Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane praised his side’s attitude after they put a four-game winless run behind them by thrashing Real Betis 6-1 away from home on Saturday.
Real were missing captain Sergio Ramos and midfielders Luka Modric, Casemiro and James Rodriguez but were too superior for Betis.
“The players are talented and intelligent, and they knew they had to begin the game in the way they did. When we play with that intensity from the start it’s very difficult for our opponents,” Zidane told a news conference.
“Now we have to remain consistent and this game was a great display, a reference point. It’s not easy to play like this away from home.”
Schalke boss irate after Embolo injury
Schalke coach Markus Weinzierl claims the challenge that broke the ankle of striker Breel Embolo was “stupid”.
Embolo suffered the injury in a challenge with Augsburg defender Konstantinos Stafylidis early on in a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
He will not play again in 2016.
Weinzierl, who signed Stafylidis for Augsburg in 2015, does not believe there was malice in the tackle but it was avoidable.
Weinzierl said: “I know the player and I know that his thoughts were not straight – he just sees the ball and is an aggressive player and something like this can happen.
“I’m not saying he meant it, but it is stupid.”
Rummenigge critical of Bayern display
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says his team’s performance in their 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday was not worthy of the record German champions.
Bayern twice relinquished the lead, the second time while their hosts were reduced to 10 men, and Rummenigge made it clear what he felt of their abject performance.
“The way we played in the first half was not Bayern,” he said.
“You cannot play that way.
“We have got to be happy to come away with a point.”
Spurs must take their chances – Alli
Dele Alli has urged Tottenham to be more clinical after he earned a late point at West Brom.
The midfielder struck in the 89th minute on Saturday as Spurs drew 1-1 at The Hawthorns and missed the chance to go top of the Premier League.
He said: “When you are dominating a team that much you can lose focus at certain moments, they had a couple of chances and put one away. It was a good performance but we have to make sure we win those games.
“You have to have faith in yourself, sticking to the game plan and hope when the chance does come, one of you will put it away.
“I got a goal and more importantly we’re still unbeaten.”
Spalletti still not happy with Dzeko
Edin Dzeko must do better, Roma coach Luciano Spalletti says, even though the Bosnia forward scored two goals in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Napoli.
Dzeko has scored seven goals, one short of the total he managed in the whole of last season, but the famously hard-to-please Spalletti is still not satisfied.
“I congratulate him for the brace but it’s not just about the goals,” said Spalletti.
“In Italy, players only get judged on how many goals they score and people tend not to pay attention to the rest of the match.
“Dzeko has to do better in terms of being ruthless.
“In the first half, there were four occasions where he could have caused them damage. He is an exceptional player but he could do more with his physical prowess.”
I won’t coach again for now, says Neville
Gary Neville has revealed he will turn his back on coaching for at least the next five years.
The former Man. United right-back took his first foray into management when he was handed the Valencia role last season, but was sacked after four months.
“I’ve committed now. I put two or three things on hold while I was in Valencia and in the summer,” he told the Mail on Sunday.
“And obviously, after the summer I was, ‘Right, these projects go and we go with them now’. And they’re going. And I’m too integrated into them and at the forefront to go and do something else.”
Barcelona have Mina pre-agreement
Barcelona have a pre-agreement in place to sign Palmeiras defender Yerry Mina, the player’s agent Jair Mina has claimed.
Mina’s late equaliser for Colombia in last week’s 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw with Uruguay led to the re-emergence of reports that Barca have a preferential option to purchase him.
Jair Mina says the reports are accurate, although he added that a move to the Camp Nou is far from a done deal.
“Yes, a pre-agreement was signed with Barcelona,” he said.
“It’s only a pre-agreement, so there’s still the chance that other teams (make an offer), so (a move to Barca) would depend on circumstances.”