Real Madrid have coolly lapped up five victories in a row using largely the same pool of players and they\u2019ll look to make it six when they take on Granada at home on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Los Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane was asked in his pre-match press conference about this next opponent and the difficulties they pose.<\/p>\n
He said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very very important match because this is a team that\u2019s having a very very good season. We know we\u2019re facing a very tough opponent tomorrow. There is not a single easy match in this league, but even more so tomorrow against this team that\u2019s playing so well. When you play against a team that defends more, it\u2019s more difficult. When you face teams that attack, it can be easier with more space. But, I don\u2019t think Granada will defend very deep tomorrow. This is a team that also knows how to play football and attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about his lack of rotations in recent weeks, Zidane started chuckling and replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou make me laugh, in a good way though. If I make rotations then you ask why I\u2019m making them. If I don\u2019t then you ask me why I\u2019m not. The team is playing well and the players are prepared. Given that there are so many matches, they\u2019ll all have to be ready for when it\u2019s their turn to play. But, I\u2019m counting on all my players. With some more than others, but I\u2019m counting on them all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Refereeing controversy was next brought up, following the no-call on Sergio Ramos\u2019 handball against Eibar, and Zidane was asked for his thoughts on Ronald Koeman\u2019s criticism of VAR. On that, the coach said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s true that there\u2019s a lot of talk when something happens to us, that just happens with Real Madrid. It\u2019s annoying because I never get involved in the refereeing. The referees are part of the game. They can make mistakes, like the players and like all of us in life. With respect to the comments from Koeman, I\u2019m not saying anything as I\u2019m just thinking about tomorrow\u2019s game.\u201d<\/p>\n
This Tuesday being the day that the Christmas Lottery was held in Spain, Zidane was queried on which player he would sign for the club had Real Madrid possessed the winning ticket. To this he diplomatically replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019d like the money to be kept for another thing. The situation is complicated. So, we\u2019re not going to ask for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"