The world saw Cristiano Ronaldo throwing his arms up in disgust after his shot on goal was saved and team-mate Karim Benzema scored from the rebound. The world also saw his less than enthusiastic reaction to being taken off by manager Zinedine Zidane in the 72nd minute against Las Palmas. But most fans of Real Madrid are in complete agreement with Zidane’s decision to substitute Ronaldo.
In spite of a goal each from Spanish wonder-kid Marcos Asensio and Benzema, the Madrid giants failed to secure a win for their side. They were held to a draw by an 84th minute Las Palmas goal for a second consecutive game and the Los Blancos weren’t too happy about losing their advantage over rivals Barcelona, least of all Ronaldo.
The Portuguese winger did not have a good night against their opponents, having missed two shots on goal. He looked slow and unfit and despite his reaction to his substitution, a majority of Real Madrid supporters agreed with the change.
Also read: Twitter trolls Real Madrid and Ronaldo after dropping points to Las Palmas
In an online survey conducted by AS, a staggering 84 percent of their readers backed Zidane's decision to take Ronaldo off. In his post-match conference, Zidane explained his reasons for replacing Ronaldo.
“I know he always wants to play and always wants to stay on the field. But I also have to think about the players and for me it was best to rest and think about Tuesday." said the French manager. So, the change wasn’t spurred by Ronaldo’s lack of form that night but concern for their Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund this week.
Whether Ronaldo can see that far ahead is open for debate but the Frenchman seems to be doing his job the right way as his decision to substitute Ronaldo was met with the approval from a majority of Real Madrid fans.
Even though Ronaldo is rarely taken off for Madrid, now that he’s 31, he should expect it to happen more often and Zidane himself seemed to hint at it. “I have to take him off sometimes and tonight we did it. That isn't going to change what we are going to continue to do.”
The Portuguese international may not be accustomed to being replaced for tactical reasons, but he might have to with the manager solely focused on the club’s well-being and not individual players.
Real Madrid take on Borussia Dortmund in their second match of the Champions League group stage on Tuesday and if Ronaldo looks sharp and in-form, here’s hoping he’ll know who to thank for it.
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