Zidane frustrated by ´wall´ Neuer despite Real Madrid victory

Zinedine Zidane said Real Madrid feel a little disappointed not to have beaten Bayern Munich by a greater margin in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo saw the holders overturn Arturo Vidal’s opener and claim a valuable 2-1 victory at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern were the better team in the first half and should have been further ahead at the break, with Vidal missing a second header before blazing a penalty over the crossbar.

Madrid responded well in the second half, though, Ronaldo scoring two minutes after the restart before netting his 100th goal in UEFA club competitions after Javi Martinez had been sent off for two quick-fire yellow cards.

Manuel Neuer made fine saves to deny Karim Benzema and Ronaldo in particular, while Sergio Ramos saw a 90th-minute header ruled out for offside, and Zidane could not help but feel frustrated with the performance of the Bayern goalkeeper.

“Winning here isn’t easy,” the head coach told beIN Sports. “We suffered a lot in the first half.

“With patience and by winning the ball from our opponents, the second half was very good. And then playing against 10 was easier.

“It wasn’t a penalty but that happens and it could have been 2-0. At the break we were happy to only be 1-0 down. 

“We had the chance of having a good 45 minutes. We’re all a little disappointed because we had a lot of chances in the second half, but we were against a goalkeeper who is a wall.

“It’s a positive result but there is a return game left and the tie is still to be played for.”

6 – Since lifting the trophy in 2013, Bayern lost 6 of their 21 knockout games in the #UCL – 5 of them against Spanish opponents. Nemesis. pic.twitter.com/6wtc7KJAft

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) April 12, 2017