Zinedine Zidane Says Real Madrid 'Annoy' People After Late Win over Real Betis

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane believes his side "annoy" people after they left it late to come from behind to beat Real Betis 2-1 on Sunday.

Los Blancos' boss said as much after Sergio Ramos scored in the 81st minute to take Real top of La Liga, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

Madrid capitalised on Barcelona's 2-1 defeat to Deportivo La Coruna earlier in the day and now sit two points ahead of the Catalan giants with a game in hand.

Real benefited from a questionable refereeing decision in the buildup to Ramos' goal but had earlier been controversially denied a goal, as Corrigan demonstrated:

They weren't the only poor decisions in the game, however, and Zidane's side were also fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men when Keylor Navas took out Darko Brasanac in a one-on-one situation early on.

As La Liga writer Andrew Gaffney noted, Navas then produced some heroics late in the game to help Madrid claim all three points:

Real's controversial win will no doubt be a source of immense frustration for Barcelona, as it puts them back in the driving seat for the league after Barca's defeat.

Zidane's comments could be taking a swipe at Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, who has been vocal in pointing out what he perceives to be better treatment of Real by officials.

Pique took to Twitter to air his grievances last month after a questionable penalty helped Madrid complete a 3-2 comeback against Villarreal (translated by Kieran Canning of Agence France-Presse):

Barcelona clawed their way back into the title race in recent weeks thanks to Real's dip in form in February—which saw them lose 2-1 to Valencia and draw 3-3 with Las Palmas—but their latest slip up could prove costly, with Los Blancos potentially able to go five points clear if they win their game in hand.

Luis Enrique's side need to regain some consistency in their La Liga performances and build up some momentum with a series of victories if they're to push Real in the race now.

Their trip to the Santiago Bernabeu in April is also a must win, otherwise it will be their rivals at the top of the table come the end of the season.