Zinedine Zidane has said that Real Madrid is focused on this season’s European title with the intention of winning it, Marca revealed.

The Los Blancos were eliminated last season by Manchester City in the Round of 16 after a 4-2 aggregate on behalf of Guardiola’s side in the two legs. The Real Madrid manager did not rule out the difficult moment associated with playing to win the ultimate prize yet assured that regardless of that, his team is battle-ready. 

Los Blancos begin their opening Group stage match against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

When asked if Madrid should be considered favourites, the Frenchman said, “We know who we are and what we want. The important thing is to prepare, but many teams want to win the Champions League. We are going to try to win it. There will be difficult moments, for sure. But when you win it, you also go through difficult moments. We expect a lot from the Champions League."

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The manager updated on the injury of Eden Hazard who is yet to make his first appearance of the new season, having enjoyed limited numbers on the bench since his club-record move from Chelsea.

The Belgian who scored 110 goals in 352 games for Chelsea after joining from Lille in 2012 according to Zidane has stepped up his recovery and is training with the squad.

"His injury was more than expected, but he has already stepped out onto the field. I fully trust the people who work with him. I hope that soon we can see Hazard forever. We want him to come in and be with us all season."