Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said that the points taken from the game against Sporting Gijon was the only positive and that he would be happy to move from the disappointing performance.
Los Blancos continued their stellar start to the 2016/17 season in La Liga with a 2-1 victory over a tame Sporting Gijon side. However, Real’s performances have been below par as compared to other games, and manager Zinedine Zidane was not one to hide his thoughts in the post-match press conference.
“I’m not very happy with how we played,” Zidane said according to ESPN. “But that can happen sometimes. Above all as we had the game in our hand. We could have made it three or four, but instead they scored and they went in at half-time feeling better.”
The Frenchman also blamed the weather and the lack of concentration for the woeful performance.
“Then there was a lot of rain, and less concentration. We made it difficult for ourselves. It was a game to forget for us. We lacked a bit of everything, but we are happy with the three points, that is the important thing. We remain top of the table, keep on our good run, and we’ll move on now.”
Cristiano Ronaldo looked to have sealed the contest for Madrid when his diving header found its way back into the net preceded by a calm penalty, early in the first half.
Just as the hosts were looking to build on their one-goal advantage, Carlos Carmona pulled one back for relegation-threatened Sporting before half-time. Despite few late flourishes from Gijon in the dying stages, Real managed to hold on to extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points.
Madrid next host third-tier La Cultural Leonesa at the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening in a Copa del Rey last 32 second leg, before they head to the Camp Nou next weekend to take on second-placed Barcelona. The Catalan side play Real Sociedad on Sunday and will be looking to bring the deficit back to four points.
