Zinedine Zidane heaps praise on ‘f***ing great’ Real Madrid midfielders after they beat Atletico Madrid to cut the gap to Diego Simeone’s men at top of LaLiga to just three points
- Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 to cut their LaLiga gap to just three points
- Zinedine Zidane praised his midfielders, calling their performance ‘exceptional’
- Zidane heaped praise on trio Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in particular
- The boss says he is ‘enjoying’ the moment after Champions League success too
Zinedine Zidane has heaped praise on his midfield after their ‘exceptional’ performance helped Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Saturday.
Atletico turned up to the game with a six-point advantage over Madrid – having conceded just two goals in ten games – but thanks to the work of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos Zidane’s side cut gap to just three points.
The Real Madrid manager – who started the trio for the third time this season – said his team were ‘f***ing great’ and that he is ‘enjoying’ this moment.
Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Saturday to cut their LaLiga gap to just three points
Zidane, who has emerged victorious in Madrid’s last seven games against Atleti said: ‘We used [Modric and Kroos] to find the way out, it’s true. We had to do it.
‘And then playing fast from one side to the other and with diagonals, we found gaps. They’re f***ing great; they’re exceptional.
‘Karim [Benzema], too, and Lucas [Vazquez], he is phenomenal, and [Dani] Carvajal, and our captain [Sergio Ramos], [Raphael] Varane. They are all very good.’
Not only did Casemiro provide the opening goal for Real Madrid, Modric completed 87 of 90 passes throughout the game – the most in a Madrid derby since 2005-06.
Modric, Kroos and Lucas Vazquez were also effective in their pressing, which in turn restricted Atletico Madrid to just one shot on target across 90 minutes and no efforts at all before half-time.
Zinedine Zidane has praised his midfielders, saying their performance were ‘exceptional’
Zidane heaped praise on trio Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos (above) in particular
The derby victory adds to an impressive string of results for Real Madrid after they beat Sevilla 1-0 and Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0 to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
Zidane reflected on their success by saying: ‘We confirmed what we did in the two previous games.
‘We competed very well throughout the game. But we don’t have anything to celebrate because we haven’t won anything. It’s a good week.
‘I’m happy for the players because they always believe in what they do. And when they get things done I’m happy. Let’s enjoy and think about Tuesday [against Athletic Bilbao].’
