Real Madrid stutter without Cristiano Ronaldo but Zinedine Zidane praises hero Gareth Bale
Zinedine Zidane insists he is happy with his side despite needing a fit-again Gareth Bale to avoid an embarrassing defeat.
Real Madrid were facing humiliation at home to third-tier side Fuenlabrada until the winger came off the bench to set up Borja Mayoral for his two goals.
The visitors nabbed a late equaliser to make it 2-2 on the night, but Los Blancos advanced 4-2 on aggregate.
Cristiano Ronaldo and some other big name stars were not included.
And Zidane revealed he is happy with his second-string side, despite the result.
"I’m not annoyed at all, it was planned," the Frenchman said after the game.
"It wasn’t not easy for the players, but I’m happy that we’ve gone through."
"Our opponents had a very good game, but the important thing is that we went through."
"Demands? I’m looking at my players, those who were on the pitch. We did well in the second half, so I’m happy."
"Poor performance? The fans can say whatever they want, but they also saw their players fight until the end."
"There were players who hadn’t played together. Our opponents didn’t play like a Segunda B team. Fuenlabrada are a good team."