Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane while explaining his side’s home draw in Wednesday’s Cup fixture once again defended his players.
A Lucas Vazquez brace helped send a very unconvincing Real Madrid to the Copa del Rey quarterfinals after a 2-2 draw in their Round of 16 second leg with second division side Numancia on Wednesday night at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.Real 2-2 Numancia: Los Blancos held in Copa Dey Rey
The result gave Real a 5-2 win on aggregate after last week’s 3-0 first-leg triumph in Soria. the underfire Zidane who has previously insisted that he thinks the current squad is good enough repeated that rhetoric again in his post-match briefing.
“I’m pleased with everyone’s performance, I’m happy for the guys who get less time on the pitch and I’m thrilled to have come through the tie. I’m pleased with the team’s performance and with the tie as a whole. We’re in the quarter-finals and that’s that. “I don’t think it’s a case of lacking rhythm. The opposition is important in football, they can make life difficult for you. You have to stay switched on at the end of both halves. We didn’t play well towards the end because we were struggling a bit physically. I’d like to have won because it’s what the players deserved, but we shouldn’t lose our heads. “We’re getting back to what we know and we’ll do so calmly and with no problem at all. All the questions and what you’re saying about poor playing style… that may be the case but we’re convinced that we’re going to come out the other side. I leave here satisfied, as do the players.Florentino Perez and Zidane in transfer tussle
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“We didn’t win the Fuenlabrada match. We did the same as now: we won the first leg and we drew the second leg. We can’t be happy when we don’t win at home. But I’m pleased because it was a serious game. We can do things better, physically we have dropped off a bit at the end.” Zidane told Real’s official website
Next up for Real Madrid as they aim to return to winning ways is a home match against Villarreal this Saturday.