Zinedine Zidane, Gareth Bale React to Real Madrid's 2-0 UCL Loss to Wolfsburg

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane insisted he and his players are keeping calm in the wake of their shock 2-0 loss to Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, revealing their clash with Barcelona on Saturday took a lot out of the team.   

The result in the first leg leaves Los Blancos with a mountain to climb if they’re going to make it into the final four of the competition. But speaking after the defeat at the Volkswagen Arena, the Frenchman was adamant that this team is capable of overturning the deficit, per ESPN FC’s Dermot Corrigan:

Real were stunned early on by the Bundesliga side in this one, as goals from Ricardo Rodriguez and Maximilian Arnold gave the Wolves a 2-0 lead. And despite the quality at Zidane’s disposal, the La Liga giants rarely threatened the Wolfsburg goal.

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It was a result that comes as even more of a surprise after Madrid’s impressive 2-1 win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Saturday night, a triumph that looked set to be a springboard for the club in an underwhelming season. However, Zidane thinks that game may have had an adverse effect:

Gareth Bale, who started for Real on the night, quickly took to social media to say the team are still capable of making it through to the semi-finals:

While you’d anticipate some slight jadedness as a result of the Clasico contest, a lack of intensity wasn’t the only thing wrong with Real’s efforts here.

Steve McManaman, who won the Champions League with the capital club on two occasions, did not mince his words when assessing their efforts:

After the draw, Real seemed to have the easiest task of all the illustrious names remaining in the competition. After all, while Wolfsburg do possess some talented individual players, they’re not having the best of seasons, languishing down in eighth position in the Bundesliga.

But they were far superior in this contest, showing more ingenuity in their attacking play, a far greater appetite for the midfield battle and better defensive cohesion. Zidane took full responsibility for the loss, insisting he was happy with his players’ showing:

With firepower like Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in their ranks, it’d be naive to write off Real’s chances. These numbers from MisterChip show just how sizable a challenge they face at the Bernabeu next week, though:

Madrid’s home is renowned for stirring comebacks, and you can bet the supporters will create a wonderful backdrop for this one. But Wolfsburg are no pushovers, as was evident here, and they will feel confident of netting at this iconic venue. If the Wolves can do that, Real will need at least four goals on the night to progress.

This will be a major test of Zidane's managerial acumen too. Setting up for a game in which goals are imperative but defensive tightrope will have to be walked is never easy. After accruing a lot of favour following a brilliant Clasico triumph, the Frenchman will be well aware an elimination on Tuesday will see a lot of that goodwill seep away.