NEWS | 23/09/2015
“It was a tough match but in the end we earned the three points, which was the most important thing", noted Kovacic.“Athletic were great opponents but we had a lot of chances on goal, in particular during the first half. We know how hard it is to win here, we lost this fixture last year and we're delighted with how we played tonight. This win will fill us with confidence for the upcoming matches. Next up we face Málaga, following that we're in the Champions League again, and then we take on Atlético”.
Kovacic starting
“I know him really well and he's showing us everything he is capable of doing. He has a lot of talent and is a player who will continue growing bit by bit. He's very happy, he put in a great performance”.
Celta-Barcelona
“At half time we were made aware that they were losing 2-0 and that surprised us. But we don't need to concern ourselves with other teams' results".
The whole team played well, we deserved to win.
"We only need to focus on our own games, on fighting and winning. We're dependent on ourselves and as long as we continue playing like we did tonight we'll be fine”.
Benzema
“He's a great player. He's one of the best strikers in the world and we're fortunate enough to have him on our team”.
Keylor
“Records are not what matter but rather the fact that he had a great performance and made some incredible saves”.
Kovacic: “We played very well in the first half”
“It was a very tough match but in the end we got what we came here for, a win and three points. We played very well in the first half, not so well in the second, and Athletic made things extremely difficult for us through the pressure their defenders put on us. I'd like to thank Rafa Benítez for the trust he placed in me; I really enjoyed playing tonight's match. I'm very happy".
Benzema's great form at present
“Benzema is incredible, he helps the team out a lot with his goals, just as Cristiano Ronaldo does, and I'm delighted that he's enjoying this hot streak in front of goal”.
Accumulation of games
“Playing a game every three days is difficult but we have a deep enough squad to cope with the demands”.
