Real coach Zidane says Ronaldo is always there during crucial times

Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane has heaped praise on prolific goal-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo saying the Portuguese football superstar always steps up during decisive moments.

Ronaldo hit a brace in Real's 4-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday as Ronaldo took his tally to 401 goals with the capital football giants.

"More than the goal itself, it's what he's done so far. In the decisive moments, he's always there," Zidane told his club's website.

"He's just got something, he's different," Zidane said.

He also praised his side. "The whole team has great character. When we are in a difficult situation we get out of it and play our way. Perhaps in scoring four goals we were too much for Sevilla, but we had a great second half," he said.

Real have a game in hand over FC Barcelona and control their destiny in the La Liga. Both teams are level on points. Ronaldo scored 37 goals in all competitions this season.

Real play Celta Vigo on Wednesday, who were knocked out of the Europa League semifinals by Manchester United last week.

Victory against Celta, and at Malaga next Sunday, will clinch a first title in five years for Real, irrespective of Barcelona's final two results.

"It's a very long road. Winning the league is not easy in Spain. Every day we get closer, continuing to pick up points, we've got two games to go and we'll try to continue along this line," he said.

"Until the end, until the last minute, we can't think about anything. We have to be focused on every game and every move. Every day we're closer, but it's more complicated. Anything can happen, but we always think positively and we'll give everything until the end," he added.

"Our daily job is to win the league. We haven't won it for some time, but we've not won anything yet. Two games to go. We've done very well so far, but we have to finish the job and finishing it well is the most difficult bit. We have to stay focused."

--IANS

dm-pur/dg