A patched-up Real Madrid kicked off a week that could define their season with a 2-0 win over Eibar to maintain the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
The reigning Spanish champions face Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday and a Clasico against Barcelona next weekend, and goals from Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema saw them move to within three points of Atletico.
Atletico play away at Sevilla on Sunday night while Barcelona, who are four points off the top, host Real Valladolid on Monday.
Zidane picked a makeshift starting line-up but not by choice, with Raphael Varane and Toni Kroos both on the bench, the latter after returning early from international duty due to a muscle problem.
Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal, Eden Hazard and Fede Valverde were all absent through injury.
None of that quartet are expected to return against Liverpool in midweek although Zidane is hopeful on Hazard and Valverde. "We have to wait. I hope they can be with us," he said.
"We had to make changes today and we haven't suffered," said Zidane. "Now we have to recover ahead of an important week."
Benzema will be essential to Madrid's hopes of reaching the Champions League semi-finals, and of beating Barcelona too, after the Frenchman made it 11 goals in his last 10 games.
The 33-year-old Frenchman looked refreshed after the international break, his exclusion from the national team continuing to be of benefit to Real Madrid.
But Asensio was arguably the star of the show, his lively display in the front three likely to earn him a starting spot in the trio of crunch games now to come. "I'm happy for him, this will give him confidence and energy," said Zidane.
Eibar, who stay 19th, would have suffered a heavier defeat were it not for three goals being chalked off for offside.
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The biog
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
Lifelong goal: My dream is to be a state minister
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
if you go
The flights
Emirates fly direct from Dubai to Houston, Texas, where United have direct flights to Managua. Alternatively, from October, Iberia will offer connections from Madrid, which can be reached by both Etihad from Abu Dhabi and Emirates from Dubai.
The trip
Geodyssey’s (Geodyssey.co.uk) 15-night Nicaragua Odyssey visits the colonial cities of Leon and Granada, lively country villages, the lake island of Ometepe and a stunning array of landscapes, with wildlife, history, creative crafts and more. From Dh18,500 per person, based on two sharing, including transfers and tours but excluding international flights. For more information, visit visitnicaragua.us.
BRAZIL%20SQUAD
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THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
