Zinedine Zidane admitted Karim Benzema was ‘angry’ about his substitution during Valencia-Real Madrid but insisted “it’s normal”.
Benzema was visibly frustrated with Zidane’s decision to replace him with Marco Asensio for the final 20 minutes of Madrid’s 4-1 win at Valencia on Saturday, the striker noticeably throwing his coat to the ground when it was offered to him.
“We beat a difficult team at a difficult stadium,” the Coach said after the game.
“We did well for the whole match, although we suffered a bit at the beginning of the second half and then Keylor helped us a lot.
“The good thing about football is that when something bad happens, there’ll be a match in a few days’ time, and that’s what happened today, at an important stadium, where we played with character.
“Benzema’s reaction? All players get angry when they’re taken off because they want to play. It’s normal and I understand it.
“Asensio, Lucas and Mateo? They contributed with effort, physicality and quality.
“All three participated in our goals with assists, and I’m very happy with them. That’s why you make substitutions.”
