Valverde: “Rodrygo and Vini were great creating chances”

NEWS STORY. 18/09/2022. Rodrigo Salamanca

The scorer of the league leaders’ second goal in Real Madrid’s win at the Metropolitano, Valverde, was very pleased with his side’s win: “We found it hard to get hold of the ball at the start, we knew they were going to press us high, but as the game went on we started to get into it and found space for Rodrygo and Vini who were great creating chances”. “That’s one of my strengths, breaking lines by dribbling. We knew that they were looking to press down one side and thanks to some good running with the ball, we were able to score the first goal”. End of the match”You always have to strive for more. In the second half the scoreline dictated how we played. You can sometimes drop off a bit when you’re two goals up, and that shouldn’t happen because if we’d finished more chances, a third could have been scored and it came back to cause us problems. We ended up conceding and we dropped deep”. Bang on the knee”I took a knock on my knee, it felt loose when I jumped and played, but it went away as the match went on. I’m feeling fine and I’ll be ready for the national team tomorrow”. Carvajal: “We came here looking for the win””We’re really happy and we accomplished our goal. We came here looking for the win. We’ve come away with the three points and they taste so much better in a derby. The objective was to get another win. We had a good first half, especially the first 30 minutes. As well as the two goals, we had another chance. We didn’t have the ball enough in the second half to cause them problems. At 0-2 we were cruising and then it became a bit more difficult for us. We go into the break feeling good”.

“We’re working on keeping clean sheets and we were under pressure at the end. The team put on a really complete display. We’re on a good winning run and the international break will give the squad a rest with the aim of returning with more energy”. Rodrygo“Karim is an essential player, but we have an incredible squad. This evening it was Rodrygo’s turn to play in the number nine position. He did really well and scored a great goal which allowed us to play freely in attack”.  Courtois: “We really wanted to keep the winning run going”“We’re pleased because it’s important to win a derby after losing the previous one. We really wanted to keep the winning run going and stay top of LaLiga”.

“We set out to control possession and draw in their pressure because they left gaps. We looked to have Rodrygo in one-on-one situations because of his speed. We managed to take advantage of that and that’s how we scored our two goals. It was a shame we conceded because it allowed them back into the game. They did well from set-pieces and we found it difficult to contain them, but, most importantly, we got the win”. Gaps left by the opposition“I tried to give the team a rest and look for the gaps. That’s where we looked to hit them. They started well in the first half. Then, after the high pressing, we tired and struggled to keep possession”.

International break“It’s a shame we can’t continue because the international break disrupts out run. We play against Osasuna after, and they’ve had a good start to the league. We’re delighted with out winning start and picking up three points at such a tough ground is important. But we need to make the most of this start and keep winning at home. Now we’re going to rest a bit and hope there are no injuries”.