Zinedine Zidane asked his side to work together as Real Madrid dropped crucial points and held Las Palmas to a 3-3 draw at home on Wednesday.
Real Madrid hosted Las Palmas at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday looking to maintain their one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of the table. However, Los Blancos were in store for some disappointment as they mounted a late comeback to hold the Canary Islanders to a 3-3 draw.
The match started well for Real Madrid as Isco opened the scoring with just 8 minutes on the clock. But Tana levelled things up soon after as both sides went into half-time at 1-1, with the Zinedine Zidane’s side failing to impose themselves in the match.
Things started going downhill soon after the break. Gareth Bale was sent off just two minutes into the second half before Las Palmas scored two quick goals from Jonathan Viera and Kevin-Prince Boateng to grab a two-goal lead, but Cristiano Ronaldo managed to save face for his side thanks to a late brace to hold the visitors to a 3-3 draw.
In the aftermath of the match, Zidane expressed his disappointment at his side dropping crucial points in the race for the La Liga title but asked his players to put in a collective effort and remain positive to get back on top.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Zidane said, “We perhaps don’t have the same energy that we showed before to turn games around. Today we’ve let some crucial points slip, but we mustn’t go crazy about it. We’ll put this right by all working together.”
When asked about the race for the La Liga title, Zidane said that it has been thrown wide open in recent weeks as he asked his side to fight till the end. He said, “We are going to fight. It will be difficult right until the end, as I’ve said before and I stand by that.
“We are not top of the league any more but this league is always wide open. We will not give up the fight, this is a marathon, not a sprint and we will get through this. We have to be positive.”
The result saw Real Madrid drop down to second in the table after Barcelona handed a thumping 6-1 loss to Sporting Gijon at Camp Nou earlier in the day. Luis Enrique’s side now leads Zidane’s men by a point, with Los Blancos having a game in hand.
And, Zidane must take stock of what has been an inconsistent 2017 for his side, with Real Madrid struggling to put a string of positive results together successfully. In fact, they have won only six of their last 11 games in all competitions.
The last two months have seen Real Madrid lose their lead at the top of the table in La Liga, as well as being eliminated from the Copa Del Rey. They must now look to move on quickly from Wednesday’s disappointment as they travel to Eibar on Saturday evening in what has become a must-win game for the Spanish heavyweights.
