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Zinedine Zidane says his Real Madrid players are ready for their Champions League last-16 tie with Roma after watching his side beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Los Blancos beat the Basque outfit 4-2 to move a point behind Barcelona in the league, although the Catalan outfit have two games in hand. Ronaldo scored twice while Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez also netted in the win – Zidane’s fifth is six games since taking over as boss.

The only downside was a red card for Raphael Varane who received two bookings and was given his marching orders seven minutes from time.

At his press conference afterwards, Zidane said: “We are ready for the game on Wednesday in Rome. We are doing well in terms of fitness and play. I am happy with what we did against very good opponents. The important thing for us is to perform at our top level and win games. Over 90 minutes there are always difficult moments. I am more or less happy with all of our games.”

Asked for this thoughts on the red card, Zidane said he thought it appeared to be harsh – the second yellow was for an innocuous looking aerial challenge.

“I am not worried. He is a young player, we are gradually going to ask more of him. What I want to see with players that make mistakes is that they realise the next time what they have to do correctly. However, he looks to be doing well. I don’t think his sending off was fair, I didn’t see the images but they told me that it was a normal jump,” he commented.

With much debate going on in the media at the moment about whether Ronaldo has seen his best days, the boss was asked what he thought of his star man.

And he responded: “You are here to assess if he is doing well or not but today he once again showed that he is, I don’t know if I can say it, doing f……. well.”

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Former Real Madrid striker Antonio Cassano has admitted he was ‘an idiot’ when he played for the club and was too distracted by off-field temptations to be a success.

The Italian spent two unsuccessful years in the Spanish capital but never established himself in the side due to poor form and injuries. The forward is now enjoying a renaissance back in Italy where he is playing for Sampdoria.

But having played for some of the biggest clubs in the world including Inter Milan and AC Milan, he admits he could have done better with his career.

Reflecting on his time in Madrid, the 33-year-old told AS: “At Real I played very little and obviously it was my fault. But they also had very strong players like Ronaldo, Zidane and Raul.

“I remember when I received the call to tell me that Los Blancos were interested in me. At first, I didn’t believe it but then I realised it was not a joke when Florentino Perez was put on the phone. I couldn’t refuse the deal. So many people would pay their own money to play for Real Madrid with the Galacticos. Only an idiot would have behaved like I did.”

He then went on to admit the off-field distractions were too much for him.

“I was young. Football, sex and then food was perfect. Those were the best things. When you are young and you like girls and have the chance to do it every day, it was great. I had that chance. I was Cassano the Madrid player. Nobody would have looked at me if I had any other job, only my mother because I’m a good guy but I’m not handsome,” he commented.

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Ronaldo and Kovacic vs Athletic
Cristiano Ronaldo runs with the ball during the match Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao GERARD JULIEN/AFP/Getty Images

Real Madrid put pressure on Barcelona as they beat Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo (2), James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos.

Zinedine Zidane men didn’t play their best game, as the hosts controlled possession during most of the time. But Los Blancos were more effective and extended their perfect run at the Santiago Bernabeu since Zidane took on the manager job.

Los Merengues took an early lead as Benzema sent a pass into Ronaldo, who beat his full-back and fired one into the top corner with only two minutes on the scoreboard.

It didn’t take long for Athletic to level. Eight minutes later, Raphael Varane made a terrible mistake when trying to pass the ball back to Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican was only able to tip it into the path of Eraso, who netted from close range.

Aritz Aduriz had two superb chances for completing the visitors’ come-back. First, he was brilliantly denied by Navas after sending a great header to the top corner. Minutes later, his shot hit the bar after receiving a pass from Balenziaga.

Athletic exerted a high pressure on Real, and Los Blancos struggled to control possession. However, James Rodriguez rescued the hosts in their worst moment.

The Colombia international showed his quality with a superb shot from almost 30 metres. Iraizoz was unable to stop the midfielder’s effort into the bottom corner.

Right before the break, Toni Kroos made it 3-1 after receiving a pass from Ronaldo inside the box and firing one past Iraizoz.

Athletic kept fighting in the second half and had several chances to shorten Los Blancos lead. Aduriz was close to scoring as he found himself one-on-one with Navas, but the stopper was out to make the save.

Things became a bit more complicated for Madrid as Varane was unfairly shown a second yellow card with eight minutes to go.

