Following a 3-3 draw at the Polish Army Stadium against Legia Warsaw in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, Real Madrid ended up with an embarrassing record under manager, Zinedine Zidane. The three goals that the defending champions conceded was the highest number of goals under Zidane in a competitive game.
Madrid, who had a two-goal lead at one point in time, would have been hoping to canter to a win against a Legia side who had lost their first three matches of the group stages. Los Blancos were saved by Mateo Kovacic's precise finish in the 85th minute to earn a point for his side.
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Gareth Bale, who had a brilliant start to the game, gave Madrid a first-minute lead as he unleashed a ridiculous shot from just outside the box. In the 35th minute, he ran at the Legia defence and set up Karim Benzema to put his side well on top.
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However, a brilliant finish by Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe before half-time gave some hope to the home side. Miroslav Radovic's and Thibault Moulin's second-half goals scripted an almost-perfect comeback for the Militarians.
The match was played behind closed doors following crowd trouble during Legia's opening Champions League fixture against Borussia Dortmund. It might have seemed like it was an advantage to Madrid, who did not have to face the home fans, however, their squandering of a two-goal lead has left Zidane fuming.
We lacked intensity, says Zidane
“I wanted to win the game, the players too. We also could have lost, the way it went. I cannot say much more to analyse what happened, it was a very strange game. We lacked a bit of everything, especially intensity, everything, above all after we had scored twice,” Zidane said.
Since taking up the role of Madrid manager in January 2016, Zidane has had a good record for the club, having lost only two games and with a win percentage of 74.42. Although this game might have been entertaining to the neutrals, Zidane will be concerned with his team's inability to maintain the lead.
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Madrid keeper, Keylor Navas, who had an excellent Champions League campaign last season conceding just three goals in 11 appearances, has conceded five goals in the last three games for his side. Navas will know that he should have done better to keep out Radovic's goal which sneaked under him as he put in the dive.
With two more games to go in the group stages, Madrid are yet to seal a place in the knockout stages as they lie in second place in the table, two points behind leaders, Dortmund. Zidane will be looking to rally his troops for the upcoming fixtures and ensure that his team does not set more unwanted records.
