Zidane is the main culprit for Real Madrid's Champions League exit
The French coach opted for a cautious, defensive approach and didn't change his gameplan until it was too late
Real Madrid's early exit from the Champions League at the hands of Manchester City has seen Zinedine Zidane face criticism for his approach to the contest.
Whilst it's true that Raphael Varane's disaster class made it easier for Pep Guardiola's side, there were other mistakes which land firmly at the feet of Zidane. His system meant they were unable to ever gain control of the match, look dangerous on the break or force City to sit back and absorb pressure.
The idea of taking the game to City early and putting pressure on them never came to fruition. Zidane didn't change that a half-time and only shuffled his pack, in an attacking sense, was after the 80th minute. Everything before that was like-for-like, even bringing Asensio on for Rodrygo. With 10 minutes to go Zidane threw on Jovic, Lucas Vázquez and Valverde but it was too late. Many Madrid supporters can't understand why Vinicius Jr wasn't used when the team needed goals either.
Zidane's caution ultimately proved to be his undoing.
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