Zinedine Zidane ‘held crunch talks with his Real Madrid players’ after their shock defeat by newly-promoted Cadiz… with captain Sergio Ramos among stars ‘to voice their displeasure’
- Anthony Lozano’s goal gave newly-promoted Cadiz victory against Real Madrid
- Zinedine Zidane is said to have questioned his side’s intensity and attitude
- Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos also allegedly voiced their concerns
- Madrid face Shakhtar Donetsk before the Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday
Zidane Zidane gathered his Real Madrid players for crunch talks following their shock defeat to newly-promoted Cadiz, according to reports in Spain.
The Spanish champions suffered their first defeat of the league season after Anthony Lozano’s strike gave the Andalusian side all three points in the capital.
And according to Spanish outlet Marca, the French boss rounded up his squad to hold crisis talks ahead of this week’s opening game in the Champions League.
Zinedine Zidane held crunch talks with his Real Madrid players after their defeat by Cadiz
Captain Sergio Ramos also voiced his displeasure in the talks ahead of a key week for the club
The report adds the words ‘intensity’ and ‘attitude’ were used regularly as Zidane questioned his stars’ display on home soil.
The same outlet also claimed some of the club’s high-profile names, including Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, were also keen to voice their displeasure at the performance.
The players and staff reportedly concurred with each other as to why they suffered the defeat and stressed the importance of playing with more intensity, with their next LaLiga game being the Clasico against Barcelona.
Anthony Lozano’s goal saw Real Madrid suffer their first defeat of this new LaLiga season
Ronald Koeman’s men also suffered defeat ahead of the weekend’s showdown, after a Jaime Mata penalty saw Getafe inflict a first league defeat on Barcelona since the Dutchman took charge.
Zidane did not offer any excuses after the game either for his side, and admitted his side could not be pleased with themselves.
‘We’ve got to accept defeat and that’s all there is to it,’ the Real Madrid head coach told an online press conference.
‘We can’t be pleased with ourselves and we’re not, but these things can happen in football.
Midfielders Luka Modric (left) and Toni Kroos (right) also voiced their disappointment
‘If you don’t get off to a good start, things can become an uphill struggle and that’s what happened tonight, but it’s no excuse.
‘We’ve lost a game, nothing more than that. We have now got to focus on our next game and try to turn it around.’
Madrid will look to do just that when they face Shakhtar Donetsk, before facing their arch rivals on Saturday.
The Cadiz defeat was the first real blemish on what had been a steady start to the season for Real.
After a goalless draw with Real Sociedad, they managed consecutive wins against Real Betis, Valladolid and Levante.
Zidane’s men now face Shakhtar Donetsk before the Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday
