“I’m happy with Danilo and Carvajal fulfils [his role] every time he plays. Both will play.”
