We are here to fight to win everything – the coaches, the players, the staff. We’ve played Borussia Dortmund in this competition before – and lost. I am happy for him, not just for today’s game, that ovation is for the work he has done before.
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Madrid will be massively boosted by the return of Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since the Portuguese suffered knee ligament damage in the final of Euro 2016.
He added: “After the worldwide break I needed to think about rotating things”.
The forward, who scored the decisive penalty in the shootout win over Atletico Madrid in last season’s final, returned to club football on Saturday following an injury lay-off and scored in the 5-2 thrashing of Osasuna. Talks which were apparently planned between the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes, and Florentino Perez reportedly started following Cristiano Ronaldo having said last June that he could see himself playing until he was 40.
The constant comparisons made between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo get a bit tiresome after a while – including for both players who are constantly asked about the other. “But anything can happen in a game”.
“He’s been out for 60 days, that’s a very long time for a footballer”. That’s a lot of time for a player.
“What does it matter to me what Xavi says, he played in Qatar or I don’t know. He always speaks well of us and his love for us”. Sporting is his club, he grew up there so it’s to be expected. “Once the whistle goes he will be focused on what he has to do, as he always is on the pitch”.
Karim Benzema also made his return as a substitute at the weekend and could feature again against Sporting, while the likes of Marcelo, Dani Carvajal and Casemiro could all return to the starting line-up.
The competition for places is bigger than ever at the Santiago Bernabeu and Zidane has admitted that making the lists have become into a selection headache for him.
They are clear favorites with Nairabet to win after 90 minutes at odds of (1.20). The players understand that. He only played someone else when one of the eleven was out.
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“It isn’t just what I think”.
