Zinedine Zidane praises ‘excellent’ Real Madrid season despite Champions League exit to Man City

Back-to-back last-16 exits in Europe for the Spanish side

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane with Eden Hazard (Pool via REUTERS)

Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane rued errors at both ends of the pitch as his side bowed out of the Champions League in the last 16.

A 2-1 loss to Manchester City in the second leg meant a 4-2 aggregate defeat, leaving the 13-times winners knocked-out before the last eight for a second season in a row.

Two Raphael Varane mistakes allowed City to score their goals, but Zidane also pointed to missed chances at the other end for his own team.

And the manager said one game doesn’t represent the entire season, as Los Blancos ended the domestic season as LaLiga champions.

“We cant be happy obviously, we have lost the game and we are out,” he said after the game.

“We are proud of what we achieved this season, this is football. We lost to a good team and have to accept it. We had our chances to score.

“95 per cent of what we achieved this season has been excellent. We have to accept this. We need to be very proud of what we have achieved.”

Zidane was also quizzed on his future but said there’s no reason to suspect he will not continue at the Santiago Bernabeu into 2020/21.

“I am the Real Madrid manager until something happens out of the ordinary.

“You don’t need to ask any more questions about my future. We will all have a rest and come back again next season.”