Real held by Villarreal as Zinedine son makes debut
Year of opening: 2013
Key events in the past: 2014 Winter Olympics, 2014 Winter Paralympics, 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup Distance from airport: 10km from Sochi airport Places of interest: Sochi’s quay, Mount Akhun, Krasnaya Polyana mountain cluster, Agura waterfalls. Year of opening: 2013
Key events in the past: 2017 Confederations Cup, 2013 Summer Universiade, 2015 World Aquatics Championships Distance from airport: 30km from Kazan airport Places of interest: Kazan Kremlin, Kazanka river banks, Tatarstan national museum.
Real Madrid’s final Champions League rehearsal was running perfectly until Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted and Villarreal scored twice to snatch a 2-2 draw on Saturday. Gareth Bale and Ronaldo put Real in control but the Portugese, along with Luka Modric, was taken off after the hour and Villarreal came surging back.
It was two substitutes that did it, Roger Martinez unleashing a stunning strike into the top corner before Samu Castillejo struck the equaliser five minutes from time. Castillejo took advantage of some hesitation from Luca Zidane, Zinedine Zidane’s 20-year-old son, who was making his debut for Real in goal.
“I am happy for his debut, it is an important day for him and his coach,” Zidane senior said afterwards. “For his father, we will see what he says at home.”
MADRID:
The draw means any hopes Real had of snatching La Liga’s runner-up spot off city rivals Atletico are ended but their attention will quickly turn to Liverpool and next weekend’s showdown in Kiev.
Villarreal jump above Real Betis into fifth.
If Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had been spying for signs of weakness he would have found few in the opening hour, when Real looked slick, clinical and set for a comfortable victory.
But, defensive frailties were exposed again and perhaps this result underlines that if Ronaldo can be neutralised, this is still a team that is far from unbeatable.
“We are ready,” Zidane said. “We have not had any injuries today and we are ready to play our last match and our final.”