Sunday 29 April 2018 22:02, UK
Zinedine Zidane says he is pleased with his players' attitude after he made ten changes to his XI for Saturday's win against Leganes in La Liga.
Goals from Gareth Bale and Borja Mayoral were enough to secure a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu with Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich on the horizon.
But despite the changes, Zidane was full of praise for his changed side, although admits that Real Madrid's La Liga form has not been up to par this season.
"I'm pleased with the attitude of players today with ten changes and guys who haven't had much playing time. The attitude was exemplary," he told a post-match press conference.
"It was a fantastic first half and we dropped off a bit in the second, but we took the three points.
"We can't be happy with our performance in La Liga overall. We dropped too many points early on but we have improved. Now we have to go back to work because it's the biggest game of the year on Tuesday."
Real Madrid take a 2-1 advantage into their home fixture against Bayern Munich next week, and Zidane has urged the fans to get behind the side as they look to make it to a third successive Champions League final.
"I don't know how significant the first-leg advantage will be in the Champions League. We know what happened against Juve and last year against Bayern as well," he added.
"We need a huge performance, we must play better than we have done all year if we're to qualify. We're ready. We're going to give it all we've got to make it to the final.
"They'll come here with nothing to lose. We'll have to put in a huge performance and we'll need the support of our fans, more so than ever, because they know what we're playing for.
"The fans have always been behind the team and we want them there more than ever before to help us make it to the final."
