Zinedine Zidane Refuses to Be Drawn on Bale Inclusion for Juventus Clash After Double at Las Palmas
Zinedine Zidane refused to declare whether Gareth Bale had played himself into Real Madrid's starting XI for Juventus on Tuesday night following the Welshman's brace in the Spanish capital outfit's 3-0 win at Las Palmas on Saturday.
The 28-year-old opened the scoring midway through the first half after latching onto Luka Modric's through ball before dispatching his effort across Leandro Chichizola.
Captain-for-the-day Karim Benzema celebrated his 400th appearance for the club with a goal shortly before the break as he converted from the penalty spot, with Bale following suit five minutes after half-time.
The Wales international came close on numerous occasions to grabbing his hat-trick; however, after being reduced to the substitutes' bench for Real Madrid's last-16 win over Paris Saint-Germain earlier this year, Zidane refused to state to ESPN whether the attacker had altered his plans for Juventus this week.
"I am happy for him, that's all", the Frenchman told his post-match news conference. "We move on. You will see on Tuesday. I am happy with his performance, that's all."
Bale lasted the full 90 minutes; however, both Modric and Casemiro were withdrawn in the second half to keep them fresh for Tuesday's visit to Turin.
Asked if Madrid are currently enjoying their best form of the season, Zidane agreed but insisted their league form mattered little ahead of their Champions League showdown.
"Yes, but that means nothing", he said. "We know we controlled the game well, we won, got the points, but we must think now that Tuesday will be totally different.
"We must go there and play a great game. Now we must all rest and recover."
Defender Nacho Fernandez appeared distraught after being substituted off by his boss following what seemed to be a hamstring issue, but the Los Blancos boss revealed it was merely precautionary.
"I don't know [about Nacho]," Zidane added. "We will wait for tomorrow's tests. He is not happy, not comfortable, he came off for a precaution. It is behind his knee, the hamstring I think. I hope it is not much."
