Zinedine Zidane Welcomes Champions League Selection Headache Following 6-Goal Rout of Celta

facebooktwitterreddit

Zinedine Zidane revealed he is looking forward to his Champions League final selection dilemma following ​​Real Madrid's 6-0 victory over Celta Vigo on Saturday evening

Two stunning strikes from Gareth Bale and a sublime finish from Isco to boot during the first half were rounded off by three further second 45 goals from Achraf Hakimi, Sergi Gomez and Toni Kroos. 

With Los Blancos' trip to Kiev to face ​Liverpool now less than two weeks away, attention has turned to the Frenchman's XI. And although the 45-year-old insisted to ​ESPN post-match he has not yet made his mind up as to who will feature, he welcomed the difficulty in selection. 

"I don't know the team yet," Zidane said. "It is better like this, to have everyone switched on and ready. It will be difficult to pick the team for the final, but I prefer it like that.

"We played a good game today, which was important. Training cannot substitute for games. Today we played well, scored many goals, and kept a clean sheet."

Bale has nine goals in his last 11 ​La Liga outings, although the Welshman continues to struggle to break into his manager's selection on Champions League evenings. 

The 28-year-old's future at ​Real Madrid remains in doubt, with it said this season could be his last at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu; although, Zidane was quick to hail the former world's most expensive player for his showing on Saturday. 

"What [Bale] did today was very good, I am very happy for him, for his goals," he said. "He is playing very well, not just his goals, that he is going well in everything. There is still one game to go [at Villarreal next week], and then we will play this final, and that's it."

The victory over Celta Vigo also provided the opportunity for Keylor Navas to record his first home clean sheet in any competition during the calendar year.

"I am happy for [Navas], with all the stick he has taken," Zidane added. "When we conceded it was not just Keylor's fault, it was down to all of us. I am happy for his game, keeping a clean sheet was important today. 

"He saved us two or three times; also in the first goal, he plays the ball quickly to Luka [Modric], who finds Gareth. When Keylor can do these things too, it is very important."