Lenglet: ‘Pedri thinks faster than others

After FC Barcelona’s 3-0 away win at Real Valladolid, Ronald Koeman and Clément Lenglet spoke about the connection between Lionel Messi and Pedri and the much-needed rest for the players. The voices for the game.

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Clement Lenglet: “We played a full game today – with lots of chances and no goal – except for the end, which was a little weaker. We are very happy. We had to win and we did.

… about the system change with three central defenders: “That decision is up to the coach. He decides and it worked well today. Jordi and Sergiño were able to play higher without having to defend too much large spaces behind them – that helped us too. We tried [das System mit der Dreierkette einzustudieren], but we hardly have time to train because we have to play every three days. We do what we can in the short time we have to get the best out of it. “

… about Pedri: “He doesn’t have the build of a top athlete, but his head thinks a lot faster than others. He has a special ‘feeling’ with Messi because they are two very intelligent footballers.”

… about his gesture towards Moussa Wagué: “He’s a locker room friend I spent two seasons with. He’s sustained a bad injury and we hope he’ll recover soon.”

Ronald Koeman: “The key was playing with three center-backs. We changed the line-up to be more confident in defense and to use the quality of our full-backs and to be able to build between the lines with players like Pedri, Pjanic and Messi.”

“That system worked well today. We managed to find players in the middle of the field and create a lot of scoring opportunities. We were also extremely focused.”

“We know the bottom line is what matters most, but today we won with good football and lots of scoring opportunities.”

“The connection between Messi and Pedri is very good. It is normal for Messi to play better when he is surrounded by good players at the top.”

… about Miralem Pjanic: “He played well. He had to wait for his chance to play a game over 90 minutes because there is a lot of competition in this position. He acted well between the laymen and also on the defensive.”

… about Pedri: “He’s a very good player when he can play more in the center between the lines.”

… about Lionel Messi: “I’ve said it many times: From my point of view, Leo seems satisfied. With his creativity, he’s very important for our game.”

… about the formation with the three central defenders: “I don’t know if we will do that again. For now, it was only for today’s game.”

… about the upcoming mini winter break: “We need to rest. We have played a lot of games and now it’s time to take a break and celebrate Christmas.”