Zidane: We lacked everything
Zidane says his Real side had no intensity, movement and enthusiasm
GROUP F
LEGIA WARSAW 3
(Vadis Odjidja Ofoe 40, Miroslav Radovic 58, Thibault Moulin 83)
REAL MADRID 3
(Gareth Bale 1, Karim Benzema 35, Mateo Kovacic 85)
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane cursed his side's carelessness after the European champions threw away a two-goal lead against Legia Warsaw and needed a late equaliser from Mateo Kovacic to salvage a 3-3 draw yesterday morning (Singapore time).
Zidane was unhappy how his side lost their intensity amid a strange atmosphere at an empty stadium.
Uefa had ruled the game be played behind closed doors after crowd trouble at Legia's previous Champions League game at the Polish Army Stadium.
Gareth Bale's stunning acrobatic effort gave Real the lead after 57 seconds - the club's fastest goal in the Champions League - and Karim Benzema made it 2-0 in the 35th minute, only for Legia to stage a stunning comeback.
Thibault Moulin put the Polish champions ahead after goals from Vadis Odjidja and Miroslav Radovic either side of half-time pegged Real back, leaving Zidane angry with his side despite Kovacic averting a first defeat of the season.
"When you score two goals away from home, you normally have things under control but, in the end, we let our opponents back into the game," said Zidane.
"Once they got the first goal back, it became difficult for us. We lacked everything - intensity, movement, enthusiasm.
"Sometimes you get games like this and now have to be patient. The good thing is we didn't lose."
Real have conceded seven goals in four Champions League games and have now gone 10 games without a clean sheet in all competitions.
However, Zidane, who fielded Raphael Varane and Nacho as centre backs because of injuries to Sergio Ramos and Pepe, refused to blame his back four.
MAINTAIN INTENSITY
"It wasn't the worst game in defence. We started well and scored twice but, if you don't maintain the necessary intensity to continue playing well, it's difficult.
"After the second goal, we dropped our intensity. I'm happy with our defence because it's not just a question of our defenders."
Asked about Real's long run without a clean sheet, Zidane added: "It's not worrying but we know what we need to do and we can improve.
"We need to keep working so it doesn't happen again.
"Before the game, I said that opponents can cause us problems if we don't play with enough intensity, and today we relaxed after scoring the two goals."
Goalscorer Bale has called on Real to improve at both ends of the pitch.
"We're not happy with the result, we need to learn from this and bounce back stronger," Bale told beIN Sports.
"We had control of game at 2-0 and we just lost concentration.
"At this level, if it happens, you get punished.
"We need to be better defensively and more clinical with chances. We just need to learn from mistakes."
- Wire Services.
BY THE NUMBERS
85
Real Madrid’s Mateo Kovacic completed a personal high of 85 out of 88 passes against Legia Warsaw.
3
Real Madrid have conceded three goals in a competitive game for the first time with Zinedine Zidane as coach.
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