Zidane Insists Real Madrid Will 'Have to Fight' to Reach UCL Final Despite 2-1 Away Win Over Bayern

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was pleased that his side's efforts were rewarded with a convincing 2-1 away win, despite going 1-0 down early on to hosts

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was pleased that his side's efforts were rewarded with a convincing 2-1 away win, despite going 1-0 down early on to hosts Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final first-leg.

The French coach addressed the media after the game, saying to the official website how there's still a great deal of work ahead despite goals from Marcelo and Marco Asensio at the Allianz Arena.

“We can be happy, satisfied with that result. It was tough at the start and we struggled to get the ball. We were better in the second half," said the two-time Champions League winning manager.

CHRISTOF STACHE/GettyImages

"Winning here is not easy. We suffered in the first half. We have the motivation to do well, but we struggled. We like playing here and playing well. We started badly but finished well. They had their chances but we controlled the game."

One notable absence from the starting lineup was Welsh star Gareth Bale, who after speaking to the German media about his admiration for the current Bundesliga champions was dropped to the bench. 

Despite not featuring in the first leg, Zidane insisted that Bale still has an important part to play in the side's key fixtures this season.

"I have to make choices and I've got some very good players in the squad," said Zidane. 

"There are some players who are performing well at the moment. There are still more games to come and I'll be relying on him. It's not true that I don't play him".

Now all the attention will return to the second leg in Madrid next week, and whether Los Blancos can hang on to their 2-1 lead to advance to the final in Kiev, where they will face either Liverpool or Roma.