Real Madrid dominated from the onset and throughout the second half of the match here on Wednesday, but its inability to capitalise on six corner kicks in 10 minutes in the first half and several other opportunities proved costly.
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Ronaldo missed Madrid’s UEFA Super Cup triumph over Sevilla and the first two games of their campaign in LaLiga due to the knee injured he suffered at Euro 2016. It’s not for the attitude but we need to work from the beginning.
He said: “We managed to change things around after the break, but the first half was not good enough”.
“On Saturday, we’ve got a hard game in Las Palmas, where we’ll give it all we’ve got to take the three points and keep ourselves at the top of the table”.
The French manager wanted to analyze the performance of the team: “We like to start the games with pressure, but we lack on that”. We can not always play well, be right at our best from the first minute. “You can not always get the three points in the last minute”. You make life hard for the opponent if you go a goal up.
The 31-year-old did not find the net against Villarreal as Madrid dropped points for the first time this season, but Zidane sees no reason for concern. We have to be more focused from the start.
Ramos atoned with a towering header from a James Rodriguez corner three minutes into the second half but despite their domination Real were unable to find the crucial victor. “In the second half there were five changes, constant time wasting on their part… it’s not an excuse but I don’t think the referee was very good in that sense”.
Madrid’s match delegate Miguel Porlan Noguera was even sent to the stands in the closing minutes after directing his frustrations at the fourth official, while referee Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez booked Dani Carvajal for protesting after the final whistle. Mistakes can happen in football.
“I can not reproach my players, I’m happy with what they are doing”.
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Finally, Zidane spoke about the differences between the Sporting Lisbon game and the one against Villarreal: “We’ve improved because the second half today was superb”.
