Morata to start against Espanyol as Zidane aims to convince striker to stay
Alvaro Morata will start Real Madrid's match with Espanyol on
Saturday as head coach Zinedine Zidane insists he is eager to keep him
at the club.
The striker has been linked with a move away at the end of the season
after reportedly growing frustrated with a lack of first-team
opportunities since his return from Juventus last June.
Morata admitted this week that he missed the Juve dressing room and
suggested he would have turned down the chance to return to the Santiago
Bernabeu if there had not been a buy-back clause in his contract.
Zidane has confirmed that the Spain international will face Quique
Sanchez Flores' side from the start and has assured him it will not be
his only chance to impress across 90 minutes for the remainder of the
season.
"I would not like it if Morata wanted to go at the end of the
season," he told a news conference. "He's had fewer minutes, fewer than
Karim, but he has had them. This is his home.
"He'll play from the start and it's not the last game in which he'll
play from the start. But you can't stop that - there will always be
players who have more minutes than others."
A win for Madrid will see them move four points clear of Barcelona at
the top of LaLiga, having played a game less, with Luis Enrique's side
not playing until Leganes visit Camp Nou on Sunday.
The champions' morale has taken a hit following their 4-0 Champions
League thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, but
Zidane believes their European campaign will have no impact on the
domestic title race.
"If Barcelona are knocked out, it won't change LaLiga," he said. "We only look at what we do.
"In the defeat, we saw a very strong Paris Saint-Germain and a
Barcelona who were less so. But there is always a return leg and you
have to play. We know Barca are a very good team and they can still do
things in the competition."
The former France star was hugely impressed by PSG's display but
warned that they have a difficult task ahead of them if they want to go
all the way in Europe's top competition for the first time.
"PSG are a clear candidate for the Champions League," he said. "They
have great potential and they're among the favourites. But it's a long,
hard road and it will be like that until the end. One result does not
make you win the Champions League."
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