Zidane: Why I Took Ronaldo Off In Madrid Derby

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has explained why he substituted Cristiano Ronaldo off early in their 1-1 LaLiga draw with rivals Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

Click through the mini-gallery above to see Ronaldo in action on Sunday!

The Madrid Derby might have finished as a draw on Sunday, but the clash between the city rivals was not short on quality football and remarkable goalkeeping.

Despite Jan Oblak keeping Diego Simeone's Atletico in the match, the deadlock was finally broken by Ronaldo in the 53rd minute, only for it to be cancelled out by FC Barcelona target Antoine Griezmann four minutes later.

The Portuguese was surprisingly taken off by Zidane 64 minutes into the tie, a decision the manager has since insisted was made in order to rest his superstar man ahead of their UEFA Champions League tie against Juventus on Wednesday.

"It was just to rest," he said, according to AS.

"We have many games, that's it. Sometimes he needs to rest. Cristiano is Cristiano, he has been this player all his life, scoring 50 goals a season.

"True, nobody else does that. But others can score, have done recently, and we must think about the positives."

Barca Star Responds To Ronaldo's Bicycle Goal

Ronaldo has now scored 40 goals and has assisted a further seven strikes in 37 matches for Real this season.

Do you think Ronaldo could have won the game for Real had he stayed on? Let us know in the comments section below.