Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has warned his players they will be âput to the swordâ by Juventus as they attempt to secure their place in the Champions League semi-finals.
Zidaneâs men will welcome the Serie A leaders to the Bernabeu on Wednesday night carrying a 3-0 first-leg lead, but with their head coach insisting the job is far from done.
Speaking at his post-match press conference after Sundayâs 1-1 LaLiga derby draw with Atletico Madrid, the Frenchman dismissed suggestions his team are favourites to lift the trophy.
He said: âIâm not interested in any of that. We have to think about Wednesdayâs game and do everything possible to get through.
âIâm not bothered about the past, just Wednesday night. We have to be driven, focused, not thinking about other things.
âEveryone is under some kind of illusion that weâre already in the semi-finals, and we mustnât think like that. On Wednesday, we are going to be put to the sword and we need to get through it.
âWeâll try our best, weâve gone through the whole season to get to this point.â
Real will entertain Juve having endured a frustrating afternoon as Antoine Griezmann snatched a point for Atletico after Cristiano Ronaldo had fired the the home side into a 53rd-minute lead.
Zidane said: âIâm happy with the match and how we performed because we clearly deserved more. It was a shame we didnât get more from it, but we could have even lost the game at the end.
âIn the first half, we created chances, but we didnât score. Then in the second, we got the goal, but they made it difficult for us for 10 minutes after the goal and they levelled things up.
âWe had a lot of chances and we did enough to win, but we didnât get over the line. Itâs a shame that we didnât get the three points.â
Eyebrows were raised when Ronaldo was withdrawn with 27 minutes remaining, but Zidane insisted the 33-year-old needed a rest.
He said: âWeâve got a lot of games and from time to time, he has to rest and thatâs it. Heâs clever and there are times when you have to rest.
âNowadays he needs it and every time it does him good, you can see.â
Diego Simeone, whose side beat Sporting Lisbon 2-0 in the Europa League on Thursday evening, was satisfied with a draw as Atletico attempt to close the gap to runaway leaders Barcelona.
He said: âWe wanted to win in order to cut distance to Barcelona, which is our objective at this stage in the season with just seven matches left.
âIt was an important match and after working hard on Thursday, the lads made an enormous effort and we got the draw.â