Zinedine Zidane claims Benzema’s incredible tunnel bust-up with Vinicius Jr was ‘good thing’ as French star ‘apologises’
ZINEDINE ZIDANE claimed Karim Benzema’s incredible tunnel bust-up with Vinicius Jr was a ‘good thing’ – and the striker has reportedly apologised for his outburst.
Camera footage at half-time in Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Borussia Monchengladbach showed Benzema criticising his team-mate.
He even told left-back Ferland Mendy not to pass to the Brazilian winger, accusing the youngster of ‘playing against’ his own team.
But Los Blancos boss Zidane insisted there is no rift between the pair and that anything said during a match is forgotten after the full-time whistle.
He said: “The most important thing is that it’s cleared up and that the players sort it out themselves.
“You say a lot of things on the pitch, but it always stays there.
“It’s good that these kind of things happen, because it means we’re alive and in the moment.
“They spoke and that’s that. This kind of thing happens all the time on the pitch, things get heated. You say things about yourself, others and even me.”
According to Marca, Benzema, 32, has since said sorry to Vinicius for persuading Mendy to avoid giving the ball to the £38million man.
The French defender played to Vinicius just three times in the second half despite the pair both operating down the left.
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And Vinicius, 20, is thought to have accepted the apology with the pair back on good terms.
Real Madrid trailed 2-0 to the Bundesliga side at half-time but Benzema struck in the 87th minute before Casemiro grabbed a dramatic equaliser in the third minute of injury time to rescue a point.