Las Palmas vs Real Madrid - 'BBC' can still do better, insists Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane
Posted Friday, September 23, 2016 by PA
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is happy with the contribution from his fearsome 'BBC' strike force but believes Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo have room for improvement.
Bale and Ronaldo both enjoyed extended campaigns at the European Championship with Wales and Portugal respectively and their progress has also been hampered by injuries.
Bale missed the win over Espanyol last weekend with a hip problem while Ronaldo missed the opening weeks of the season in LaLiga with the knee problem he suffered in the Euro 2016 final, while he has also struggled with a bout of illness.
Benzema's pre-season was affected by a back problem but all three lined up in the 1-1 draw with Villarreal on Wednesday night, as Real's run of 16 consecutive league victories stretching back to March 2 came to an end.
The trio looked well below par, but Zidane refused to criticise any of them as he addressed the Spanish media ahead of Saturday's trip to Gran Canaria to take on Las Palmas.
"The 'BBC' are playing well but they can do better," he said.
"That's always going to happen. Even when they all score they can still play better. I wasn't happy with the first half against Villarreal, not just because of them but because of the whole team.
"I'll never call out a single player, I'll speak with them in person.
"Ronaldo just gets better with age. If we start talking about him I won't be able to stop. He's a quality player who knows how to score goals."
Real maintained their three-point lead at the top of LaLiga despite the draw with Villarreal, as Barcelona could only match that result at home to Atletico Madrid later the same evening.
Almost more significant than the result at the Nou Camp was the sight of Lionel Messi limping off with what was diagnosed as an adductor muscle injury. The club say he will be out for three weeks.
Asked if Real's bitter rivals were worse without Messi, Zidane said: "Yes. But I don't really like that word. He is a great player and it is normal that the club will lose something without him."
Zidane also has injuries to contend with and must come up with a tactical solution to cover the loss of defensive midfielder Casemiro with a fractured fibula.
He was forced off in the 19th minute of the win over Espanyol and there is no obvious like-for-like replacement, but Zidane insists it will not alter the way his team play.
"Our vision is the same," he added.
"Obviously some things will change because whoever replaces him won't be the same player but our idea remains the same: to keep the ball and play in the opponent's half.
"The idea is the same regardless of who's on the pitch."
Fellow Brazilian Marcelo limped off against Villarreal and is set to be out for two weeks, but in the credit column Los Blancos can welcome back Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas for the first time this season following an ankle injury. He will now compete with Kiko Casilla for the number one shirt.
Las Palmas started the season with back-to-back wins after their promotion to the top flight. They lost in heartbreaking fashion at Sevilla, having led until the 89th minute, and life is looking much less rosy for the Canary Islanders after a midweek 4-1 hammering away to Real Sociedad.
"I hope that defeat on Wednesday doesn't affect us," coach Quique Setien told the Spanish media at a press conference.
"The first goal hurt us very much. We lacked a bit of aggression and discipline and that weakened us a lot in defence.
"The team is going to be committed for every ball and in each move (against Real Madrid), that is what we can promise.
"I hope the crowd will support us and be aware of the difficulty these opponents pose us."
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