Mohamed Salah Champions League tactics revealed by Zinedine Zidane

Posted Thursday, September 06, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Mohamed Salah Champions League tactics revealed by Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane said he didn't have tactics to deal with Mohamed Salah (Image: GETTY)

ZINEDINE ZIDANE has opened up on how Real Madrid contained Liverpool star Mohamed Salah in the Champions League final.

Real Madrid romped to a 3-1 win and the final was characterised by the blunders of Loris Karius, who has since joined Besiktas during the summer transfer window.

After steering the Bernabeu giants to their third Champions League triumph in as many seasons, Zidane sensationally quit and is still out of work.

During the final, Salah was closely marked and on the receiving end of a rough challenge from Sergio Ramos that ended his involvement after just half an hour as he hurt his shoulder.

But Zidane has revealed he didn’t give his players any special instructions to deal with the talismanic Egyptian.

“Not at all! Our game was always the same, regardless of who we were facing,” Zidane told UEFA.

"We told players about the individual characteristics of opposing players, so that they were aware of specific things that those players did.

"But I didn’t want to do too much of that, as I wanted my players to focus primarily on our own game.”

When asked what was the most special title he won during his time in the Spanish capital, Zidane said: “All three titles were fantastic. They were all special for different reasons.

"The first stands out because it was my first as a coach; the second was both symbolic and intense – with us facing Juventus and turning in an exceptional second-half performance.

"And the third topped off my three seasons as coach of Real Madrid.”

Under Julen Lopetegui this term, Real have made an excellent start collecting nine points from their first three La Liga games.

And Zidane has warned his successor that being second best won’t be accepted.

He added: “For me, there is no difference. I have always prepared for all matches with the same level of application.

“In any event, when you’re coaching Real Madrid, you have to win everything, while maintaining a certain standard of play – that’s my philosophy.”