Zidane says Real deserved point after Gladbach fightback
MÖNCHENGLADBACH,
Germany: Zinedine Zidane insisted Real Madrid deserved a point after Casemiro scored a last-gasp equaliser as the Spanish giants fought back from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday and avoid a fourth straight Champions League defeat.
Marcus Thuram’s double put Gladbach on course for a famous victory until Real roared back with late efforts from Karim Benzema and Casemiro – three minutes into added time – to salvage a point.
But Real remain at the bottom of Group B after their shock 3-2 home defeat by a depleted
Shakhtar Donetsk side in last week’s opener.
Zidane’s side also lost both legs of last season’s round-of-16 exit at the hands of Manchester City.
“For me, this draw is not a relief, it’s a deserved result,” said Real coach Zidane.
“We had an opponent who had us in trouble on two or three occasions, but we didn’t panic and came back with character.
“If we continue to play like that, we’ll do great things and we’ll win matches – that’s for sure.”
Shakhtar sit two points clear at the top of the table after a goalless draw with Inter Milan in Tuesday’s earlier Group B encounter.
Despite having more than 60 per cent possession, Real rarely troubled Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer until the frantic final scenes.
“Real Madrid are one of the best teams in the world and we should have known they’d throw everything at us,” said Thuram.
“We have to learn from this experience.”
Real were heading for another defeat six days after losing to Shakhtar, as Thuram netted twice for Gladbach, either side of half-time.
But Casemiro set up Benzema to reduce the deficit in the 87th minute and the Brazilian midfielder then scored himself deep in injury time. — AFP