Zinedine Zidane has suggested his team are well-prepared for their upcoming Champions League semifinal with Bayern Munich despite a series of shaky performances in La Liga, including Wednesday’s 1-1 home draw against Atheltic Bilbao.
Zidane admitted at the postgame news conference his team’s domestic form was not so good, but suggested they would rise to the challenge as they had in recent rounds against Paris Saint Germain and Juventus in Europe.
“This year our problem in La Liga has been like today,” Zidane said. “But we are arriving [for the UCL semis] well, physically and mentally, even if today’s result was not so good.
“Two games which were a bit poor are not going to change our positivity. We will give everything, go to the death to defend our title. Today the result was not so good, but we must be positive about what we have been doing lately.”
“There is no problem [with Bale],” Zidane claimed. “I have 25 players in the squad and must be attentive to them all. Bale is one of them and is important. He did not start today, others did and are playing well too. You keep asking but my answer on this will not change.”
Karim Benzema also again looked out of sorts during his 70 minutes on the pitch, with the Frenchman having still not scored in open play since early February.
“I have nothing to talk to him about,” said Zidane, when asked if he planned a chat with Benzema. “He is trying, and will keep trying until the end. That’s it.”
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