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Zidane: Benzema? A complicated season, but he's not giving up

Zidane: Benzema? A complicated season, but he's not giving up

Zinedine Zidane has issued another defence of beleaguered striker Karim Benzema.

The Frenchman has scored only five Liga goals this season, fuelling speculation that the Merengues would be looking for another attacker in the summer window.

Recent articles indicated that president Florentino Perez wanted to sell both the former Lyon man and Gareth Bale, and was hoping to use the resulting kitty (a maximum of 200 million) to find himself a new force, with names like Harry Kane, Mauro Icardi and Eden Hazard being bandied about.

Yet speaking after Real defeated Malaga 2-1 at the weekend, Coach Zidane defended his man, who is admittedly very useful to Real in buildup.

“Benzema? He’s not going to throw in the towel. He likes scoring and had chances. He played very well and only lacked the goal.

“It’s been complicated for him in front of goal this season, but it’s not over yet.”

Zidane also spoke about Real’s current rotation, insisting that he was resting players ahead of the Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.

“Managing the team? It’s not easy, I wanted to do it as best as possible, rotating the squad and resting players, even though not everyone can rest.

“We’re one match away from the semi-finals, so we’ll see. We’re in a good run of form, we’re healthy, without any problems and that’s important.”