ZINEDINE ZIDANE has said Real Madrid must not rely on Cristiano Ronaldo to carry them through their Champions League semi-final with Bayern Munich.



That’s after the Portuguese talisman scored an 87th-minute equaliser to prevent an La Liga defeat to Athletic Bilbao last night.

Ronaldo now has 41 goals in 39 matches in all competitions this season having scored 26 of those in 15 games since January 21.

The 33-year-old has been in sensational form in Europe in particular, scoring in all of the Spanish outfit’s 10 Champions League outings so far.

His 15-goal continental haul includes a pivotal stoppage-time penalty that saw off Juventus in the last round after the Italian giants had overturned a three-goal deficit against the reigning European champions.

But as they look to win the competition for the third successive season, with the victors of their final-four clash with Bayern facing either Liverpool or Roma in the final in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, Zidane insists they cannot afford to simply look to Ronaldo to carry them.

“We can think there will be other players as well as Cristiano who could make the difference in Munich,” the Frenchman, who has led Real to two Champions League successes in just two years at the helm, said.

“We have to stay focused because it's a Champions League semi-final and we're defending our title. We're in for a great end to the season and we have to think about the semi-final.

“We're coming into it well on a mental level and in terms of how we're playing, just not quite so good on a results basis. Two average games won't affect our positivity.

“We have to rest up and then we've got five days before the game to train well and give it our all. We'll give it everything we've got to defend our title.

“We're not going to mix anything up, we'll continue with what we're doing. We have to stay positive.”

Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga - who has previously been heavily linked with a switch to Real Madrid - kept the hosts at bay until Ronaldo’s equaliser as a handful of chances went unexploited.

But Zidane insists he has no concerns over Los Blancos’ recent profligacy.

He added: “I’m not worried. We've had chances in the last few games without scoring many but we shouldn't think too much about it.

“We have to be optimistic, we can't be looking at and listening to what you're saying, we'll concentrate on the positive elements.

“It's only been a couple of games. We have to focus on Wednesday's match to turn this around.”

Real Madrid face Bayern Munich in the first-leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on Wednesday (7:45pm)