Zidane confident Ronaldo will overcome Bernabeu whistles
Zinedine Zidane has lent support to Cristiano Ronaldo after sections of the Real Madrid support whistled his efforts after another underwhelming evening for his club.
Los Blancos beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on Sunday, but Ronaldo's tally of just four shots on target in his last 20 attempts at the Santiago Bernabeu is just a glimpse of the struggles the Ballon d'Or nominee is having this term.
Cristiano Ronaldo has completed a take-on for the first time in 326 minutes of LaLiga action.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 23, 2016
Long overdue. pic.twitter.com/PcEAJ05KHh
And Ronaldo's return of two goals in six La Liga appearances so far is particularly drab by his standards of Real's all-time top scorer.
"I don't understand (the whistles)," Zidane told ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan. "But they also whistled me, I know it can happen. It means the Bernabeu is special, it demands the maximum. Cristiano is used to that, and is not worried about it. We know how important the fans are."
Zidane suggested Ronaldo's place in the starting XI will remain untroubled, and although he isn't necessarily converting his opportunities in front of goal, his manager is pleased that he continues to be in the right place at the right time.
"I spoke with him about other things, as that does not worry me," Zidane said. "I want him to score two or three goals each game, but I am not worried as I know it will happen. He is not converting the chances, but the important thing is he gets them. Soon he will score them, and it will all be calmer."
He defended his continued trust in regularly deploying the triumvirate of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Ronaldo, a policy to the detriment of talented performers such as Alvaro Morata, Lucas Vazquez, James Rodriguez, and Isco.
"I have three phenomenal players. For me, they are very important for the team. The others might play less, but they are just as important. It is always like this, some players have much more time than others. People can have their opinions, but I have my job to do."
Real travels to third-tier Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, with Kiko Casilla, Fabio Coentrao, and Mariano Diaz expected to be involved.