Zinedine Zidane was willing to let Lucas Vázquez run if off. Cristiano Ronaldo had other ideas.
Real Madrid go into the final day of this season’s La Liga with an outside, yet decent, chance of winning the title.
Sunday’s 3-2 win over Valencia saw them stay on Barcelona’s tails – one point adrift – with the final matches this weekend.
The victory over Gary Neville’s briefly managed side was hard-fought and required every ounce of commitment. Real could not afford to carry passengers, even ones as talented as Lucas Vázquez.
The midfielder looked to have wrenched his knee during the second half of the game but, after treatment, he was keen to play on. Ronaldo had other ideas.
After trying to get Zidane’s attention from outside the Valencia box, Ronaldo jogged over to the touchline and told his coach that Vázquez was done for.
The 24-year-old jogged back onto the pitch only to be replaced moments later.
As it turned out, Ronaldo’s intuition was right.
Vázquez, the club confirmed, strained his medial knee ligament and is a big doubt for the finalé against Deportivo la Coruna.
There could be coaching career beckoning for CR7.
