La Liga

That was not a game of football, says angry Zidane

The Real Madrid head coach was adamant that Saturday's league match against Osasuna should not have been played.

 
9:05am on Sunday 10th January 2021
By
Chris Myson

Zinedine Zidane was angry that La Liga did not postpone Real Madrid's match against Osasuna after it ended up being played amid difficult weather conditions.

Madrid were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at El Sadar, the much of the contest taking place in heavy snowfall.

Ice on the runway had also meant Los Blancos were delayed on their journey to face Osasuna and the team were expected to face similar complications flying back to the Spanish capital.

Storm Filomena meant leaders Atletico Madrid had their match against Athletic Bilbao postponed on Saturday but that was not the case for Zidane's men.

"It wasn't a game of football," said Zidane.

"Yes, clearly [it should have been postponed]. Of course.

"We all saw what we saw. In the end we played and that’s that. It’s my opinion.

"We played because they told us we had to play. We don’t know what we’re going to do, we’ll see now. We have to recover and think about the next game.

"The conditions were tough, very difficult. That's the feeling we go away with after the match and everything that has happened during these two days, it has been very complicated.

"We are a bit upset because we did what we could on the pitch.

"We don't know when we will return to Madrid. Whether we will be able to return to Madrid on Monday, Tuesday or when. We don’t know anything.

"It wasn't really a game of football but we have to accept it.

"They are not excuses. Everyone wants to see a football match - both teams and the people do - and the conditions were not conducive to that. It’s how everyone is feeling. I’m answering you as a coach.

"Being stuck on the plane for three hours had no effect - it was the match, the pitch. The conditions were not right."

There were strong performances from many in Madrid’s defence and midfield, but front three Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard struggled to make an impression.

Madrid trail city rivals and league leaders Atletico, who hold three games in hand on them, by one point.

A resurgent Barcelona, meanwhile, have moved to within three points of Zidane’s side.

Osasuna 0-0 Real Madrid: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats

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