Zinedine Zidane’s leaked team talk to Real Madrid players before crunch Liverpool tie

Real Madrid v Liverpool: Zidane quizzed about Salah

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Zinedine Zidane’s final words of inspiration to his Real Madrid players ahead of their last training session before tonight’s Champions League quarter-final second leg with Liverpool have now emerged. The Frenchman’s rallying call to his troops was picked up on Spanish TV as his squad embarked on a light session.

Real Madrid arrived on Merseyside yesterday fresh off the back of last weekend’s crucial 2-1 win in El Clasico.

The 3-1 win over Liverpool last week in the first leg could prove to be the turning point in their season, with Zidane’s men now gunning for domestic and European glory.

Liverpool will be without their 12th man at Anfield but this team is no stranger to pulling off the impossible.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have already executed two of the greatest European comebacks of all-time against Borussia Dortmund (2016) and Barcelona (2019).

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Those nights are likely to give Liverpool added belief and confidence heading into the meeting but Zidane knows Real Madrid are in control of his own destiny.

According to El Chiringuito TV, he told his players before their final training session: “We are good, we are prepared, and we will be giving everything tomorrow. Focus on the match, mentality in the game.”

Zidane revealed in his press conference that his side had come to Anfield to win, not sit on their two-goal lead.

“We’re not going to try and manage our effort levels, we’ve come here to win and that’s what we’ll try to do,” he said.

“We’ve spoken about this with the team, we made a huge effort in the first leg and against Barcelona but we’re used to it.”

Zidane got the better of Klopp when the pair met in the 2018 Champions League final in Kiev, as Real Madrid ran out 3-1 winners.

The German was keen to play down the idea that a comeback was very much doable, claiming Liverpool “will give it a try”.

“When you’re 3-1 down it looks like you are already out, that means you have not a lot to lose, let me say it like this,” Klopp said.

“We will give it a try, I think that’s the job we have to do and that’s exactly how we will go for it if you want.

“It’s a result of the performances on the night – they were better than us, we were not as good as we could have been or should have been. But it’s the first half of the [tie].”

Real Madrid will be without both Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane for the second leg.

Their absence did not make much of a difference though at Valdebebas, where Liverpool really struggled to ask the Real Madrid any questions besides Mohamed Salah’s away goal.

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