Rose: “If I'd been Real Madrid coach I'd also have been angry about what happened in Valencia”
“We have to put on a great performance to come back,” said Dani Olmo.
Leipzig coach Marco Rose and Spanish forward Dani Olmo spoke to the media in the Santiago Bernabéu press room the day before the second leg of the Champions League last-16 clash (Wednesday, 9pm CET). The German coach said: “The tie is very much in Real Madrid's favour but there are no guarantees in football. We can feel that they have won all the trophies in the world, but we have to go into the game with enthusiasm, fight and show that we have earned our place in the last 16 of the Champions League.”
“We're confident that we can come back. If we weren't convinced that we can win, we'd go home. Tomorrow we will believe in it and we'll go to bed with the excitement and the joy of achieving an exceptional result.”
Refereeing
“I'm not worried about the referees. We have a lot of confidence. Things can happen in football, I saw it against Valencia. If I'd been Real Madrid coach I'd also have been angry and quite upset. But in the end I think it balances out. If we feel unfairly treated it's not nice. For tomorrow we have a good Italian referee, who I'm sure will do well.”
Praise for Bellingham
“He's a top lad. He has a great character, he's a warrior who wants to win every game. At Real Madrid he plays a special role and he's adapted very well in his first year and has become a leader in the team. I'm surprised by the number of goals he's scored, I wouldn't have imagined this number of goals during his first season, and that they were so important. He has no limits.”
On Brahim and the veteran players
“They're a team with excellent players. I have respect for the older players too, like Luka Modric, Toni Kroos. The guy who scored the goal in the first leg, Brahim Díaz, maybe he's not so well known, but he's the only one, although I know him from the UEFA Youth League and he's going to become very well known.”
Dani Olmo: “The tie is still open”
“It's all in the small details, in the turnovers, in the recoveries. We have to put on a perfect performance. Against Real Madrid, if you attack and don't score, they're going to beat you.”
“The first leg left us with a bittersweet taste because we had chances to score and take the lead. It gave us the confidence that it is possible to come back. The tie is still open. We have to put on a great performance tomorrow.”