Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane denied today, Friday, that there is any problem between the attacking duo Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, confirming that they have ended any negative feelings between them before facing Huesca in the League on Saturday.
Benzema had inadvertently revealed his opinion of his attacking partner Vinicius recently, and the duo will now hope to unite the ranks when Real Madrid meet Huesca in the Spanish League on Saturday.
The French television program "Televot" showed Benzema talking to defender Ferlan Mendy about Vinicius at halftime in a match that ended in a 2-2 draw with his host Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League on Tuesday.
That video is out of context and you don't know if Benzema said all that or Mendy was part of it as well.
Obviously they were frustrated and these kind of things happens everywhere.
Here is a video of Karim and Ferland discussing with vinicius right after.
pic.twitter.com/Lh8Bar7cRT
- El Gato Benzema (@ElGatoKBenzema) October 28, 2020
As Vinicius was standing a few meters away in the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms, Benzema whispered to his compatriot Mendy in French, saying, "Don't pass him. He's playing against us," criticizing his offensive partner's performance in the first half after his team was trailing 1-0.
ayo what's happening here?
Benzema to Mendy "don't play with Vinicius, he's playing against us" pic.twitter.com/E0DOwiZalH
- Ness ™ ℣ (@ The1Centurions) October 28, 2020
Benzema did not respond to this clip, but he re-posted a tweet on Twitter of his former agent Karim Al-Jaziri criticizing the Telefoot program, describing it as "dishonestly looking for excitement."
Mendy and Vinicius play on the left, but the defender did not cooperate well with the Brazilian winger after Benzema spoke and only passed the ball to him 3 times in the second half.
Real Madrid then trailed 2-0, but eventually drew thanks to the goals of Benzema and Casemiro in the last breaths, although the result barely masked another lackluster performance after the team began to recover with a big 3-1 victory over Barcelona at the weekend.
Zidane said at a press conference confirming local reports that Vinicius and Benzema ended any negative feelings between them during training on Thursday, "The most important thing is that this duo has ended any negative feelings between them. A lot of things happen on the field but they always remain there."
"It is good for these things to happen that reflect the activity and vitality of any team," he added.
Real will miss the efforts of defenders Dani Carvajal, Nacho Fernandez and Alvaro Odriozola against Huesca, and midfielder Martin Odegaard will also be absent.
Among the reasons for Real Madrid's fluctuation this season is the decline in the performance of its attackers, as Benzema scored 27 goals in all competitions last season, but scored only twice this season.
Vinicius scored only 5 goals last season, and despite expectations that he will beat this figure this season, as he has already scored 3 goals so far, he is very nervous in the penalty area.
Also, as Benzema explained to his colleague Mendy, Vinicius looks different from the rest of his colleagues.
Real are second in the Spanish league, one point behind leaders Real Sociedad, who visit Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Barcelona are in 12th place but have regained their self-confidence after their defeat in the Spain derby by beating Juventus 2-0 on Wednesday after a performance that coach Ronald Koeman described as Barcelona's best this season.
Barcelona will play Alaves and seek their first league victory in 4 games, while Atletico Madrid, the only team that has not lost in the competition, will play at Osasuna.