Zinedine Zidane ‘angry’ after Real Madrid throw away victory

Wednesday’s marquee contest featured Real Madrid in a battle with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund to decide who would finish first in Group F.

“Yes [I still want to play for Real], it’s a promise I made to my grandfather”, he told the beIN Sports cameras after facing Los Blancos in Madrid in the final round of Champions League group fixtures.

“We had that game in our hands, but that’s football”. We did not play some actions very well when we had the chance to counter against two or three Real players. You assume we’ve done some kind of tactical calculation but we haven’t.

Sevilla made the last 16 for the first time in seven years after soaking up the pressure to draw 0-0 away to Lyon.

“Juventus, for two reasons”, said the former Juve midfielder.

“The fans too because they are always behind the team, they are always cheering”. Zidane congratulated Dortmund on finishing first and felt it deserved the first place across the six matches.

Real had many chances to finish off the match, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The Portugal captain had a frustrating first half, summed up by a kick-out at Schmelzer, which Polish referee Szymon Marciniak deemed underserving of a yellow card.

Vladlen Yurchenko had been out injured since April but marked his return in spectacular fashion with a long-range opener and Julian Brandt added a second three minutes after the break. Mario Lemina controls the ball and weaves into the front of the area, ending up with Gonzalo Higuain slotting in the loose ball.

It was Higuain’s first goal since scoring on November 2 against Lyon. Some great footwork from Lemina as Juve take the advantage at home. Juve hold on to the 2-0 victory.

Two goals from Karim Benzema, the second his 50th in his 88th Champions League appearance, appeared to put the home side in control.

Bayer Leverkusen finally scored from a penalty this season, although it needed help from the opposing goalkeeper, in a 3-0 victory over Monaco. England’s Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to beat Russia’s CSKA Moscow 3-1 to claim a slot in the Europa League.

They were stuffed 5-0 at Porto but Claudio Ranieri’s men had already done enough prior to win Group G. “To have progressed to the next stage from a group that included Barcelona, Celtic and Borussia Moenchengladbach is fantastic because we are still relatively new to this competition and these are experienced, top clubs”.

In the end, Madrid did go to out to try to win, but Dortmund’s youthful zest and refusal to lie down earned them a result and likely an easier tie in next week’s last-16 draw. The Spanish team qualify for the knockout stage behind winners Juventus.