Zidane holds tongue on fixture fallout, says focused on Mallorca tie

Madrid, Jun 23 (efe-epa).- Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane held his tongue Tuesday after the club aired a complaint over their tightly-packed forthcoming fixture schedule and, in true Zizou style, said he was only thinking about tomorrow’s match against RCD Mallorca.

“Everyone does their work,” the Frenchman told the pre-match press conference. “I have my opinion but I’m not going to get involved in anything.”

“One day its fixtures, the next it’s referees. It’s always something. I’m focused on my work and my only concern is tomorrow’s game, which is a final and there are only eight to go.”

Real Madrid lodged a complaint with LaLiga over the schedule for match days 33 and 34, which will see Los Blancos play Getafe and Athletic Bilbao with just a 72-hour break in between.

Barcelona, on the other hand, has five days between matches 33 and 34.

“The calendar is what it is. I have my opinion, but saying it won’t make a difference. We have to think about how to ensure rest because of the way the matches are, a total of 11 in a short space of time.”

LaLiga’s teams are currently clearing a backlog of fixtures that built-up during the forced coronavirus hiatus.

Real Madrid is set to host Mallorca on Wednesday evening.

Sergio Ramos, Eden Hazard and Isco Alarcón all joined training on Tuesday and will be available for the game.

Nacho Fernández, Lucas Vázquez and Luka Jovic will be sidelined with injuries.

Ramos took a heavy knock against Real Sociedad over the weekend and although he has recovered, Zidane might rest the defender against Mallorca.

Real Madrid is at the top of LaLiga, ahead of Barcelona on head-to-head.

Barcelona will host a resilient Athletic Bilbao later on Tuesday, a match they can barely afford to draw, let alone lose if they want to keep their title hopes alive. EFE-EPA

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