Zinedine Zidane heaps praise on Cristiano Ronaldo for match-winning display
Saturday 26 November 2016 20:48, UK
Zinedine Zidane praised Real Madrid match-winner Cristiano Ronaldo, saying the forward can score "at any moment".
Real Madrid went to the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win over Sporting Gijon on Saturday, with Ronaldo bagging both goals after his hat-trick against Atletico Madrid last week.
Zidane heaped praise on the Portuguese, who has come under criticism this season for his form, and says he is fully fit and raring to go.
"That's what Cristiano is like, he can score goals at any moment," said Real coach Zidane.
"When he doesn't score goals everyone thinks he is not playing well. Today he scored twice and worked hard, down the wings and in the middle. He is fully recovered."
Former Real striker and current director Emilio Butragueno added: "His second goal was magisterial.
"It was like a hammer, it was a sensational header. He was decisive yet again, but even forgetting that, it's a privilege to be able to count on a player like him."
The win stretched Real's unbeaten run to 31 games, equalling a mark set by former manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Regarding the game, Zidane added: "It was a game to forget for us because nothing went how we wanted it to. We lacked a bit of everything but we're happy with the three points, which is the most important thing.
"We can't be happy with our display but sometimes this happens. Above all I'm annoyed because we had the game in our hands and their goal changed the game, they came out more motivated in the second half.
"The game got complicated but we can be happy by the fact we're still top and unbeaten."
