NEWS | 24/10/2020 | Eduardo Olivera | PHOTOGRAPHER: Antonio Villalba
"We picked up three points that will give us confidence going into the upcoming games", said Courtois.“That's the thing with playing against the best players in the world. We're sides who are defensively very good and we have great respect for each other. We went out with our motivation high and we achieved what we set out to do, which was to get goals. If I'm not mistaken, we had more possession in the first half and then in the second we decided to drop in as a block and defend after the second goal. Overall, very good, it's fantastic for our morale".
Penalty
“He grabbed me as I went to jump, it's pretty clear. I don't think it's fair to judge the referee for making a clear decision. They're there to try and do their job as best they can. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't, we have to live with it. We took advantage of their slump after the penalty to get the third goal and defend the result”.
Doubts about the team
“I've been here for 16 seasons and losing two games at Real Madrid constitutes a crisis. But we can't be changing our aims, we have to carry on picking up points and give a good account of ourselves in the Champions League. We have to ignore the criticism, it's only ever trying to bring us down. The three points are very sweet in our big rival's back yard, but there's a way to go yet”.
Solidity
“Communication makes things easier. The fans not being there helps you hear your teammates. We ran for ourselves and for our teammates".
Ramos: "The three points are very sweet, but there's a way to go yet".
“Negative energy is never good, but we veterans take care of it. We have to move on, just as we aren't going to spend three days celebrating a Clásico, we aren't going to do the same with a defeat”.
Personal effort
“I was a doubt because of my injury, but I set myself the objective of being involved. The doctors advised me to rest and all the work done has helped me”.
Composure from the penalty-spot
“I'm really pleased and even more so if it helps us win. As I always say, it's not important who scores the goals, but I hope I can keep the run going”.
Courtois: “The three points give us confidence”
“The three points give us great confidence. People doubted us, but luckily the players and the coach never did. We are united as a team. On Tuesday we play in the Champions League and we also have to win. We are very pleased, but now we have to start thinking about Tuesday's game."
Reflections on the game
“We got some goals, we did what we set out to do and what the manager wanted us to do. Jordi Alba can cause danger. He looks to get in behind and it was his cross for their goal. The match was even and I think I made a couple of saves. In the second half there weren't many clear chances but we scored a penalty and then a third, although Neto made some good saves”.
Back to winning ways
“We have to fight for this badge in every game and know what it represents. We had two bad games and today we played with a lot of desire. We worked very hard and that's what we have to do in every match".
