[Chiringuito] What happened that Real Madrid fell so badly in the second half?
It happened that we played with a very good team that showed great intensity, never lost away and rested two days longer than us. The first half was very good, and the second half, if we didn’t increase the score, the last minutes will be like that. It’s true that we missed more passes in the second half than we did in the first half. We suffered 15-20 minutes, but that is also a feature of the team. A team can play football and can suffer when they are not able to play the football they want. Sometimes when teams can’t do what they want to do, they give up. Real Madrid is not like that. This group of players has a very strong character and at the moment a very high commitment. Seven wins in a row is not lucky. We won because when we sometimes cannot take advantage of our quality, we have other advantages. I am very pleased. I will say more: I liked the endgame more than the first half. Because the first half actually looked like a game show, but you missed the punch. There was no desire to look for something to create an opportunity. We played great, but something was missing. It was also missing in the tip, but quality was lacking in the tip. However, there was no shortage of commitment. We fought.
[Onda Cero] You talk about commitment, talent, quality, suffering, but you are not talking about fatigue. Don’t you think it’s not about the team, but specific players are starting to get tired? That you have to change them faster and faster, like Modricia or Kroosa? Also Benzema and Casemiro. Don’t you see fatigue in the syndrome?
The team ended tired. She was tired in the end, and that’s normal. When you play with a newer band, because they rested more than you, it’s normal to pay a little for it in the end. I need to do this assessment before the next game to see if those players who ended up tired can play. You can also think about it that for 5 shifts I put players with more quality for 60 minutes, and with more energy for the remaining 30 minutes.
[COPE] Wouldn’t you rather suffer less? During the season, you had a few matches at the meeting point, where in the end one action can wipe out your entire effort.
When you are only leading with the golem, you always have to suffer in the endgame. There is no 1-0 game in which you hate. You must suffer. If you do not raise your score to 2-0 or 3-0, then you have to suffer to the end, because in football anything can happen: a fixed fragment, a long ball, an individual defensive error … At 1-0, anything can happen.
[SER] The results are great and the team is showing good football. Are you satisfied with everything the team shows? Something’s not working? Need to look for corrections for matches against Sociedad, Inter and Atlético?
Sure I have to think about it, we have three games close together and we don’t have time to rest. I have to assess all of this well and make decisions. Also, this series is great and I am very, very happy with everything: playing, not playing, playing 5 minutes, not playing at all. We go further. The atmosphere in the band is very good, I like that.
[Radio Nacional] The Athletic coach, who lost their first game away, commented that his team had never had so many chances at the Santiago Bernabéu and that they had never deserved so much to win. You agree? Athletic deserved a win?
He had the opportunity, it’s true. They played well, especially in the second half, but only Real Madrid played in the first 30 minutes, so … I think you have to trust the result.
[AS] Courtois was the star of the game again. Are you worried that the goalkeeper is the most outstanding player on the team? [śmiech Carlo] And after such a performance, does it surprise you even more that he is not nominated for individual awards?
Courtois does exceptional things, but that doesn’t worry me. We have to improve defensively. In those two games, we suffered from set pieces. We have to do well. In the first 15 games we didn’t concede a single goal from a set piece. We do have Courtois, however, and we are enjoying it.
[MARCA] You have led the career of the best goalkeepers in the world. Were any of them on a par with Courtois today?
[uśmiech] It’s hard to say because it’s true that I was lucky enough to lead great goalkeepers. Here I had Iker and Diego López, and in the career of Buffon, Čech, Neuer … It’s a huge list. Thibaut is without a doubt among the best. He’s the best for us right now.
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