Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Madrid can’t rest on lead
REAL Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane insists his players have no intention of sitting back on their 3-0 lead over city rivals Atletico at Vicente Calderon when they look to secure a place in the Champions League final.
A hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabeu last week means the holders are very much on course for Cardiff next month, barring one of the most unlikely comebacks.
Nevertheless, Zidane maintains Los Blancos have to head into the tie with the same mindset which saw them dispose of Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals and keep the pressure on at the top of LaLiga with a 4-0 win at relegated Granada.
“Our idea doesn’t change and our way of playing is always to give our best. The message to the players is to continue on the path that we are on and give everything out on the field. We are not going to change the way we play,” Zidane said.
“We will try to go in to the game as we have been doing so far. You have to go out on to the field, try to play and do your best to win the game.”
No side has ever recovered from a two-goal deficit in the semi-finals, while it is sure to be an emotionally-charged atmosphere in what will be the last European tie at Atletico’s intimidating home before the club moves to the state-of-theart Wanda Metropolitano.
Zidane, though, will not let any talk of a Vicente Calderon swansong cloud the thinking of his team.
“I only focus on what we have today. Things from the outside don’t interest me. The players and I are only thinking about the game,” he said.
Juventus’ 2-1 win over Monaco last night sealed a 4-1 aggregate result which books their place in the final in Cardiff.