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Zinedine Zidane Explains Half-Time Double Change in Madrid Derby Win

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Zinedine Zidane absolved his players of blame for a muted first-half performance that forced him into making a double change in Real Madrid's 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

The Los Blancos manager took off Toni Kroos and Isco for Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius Junior at the break after Atleti outplayed his side:

Tom Allnutt @TomAllnuttAFP

HT 0-0. 255 mins these teams have now played without a goal. Madrid not great. Atletico significantly better but they can't score.

The switch worked. Vinicius played a key role in Karim Benzema's 56th-minute goal, which secured Real a rare home victory against their city rivals in the league:

Semra Hunter @SemraHunter

FT: 1-0 BIG win for Real Madrid in terms of title race as they go 6pts clear of Barça (in action Sun.