Zinedine Zidane believes Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are “100%” fit and Real Madrid’s head coach expects both to start against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.
Ronaldo has been nursing a thigh problem and Benzema a hamstring injury. However, Zidane stated that if neither suffered reaction during the final training session at the Etihad Stadium on Monday they would be in the starting XI.
“The idea is that we want them to play. I think they’ll be fine but we’ll test. I think they’ll play,” the Frenchman said. “They’re 100%.”
While this is Real’s 27th European Cup semi-final, it is the first in City’s history. Yet Zidane believes the tie is evenly poised. “I’m not going to tell you whether a draw is a good or bad result. It’s a 50-50 game,” he said. “You can prepare all you want for a big game and then it can turn out totally different to how you envisaged it. The important thing is to give 150%.
“We can definitely win it. In 2014 there was the same atmosphere in the dressing room [when claiming La Decima]. I noticed the players were really focused, aiming for that goal. We’re in the final straight and we’re ready for anything. My idea is always we’re in this together, that’s why I bring the whole squad. We are united.
“City are a great side. If you leave them space they can hurt you. The players get between the lines and cause problems. We need to try and stop that happening.”
Gareth Bale, who should play alongside Ronaldo and Benzema, suggested City should have reached the semi-finals in the past. “If anything I’m surprised they haven’t got here earlier,” he said. “They’ve progressed over the years. They’ve been a force in the Premier League and are starting to be in Europe. Hopefully now we can stop them.”
Bale left Tottenham for Real in summer 2013 for a world record fee of around £85m. Since then he has scored in that 2014 triumph and won La Liga, Copa Del Rey and the Uefa Super Cup.
Bale said: “I don’t feel I have a point to prove. I’ve played long enough to be OK about that. We want to stamp our authority and win by as many goals as we can. It’s going to be difficult. The first legs are always a bit tense, a bit cagey. It’ll be great to score goals, but all we’re going to do is give our best. Hopefully that will be enough. Whenever I step on the pitch I try and do the best I can. We all want to work together as a team. We attack together and defend together. Whoever wins the game, if we keep clean sheets it’s for all of us to celebrate. We’re a united team.
“We’re feeling confident at the moment. We’ve not had great performances away at Wolfsburg [losing 2-0 in previous round] we’ve learned from it and corrected it. We need to impose ourselves. We’ve looked back at Wolfsburg – we need to be a bit more patient and not go for the kill straight away. We have to be smart – attack when we can.”
