Solari: "We had the chances to have won by a bigger margin"

NEWS | 15/12/2018 | Javier García

“I’m satisfied, it was a very good first-half performance”, added the coach.

Solari appeared in the press room at the Santiago Bernabéu to discuss the win over Rayo in the final home game of the year: “I’m satisfied, we put in a very good first-half performance. We dominated the ball, made the most of the space, created chances and pressed very well. We should have gone in with a bigger lead at the break. That’s football, when you’re not clinical you know you’ll have to dig in at some point. We had chances in the second half as well, Asensio’s for instance, and we didn’t give away any chances until right at the end”.

“The opposition play some good stuff too, Rayo move the ball well if you leave spaces and they’re capable of playing nice football. The pace dropped in the second half but we didn’t give them a sniff until the final minute and Courtois did brilliantly. When you don’t kill the game off, these things will happen. The opposition want to score too. I’d be more concerned if we weren’t creating the chances”.

Asensio
“He had a very lively game. He was keen to get on the scoresheet and moved well in attack, and defensively as well. That’s the Asensio we all want to see. I really enjoyed his performance, he has to keep going because the goals will come for him”.

I REALLY ENJOYED ASENSIO'S PERFORMANCE, THAT'S WHAT WE ALL WANT TO SEE FROM HIM.

"We'll try and get more goals. We had far more chances tonight than we did at Huesca, where we won 1-0 and managed to hold on to our lead. Our performance today meant that Rayo weren't allowed to create any chances, whilst we fashioned a hatful. We should have won by a bigger margin today. The goals will come for us in another game and we'll keep plugging away".

Isco
"What I'm interested in is that all of the players are happy and committed. That's what we all work towards, so that they're all available. I try to get things right when I name my squads, line-ups and with my substitutions. I'm sure I make mistakes, but it's all part of my job".

Benzema knock
"We'll have to see, we haven't had a chance to have a look. I believe that it's a knock and we'll have a look at it on the plane, because we haven't got much time now. Marco also picked up a knock".

The fans
"I loved the way the fans got behind us right throughout the whole game, we're delighted with them. We wanted their backing and they backed us from start to finish and we gave them reason to with our play. It's normal that there was that vibe after the chance that Rayo had right at the death. We're happy to have topped our Champions League group, progressed in the Copa de Rey and to have cut the lead at the top of LaLiga".

Kit 2022/23Buy now!