A late comeback victory against Villarreal meant little to Real Madrid as Atletico Madrid completed their job in the other match to win the La Liga title.
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Going into the final day of the league season, Real Madrid were still in with a chance to win the La Liga title. However, the Los Blancos found themselves a goal behind against Villarreal at the half-time break on Saturday. A very late fightback saw Real reverse the scoreline to win the match 2-1. However, it was not enough as Atletico Madrid won their match against Real Valladolid to bag their first league title in seven years. It meant Real ended the season without silverware.
After the match, Zidane started with thanking the fans before congratulating his own players for fighting till the end. “First things first, I want to thank the fans because they’ve been behind the team from afar. They haven’t been able to come to the stadium this year but everyone can be proud of this team because the players have given it everything they have until the final minute,” he added.
Saying that he is “proud” of his players, Zidane also congratulated the champions Atletico Madrid. “We won again today. It hasn’t been easy because we had problems early on but in the end we’ve come good. I’m very proud of my players. It’s a day to congratulate the squad,” he said.
“We have to congratulate Atletico Madrid, they deserve it too, because ultimately, the team that finish first deserve to win it. They’ve had a great season and that’s all there is to it. I’m not the most important thing here, it’s all about what the players have done all season.
“That’s why we should focus on what we’ve done during the season and then, in time, taking it calmly, we’ll see what happens. I’ll speak to the club in relaxed fashion, but later on, not right now. Today is a day to congratulate my players. My assessment is that we gave it all we had on the pitch. We haven’t won anything and the players want to win. I’m responsible for all that.”
Zidane also spoke about how he is feeling about missing out on the league title on the dramatic final day. “As manager, it’s a tough one to take because we didn’t win the league. So that’s my answer for you there,” he said.
The Frenchman was also coy about his future, saying, “We’ll soon see what happens”. “After today’s game we have to be calm and be satisfied about what we did. In the next few days we’ll speak to the club, to the people we need to speak to and that’s all there is to it. We’ll soon see what happens, but not just with me, with Real Madrid as a whole for next season.”
