Zinedine Zidane expresses Karim Benzema disbelief, says Real Madrid aren't favourites for final

ByPete Sharland

Updated 10/05/2017 at 22:06 GMT

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has expressed his disbelief at Karim Benzema's role in Isco's goal against Atletico Madrid and added that he doesn't think that his team are favourites against Juventus.

Benzema produced an astonishing piece of skill to get away from Diego Godin, Stefan Savic and Jose Maria Gimenez.

He squared the ball to Toni Kroos who forced an excellent save from Jan Oblak before Isco tucked home the rebound.

“We’re very happy to reach another final, it’s to everyone’s credit, especially the players,” Zidane told BeIN Sports after the game.

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“It’s deserved, no more than that. Now we’re in the final, we’re going to have time to prepare it, but we’re happy for what we’ve done.

“We had difficulties at the start of the game, for the first 20 or 25 minutes, but we didn’t have to worry because we were going to have chances. In the second half we played better, with Isco and Karim between the lines.

“Benzema? I don’t know how Benzema got out of there [referring to his role in Isco’s goal]. Football’s not only about scoring. I’m happy with his performance.

A general view as Karim Benzema of Real Madrid takes on Stefan Savic of Atletico Madrid during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final second leg match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid CF at Vicente Calderon Stadium on May 10, 2017 in Madrid,

Image credit: Getty Images

“He lacked a goal and had chances, but we can be happy with everyone’s performance."

When asked whether he agreed with the assumption of most pundits that Real will start as favourites Zidane made it clear that he felt this wasn't the case.

“Real Madrid are absolutely not the favourites. It’s very difficult to score against this Juve side,” said Zidane.

“The defence isn’t their only strength, either. They have great players in attack, too.”

Zidane was also asked about how he is balancing the minutes of some players to which he replied: "I don’t know if [the players] are happy, certainly the players that play less would like to play more.

“I understand that, but in the end it’s the job of the coach and I have to pick [the team]. Everyone’s important in my head, they’re world class players. They can all be starters, even those that don’t play. They’re plugged in and believe in what we’re doing.”

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