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Zinedine Zidane quiet on Gareth Bale future after latest Real Madrid snub

:Headline: Zinedine Zidane quiet on Gareth Bale future after latest Real Madrid snub: ID:358366: from db_amp
Mariano scored a brace in Real's win.

Head coach Zinedine Zidane refused to discuss Gareth Bale's future after the Welshman was left out of the matchday squad as Real Madrid claimed a hard-fought 3-2 win over Villarreal on Sunday.

A brace from Mariano and Jesus Vallejo's close-range strike ultimately gave the home side all three points, although Villarreal had been on level terms through Gerard Moreno and created numerous chances before Jaume Costa scored in the fourth minute of injury time.

Despite Karim Benzema being ruled out through injury, Bale was deemed surplus to requirements by Zidane, fuelling speculation that Bale will leave the Bernabeu in the summer.

"I'm the coach, I have to pick the team and that's all there is to it," Zidane said of his decision to leave Bale out in quotes published on the club's official website.

"You can interpret it as you wish. I need to pick a squad of players and some are going to miss out."

Real bounced back from a stunning 1-0 defeat at lowly Rayo Vallecano last week and Zidane added: "We played much better than the other day and I feel much happier now, as do the players.

"We won the game at our ground and I'm pleased. It was a rather end-to-end game and when you're 3-1 up you shouldn't be letting them score, but we did. It's a variety of things, tiredness, the heat,  but we didn't finish the game brilliantly."

The home side took the lead after just two minutes when former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla dawdled in possession deep in Villarreal's half, allowing Brahim Diaz to nip in and tee up Mariano, who got between two defenders to stab home.

Moreno equalised in the 11th minute but Vallejo restored Real's lead before the interval and a brilliant cross from Dani Carvajal gave Mariano an easy close-range finish for his second goal of the game early in the second half.

Speaking about Mariano's performance, Zidane added: "Of course he's not had too many opportunities because he's been injured, he's been out for a long time. Mariano got his chance to play today and he's scored twice, I'm happy for him."

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2Real Madrid1173121111024
3Atletico MadridAtletico126511871123
4Villarreal116322019121
5Osasuna126331716121
6Athletic Bilbao125431812619
7Real BetisBetis125431210219
8Mallorca12534109118
9Rayo Vallecano114431210216
10Celta Vigo125161820-216
11Real Sociedad124351010015
12GironaGirona124351517-215
13Sevilla124351217-515
14AlavesAlaves124171419-513
15Leganes122551216-411
16Getafe12174810-210
17Espanyol123181122-1110
18Las PalmasLas Palmas122371321-89
19Real ValladolidValladolid12228924-158
20Valencia11146817-97
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