Zidane rues poor first half display against Villareal

Real Madrid Head Coach, Zinedine Zidane, was left ruing his side’s first half display after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Villareal in La Liga on Wednesday as the European Champions’ record-equaling 16-game La Liga win streak came to an end.

Zidane said he felt Madrid lacked intensity in the first half and they were ultimately punished through Bruno’s penalty kick after Sergio Ramos’ handball in first half stoppage time.

Ramos redeemed himself early in the second half with a headed equalizer and Zidane said he was pleased with the chances created by his side following the goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo made his return to the starting lineup following injury and Zidane admitted it will take time for the Portuguese to get back to his best form.

“The defensive mistakes can happen in football, this is not the worst. I would say the main problem was the first half overall. We didn’t start the game as we should, the second one it was great though. We cannot always get the three points in the last minutes. I think we can improve our first half, not the second one because we did have high intensity, we did create so many chances to score and I cannot blame my players.

“We can’t always play well from the first minute. It can happen and, in fact, it did happen the first 45 minutes.”

“We are always waiting for Ronaldo to make the difference, to be decisive. He has been important for the team and it is especially important to see him on the pitch with us. If he doesn’t score, it does not concern me, he will always want to score. But me it is not my concern, my concern is to see him on the pitch and see him slowly back to his best form. And he will score, no doubt.”