Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane reportedly blasted his squad in the aftermath of his team’s win against Sporting CP in the Champions League. The last gasp victory over the Portuguese side made Zidane furious and unhappy with his team’s performance on the pitch.
As reported by Marca, Zidane was furious after the game and made sure that the whole dressing room knew that their performance was far from acceptable. The reason for the Frenchman’s anger was the lack of intensity shown by the Los Blancos in the first half.
Trending
The French coach also noted that they were extremely lucky to win the game and Sporting were far superior to Real that night.
Zidane reminded his players that all their opponents have a special motivation to try and defeat Real Madrid who are defending champions and some players must improve their performance in order to save their place in the starting lineup.
The Champions League opener was supposed to be an easy affair for the defending champions. Instead, they were staring at a shock defeat at the hands of the Portuguese side after Bruno Caesar put Sporting in front early in the second half.
The Spanish side desperately searched for an equaliser throughout the second half, until Cristiano Ronaldo found the net from a sublime free kick in the 89th minute. Alvaro Morata then saved his team’s blushes by scoring a winner late into the stoppage time.
The result will ease the pressure on Madrid before their match against Borussia Dortmund on September 27.
Sporting Scare should serve as a warning, says Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo said that the game against Sporting should serve as a warning after the Los Blancos staged a late escape to seal all three points in the opening fixture of their Champions League defense.
"This is what Real Madrid is all about and comebacks like these form part of the mystique of this stadium - but this needs to be a warning for the future," Ronaldo told reporters after the game.
"We can't be as soft as we were because teams will walk all over us. For me, Sporting's performance was not a surprise."
Ronaldo scored against Sporting Lisbon in the 89th minute to level the game before Morata scored the late winner in 94th minute. The Portuguese, however, chose not to celebrate the goal against his first club, which was his third against his former clubs.
For more articles like this and all the news related to the wide world of football, please click here
