Roma not giving up after Real defeat

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was delighted with their 2-0 win at Champions League opponents Roma.

“We’re happy with the game and the result”, he said after the game, UEFA’s official website reports.

There’s not doubting how important Cristiano Ronaldo is to Real, and Portugal for that matter at worldwide level, but is it really fair to say, as Jorge Valdano has, we’ve become a “one-man” team.

“The team was stretched after the goal, it’s a problem that we have, we give up too much space”.

The visitors enjoyed the best of what chances there were in the first half but they were largely restricted to long-range efforts. “I’m happy and I’ll try to ensure the side keeps on improving”.

The closest Real came was a dipping volley from the lively Marcelo in the 33rd minute that would have been one of the best goals the competition has witnessed had the ball dropped the other side of the post.

Roma successfully executing their game plan of defence first led to a first half that would not have been popular with the neutral fans as neither side was able to hit the target with a single shot at goal. “If I touch on the physical side it’s a bad message to send to your players”. He is giving us all confidence.

Speaking ahead of the match, Benitez-who lost three league games-including a 4-0 home demolition at the hands of Barcelona-feels that Zizou has had an easy ride so far in his Real coaching career. “The last two goals for Gent weren’t so good, but we have all possibilities to go through to the next round”, Draxler said.

“The lads gave it everything, they played well but we just couldn’t score”.

We’re happy with the performance and the result. Ronaldo later walked out of the news conference after replying sharply to a question about his recent lack of away goals on the eve of Real’s last 16 first-leg clash in Rome. You cannot make little mistakes against them when we couldn’t take advantage of our chances.