However, Athletic were exhausted and Ronaldo ended up sealing the win after receiving a long cross from Lucas Vazquez and firing a super shot to the top corner. Elustondo scored in stoppage with a brilliant header to make it 4-2.

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Former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti wants to raid his old club when he takes over at Bayern Munich next season to secure the signings of Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez, according to reports.

Sport claims the Italian is already making preparations for his squad at the Allianz Arena next season and wants the pair to be part of that having worked together at Real.

Reports have suggested Robert Lewandowski could leave Bayern in the wake of Pep Guardiola moving on to Manchester City. The Poland international is believed to be thinking about a change of scene having been a huge success in Germany for the past six years. Ironically, he is most heavily linked with a move to the Spanish capital, meaning Benzema would be his replacement at Bayern should Ancelotti get his way.

The former boss, who guided Madrid to La Decima in 2014, also coached Rodriguez at Real for a year and formed a close bond with him. Los Blancos president Florentino Perez is understood to be losing patience with the Colombian and could be prepared to let him go. Sport says the president is not happy with Rodriguez’ love of the Madrid nightlife, his lack of control over his diet and a recent speeding incident that made the headlines.

With Real looking to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea in the summer, it could mean the Colombian will be allowed to move on.

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Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao preview

Mateo Kovacic and Danilo will start for Real Madrid as Los Blancos face Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga.

The Croatia international will replace Isco, who will rotate ahead of the important Champions League match against Roma on Wednesday.

With Gareth Bale still on the sidelines, James Rodriguez will start again, so the midfield line will be formed by Kovacic, Kroos, Modric and James.

In defence, Marcelo’s injury has forced Zidane to include Danilo in the lineup. He will feature alongside Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Daniel Carvajal.

This will be Real Madrid‘s starting eleven: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Danilo; James Rodriguez, Modric, Kroos, Kovacic; Benzema, Ronaldo.

Meanwhile, Athletic had the important loss of Inaki Williams, who is suspended for this game. Ernesto Valverde has chosen Eraso to replace the forward.

This will be Athletic’s starting eleven: Iraizoz; De Marcos, Etxeita, Laporte, Balenziaga; Benat, Iturraspe; Lekue, Eraso, Sabin Merino; Aduriz.

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Zinedine Zidane has called on the Real Madrid fans to get behind their team as they look to get closer to Barcelona in the table.

Los Blancos trail the Catalan side by four points although the Camp Nou outfit has a game in hand and could extend that to seven.

Real take on Athletic Bilbao this evening at San Mames and Zidane told journalists at his press conference that the players need to give everything to get the three points. He also said while the players want to make the fans happy, they also need to do their part and get behind the team.

“Athletic are a very strong team but we must continue with the same dynamic of winning as many games as possible. We know who we are playing against. The fans are very important for the players and we want to always make the people who come to watch us happy. I ask the fans to always get behind the team as they are doing. I hope that they will be happy at the end of the season,” he commented.

He added: “When you’re a manager, you never know what can happen. Now we’re playing every three days and I’ve got no more concerns other than these games. Away from home it has been a bit more difficult than at home and it’s true that we have scored a lot of goals in each of our home games, but it’s not always going to be like that.  The games are not the same and we have to give everything and prepare for each game.”

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real madrid football tactics

Zinedine Zidane will make at least two changes from last week’s starting eleven. The Frenchman will have to replace Marcelo, who will miss the game through injury, and he has also announced that Mateo Kovacic will come in to give Isco some rest.

With the Brazilian left-back on the sidelines and Danilo also injured, Zidane will most likely pick Nacho Fernandez to feature in defence alongside Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Daniel Carvajal.

Apart from including Kovacic in the lineup, Zidane is not expected to make any other changes. The Croatia international will be included in order to let Isco rest ahead of the Champions League game against Roma.

James Rodriguez will feature again in midfield, replacing injured Gareth Bale. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric will not rotate and are expected to start. As usual, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema will form the forward line, and Keylor Navas will start on goal.

This is Real Madrid’s projected starting eleven: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Nacho; James Rodriguez, Kroos, Modric, Kovacic; Benzema, Ronaldo.

Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde will make several change, since he comes into the game with five important losses. Eraso is expected to replace suspended Inaki Williams, who has been the Basques’ best player this season.

