Zidane has his charges primed
Real boss hails Bale, Asensio after opening win
Coach Zinedine Zidane praised scorers Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio after Real Madrid got its La Liga campaign off to a strong start with a 3-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Real’s boss was without injured starting forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema but a trip to a ground that has caused the club plenty of problems in the past got off to a flying start when Bale headed home in the second minute.
A sens io doubled the lead five minutes before halftime with a splendid lob and Bale put an extra shine on the win with another tally in injury time.
Bale returned to preseason training later than most of his teammates due to reaching the semifinals of Euro 2016 with Wales, which Zidane said made his dominant performance even more impressive.
“I’m delighted for him because he’s behind the rest of the players in terms of fitness, but you couldn’t tell,” said Zidane.
“He started in the best way possible, scoring an early goal, because this is a difficult ground if you don’t take your chances.
“He has said this is going to be an important year for him and he is already proving it.”
While Bale is in his fourth campaign since joining Real from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, Asensio was making his league debut for the European champion after an impressive loan spell at Espanyol.
The Spaniard, who signed from Mallorca last year, was chosen ahead of Isco and James Rodriguez and scored the best goal of the game, bringing down Raphael Varane’s long pass before producing an effortless chip over Sociedad goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
“It hurts my head choosing who to play, but I have to decide and he started and did very well,” Zidane said of Asensio.
“He is working hard and he has talent and quality. He is great on the ball and moving between the lines. His goal was stunning.”
Zidane is facing his first full season in charge of the club after leading Real to the UEFA Champions League title in May, little more than four months after succeeding Rafael Benitez.
“I have a lot of quality players, but they are all doing well, not just in attack, but at the back too, where we conceded few chances and kept a clean sheet,” the coach added.
Sociedad manager Eusebio Sacristan blamed himself for the heavy home defeat.
“The person most responsible for what happened is me, and if we are capable of facing up to Real Madrid, that is my responsibility,” he said.
“The players are absolutely committed, but it’s clear we have to work hard to improve and correct our errors as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Alaves after a crazy finish to their game at the Vicente Calderon.
Diego Simeone’s side won a debatable penalty three minutes into stoppage-time when Victor Laguardia was adjudged to have fouled Fernando Torres and summer signing Kevin Gameiro netted from the spot.
But there was still time for Manu Garcia to equalize for the newly promoted visitors with their first shot on target.