Real top because of performances, not referees: Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane launched a passionate defence of his team yesterday amid accusations the La Liga leaders have benefited from favourable refereeing decisions this season following their 3-2 win at Villarreal on Sunday.Real were awarded a fiercely contested penalty while trailing 2-1 at Villarreal for a handball by Bruno Soriano which the midfielder insisted was accidental, prompting a furious response from club president Fernando Roig towards the referee.Spanish sports daily Marca said the referees’ committee had denounced Roig’s comments to the Spanish soccer federation, which could see him fined up to 1,500 euros.Barcelona defender Gerard Pique meanwhile wrote on Twitter that Real had earned eight extra points this campaign due to dubious refereeing decisions.Real top the standings on 55 points, one ahead of Barcelona and with a game in hand, but Zidane said his side were leaders because of their displays on the pitch and not favourable treatment from officials.“Everyone can say what they want but it is not true, we’ve got everything we have achieved from what we have done on the pitch,” Zidane told a news conference yesterday on the eve of Real’s game with Las Palmas.“I’m proud of my players because they always respect referees, Real Madrid has always been professional and respectful. If we have to talk, we do it on the pitch.”Real’s record signing Gareth Bale has recovered from an ankle knock which forced him off towards the end of the win at Villarreal and set alarm bells ringing after he had recently returned from almost three months out following ankle surgery.Bale has been named in the squad for the visit of Las Palmas although midfield anchor Casemiro has been rested following a lacklustre display against Villarreal, which lead to him being substituted for Isco while Real were trailing 2-0.Good luck JeseZidane meanwhile hopes Jese Rodriguez rediscovers the form that once made him the star of Madrid’s academy, but only after his return to the Santiago Bernabeu with Las Palmas today.Jese left Madrid for French champions Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year deal in August for a reported 25 million euros ($26.8 million). However, he scored just twice in 14 appearances and quickly fell down the pecking order for PSG’s Spanish coach Unai Emery before joining home town club Las Palmas on loan in January.“I like him a lot as a player and a person, and I hope that from Thursday it goes well for him at Las Palmas,” Zidane said yesterday.When the Canary Islanders pushed the boat out to bring the 24-year-old forward back to La Liga at the end of January, qualifying for Europe was the aim.Instead, Las Palmas have lost all four games to Granada, Sevilla, Malaga and Real Sociedad since signing Jese to slip to 12th and cap his miserable season for far.A move away from Real was supposed to relaunch his career after the devastating effect of a cruciate knee ligament injury that cut short his breakthrough season in 2013/14 when Zidane was Madrid’s assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti.At the time Jese was one of the brightest young talents in world football with goals against Barcelona, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal that campaign putting him on the verge of a call-up to Spain’s 2014 World Cup squad.Despite going onto to make 94 appearances in all for Madrid, his career at the Bernabeu never recovered as he lived in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale and was also ultimately usurped by the likes of Lucas Vazquez for first team opportunities.“He is a high quality Spanish player who has always shown enormous potential,” added Zidane.