Real Madrid start their path in the Champions League, a competition they won last year, against Sporting Lisbon, a tough team. Zinedine Zidane spoke in press conference before the game and gave all the credit to the Portuguese side: “We have a rival who plays football really well and they are going to fight”.
It will be a special game for Cristiano Ronaldo and Zidane has confirmed that the Portuguese will play the 90 minutes: “It’s a special moment for him, he grew up there, but he’s very professional”. The striker is now fully recovered after his injury and he will play from the beginning.
Is Real Madrid favourite to win again the title? No one has won back to back Champions League titles, but Los Blancos will try: “Everybody here knows that the goal is to win the next game. We’re here to fight. The Champions League is a goal we want to fight for. It’s not going to be easy. Every single game will be complicated”.
Zidane doesn’t want to see the big picture and his idea is to focus in the next game: “Everybody expects us to win again and they are going to be very exigent. The plan is going day by day, with the work we’re doing we’ll have more options to reach the goal”.
After winning two Champions League in three years, the main goal looks La Liga title. Zidane doesn’t want to focus in just one tournament: “Daily life is what motivates me. You get ready to win for the things you’re doing daily. I’m happy because the players know, they know the daily things are the most important to win. Both [competitions] are important”, he said in press conference.
Finally, Zidane spoke about the players who won’t be in the list to face Sporting Lisbon. Marco Asensio and Isco, for instance, were ruled out for the game: “It’s not easy but they understand. For me the group is the most important thing and they understand. Always one footballer will play more than the other. I’m not going to lie to them but the most important thing for me is that everybody should have minutes”.
