Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 7y

Zidane happy to see Real Madrid 'enjoy themselves' in 44 pass goal

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he was especially happy as his team had enjoyed themselves in winning Sunday evening's La Liga opener 3-0 at Deportivo La Coruna, with the Frenchman playing down any controversy after captain Sergio Ramos was sent off late on.

After Depor striker Florin Andone was twice denied early by Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Gareth Bale took advantage of a mistake by home keeper Ruben to tap the opener into an empty net, and before the half hour mark Casemiro had made it 2-0 by knocking home Marcelo's cross from close range.

Madrid's third came just after an hour, with Karim Benzema, Isco and Bale combining excellently before Kroos found the net from 15 yards. There was late drama with Depor's Florin Andone missing a penalty, before Ramos was shown a second yellow card for catching opposition substitute Borja Valle with an arm during an aerial challenge.

Madrid's second goal was preceded by a move of 44 passes, involving all 11 players, which lasted 107 seconds. At the postgame news conference, the former galactico said the goal was an example of what he and his squad worked hard to try and show on the pitch, and he was particularly satisfied when it came off.

"We always try and play, we know we have the players to do that," Zidane said. "We want to enjoy ourselves and try and play well. The second goal was what we work on, what we want to do.

"When a goal comes out like that, we must all be satisfied. In general we can be happy with what we have done. This not an easy ground to play at. They had their chances at the start of the game to score."

Ramos had appeared lucky to be just yellow carded after pushing a hand into the face of Depor defender Fabian Schar during a second half squabble. Later, referee Alejandro Hernandez showed the Spain international his 18th La Liga red -- tying former Barcelona and Sevilla defender Pablo Alfaro and Real Zaragoza legend Xavi Aguado for the most in league history -- and the 23rd sending off his club career.

Zidane has more than once criticised the four game ban Cristiano Ronaldo is currently serving for pushing the referee in last weekend's Supercopa at Barcelona, but this time he declined to criticise the decision by Hernandez Hernandez.

"I am not happy with what happened with Sergio," the Frenchman said. "Like always I do not like to lose a player. I do not know [if second yellow was fair or not]. I will have to see the images, I did not see it. This can happen in football, he jumps for the ball, and the referee sees a foul. That's it."

This is the third year in a row in which Bale has scored Madrid's first goal of the campaign, and an improved all-round performance should lead to less speculation over the Wales' international's future before the transfer window ends.

Asked if he expected any further ins and outs this month, Zidane said he hoped not. "I want to keep this squad as it is," he said. "I hope there are no changes. But you never know until the 31st, anything can happen."

^ Back to Top ^