This is Athletic’s projected eleven: Iraizoz; Boveda, Etxeita, Laporte, Balenziaga; De Marcos, Benat, Iturraspe, Muniain; Eraso; Aduriz.

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Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao preview

Real Madrid will take on Athletic Bilbao on Saturday with an unusual lineup, as Zinedine Zidane will miss three of his regular starters and he will rotate Isco ahead of the Champions League game against Roma.

Gareth Bale, Pepe and Marcelo will be sidelined due to injury, just like Danilo. Zidane will make at least two changes from last week’s starting eleven. Nacho Fernandez is expected to replace Marcelo at left back.

Zidane has also confirmed that Mateo Kovacic will come in to give Isco some rest. James Rodriguez is expected to replace Gareth Bale just like in the past few games. On the other hand, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are not expected to rotate and will complete the midfield line.

Los Merengues have been very successful at the Santiago Bernabeu since Zidane took on the manager job. The have scored an average of 4.5 goals per match and they expect to continue their goal-scoring run against Bilbao.

Cristiano Ronaldo will play against one of his favourite teams. He has scored 14 goals against Athletic, ten of them at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ernesto Valverde also has important losses. Ibai Gomez, Raul Garcia and Markel Susaeta are on the sidelines. Inaki Williams and Mikel San Jose will also miss the game through suspension.

Possible lineups:

Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Nacho; James Rodriguez, Kroos, Modric, Kovacic; Benzema, Ronaldo.

Athletic Bilbao: Iraizoz: Boveda, Etxeita, Laporte, Balenziaga; De Marcos, Benat, Iturraspe, Muniain; Eraso; Aduriz.

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Ex-Barcelona president Joan Gaspart has called on Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez to be honest about why he won’t allow the Santiago Bernabeu to be the host for the final of the Copa del Rey.

Barcelona qualified for their sixth final in the past eight years after routing Valencia 8-1 on aggregate. Los Cules will likely face Sevilla in the final after the Andalucian side defeated Celta Vigo 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final.

Attention has now turn to possible venues to host the final with Madrid being an obvious choice for both sets of fans to get to easily.

Los Blancos have in the past resisted attempts for the showpiece event to be held in their stadium when Barcelona take part in the final.

And talking to AS, Gaspart called on Perez to be honest as to why he won’t allow for it to be held at the home of the 10-time Champions League winners.

He stated: “Madrid are afraid Barca will lift the Copa. If that’s the reason, they should say so, they should explain the reason to everyone. Florentino, if you don’t want Barca to play the Final there, say it publicly. If you want to annoy 10-or-12,000 Barca members and the same of Celta or Sevilla, say so.

“If Florentino doesn’t want to hear the Barca anthem four times and see me with my scarf, I’ll say ‘relax, Florentino, I won’t go.’ I’ve already sacrificed myself and this fan will stay in the bar opposite and watch the game with his friends.

“If the Spanish Football Federation asked for the Camp Nou for Madrid to play a Final, I wouldn’t deny it. We had the Champions League Final in 1999 and knew Madrid could play in it. In the end it was Manchester United and Bayern Munich but we had no doubts. We knew it wouldn’t be Barca because we’d been eliminated.”

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Athletic Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde has hailed Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and dismissed the notion the forward is on the decline.

Bilbao visit the 10-time Champions League winners this weekend and the boss says they will need to be at their very best to get anything out of the game. And he told reporters that 31-year-old Ronaldo is capable of scoring three or four goals in every game.

Some pundits and fans have suggested Ronaldo’s best days are past him and point to the fact he has scored in just two of his last six games as evidence he is on the decline. The striker has netted 30 goals in 31 games for club and country this season.

Valverde stated: “Cristiano’s decline? What is there to say? We play him, and you try not to mention anything so you don’t make him angry. He could score three or four goals in every game. It’s normal the season has low points, he’s always hungry to score…I don’t see many ups and downs. Those who are closer can have another opinion but when we face him there’s always danger in every play.”

The Bilbao manager also spoke about the change in manager at the Santiago Bernabeu, saying that no matter who is in charge, Madrid always have a strong team that can score at will.

“I don’t see big differences between one coach and another, not this soon. I just see Madrid. Over time you’ll see a little of each coach, because they’ve made changes. Their effectiveness at home is very important. They’ve scored 45 goals in their ground, an average of almost four per game, so we have to be very attentive,” he commented.

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