Domínguez: 'We want to be in the final and to get there we have to beat Madrid”
“We’re a tough team to beat in a two-leg tie”
Álvaro Domínguez is confident that Atlético can win the Cup tie against Real Madrid. After taking down Espanyol, the defender is already thinking about the high–octane rivalry with their inner-city neighbours, and stated that “of course we can make noise against Real Madrid; Levante showed that in the Cup match. They’re not an unbeatable team, even though they have good players, but we also have our qualities. We know that we’re a tough team to beat in a two-leg tie.”
The central defender didn’t want to lend importance to the injuries of the ‘blancos’ in the lead-up to the qualifying round, saying that “we also have had players out, as has Real Madrid, but I don’t think they’ll be affected by that. It’s going to be a nice qualifying tie for the supporters, and for us as well, as our hopes are to make it to the Cup final.”
The Atlético de Madrid player acknowledged that “we like home-and-away qualifiers; we showed that last year. We hope that we follow the same path this season. If we were to eliminate them it would be special. It would boost our morale for that competition and for La Liga. We want to make it to the Cup final and to do that we have to beat Real Madrid. Mourinho’s side is very reliable in back and has a good attack, so you can’t relax. We’re aware of that and we’ve played well against good squad both last season and so far this season.”
Concerning the league fixture against Hércules, Domínguez admitted that “after the draw against Racing, we need to earn points in our visit to Alicante, and there’s no better way than to grab all three points to stay close to the top spots.
“There’s always pressure at Atlético de Madrid. The part of the season and the competition don’t matter. We know what jersey we’re defending and that bears with it a series of consequences. All of the squad members are used to that pressure,” Álvaro Domínguez concluded.
The central defender didn’t want to lend importance to the injuries of the ‘blancos’ in the lead-up to the qualifying round, saying that “we also have had players out, as has Real Madrid, but I don’t think they’ll be affected by that. It’s going to be a nice qualifying tie for the supporters, and for us as well, as our hopes are to make it to the Cup final.”
The Atlético de Madrid player acknowledged that “we like home-and-away qualifiers; we showed that last year. We hope that we follow the same path this season. If we were to eliminate them it would be special. It would boost our morale for that competition and for La Liga. We want to make it to the Cup final and to do that we have to beat Real Madrid. Mourinho’s side is very reliable in back and has a good attack, so you can’t relax. We’re aware of that and we’ve played well against good squad both last season and so far this season.”
Concerning the league fixture against Hércules, Domínguez admitted that “after the draw against Racing, we need to earn points in our visit to Alicante, and there’s no better way than to grab all three points to stay close to the top spots.
“There’s always pressure at Atlético de Madrid. The part of the season and the competition don’t matter. We know what jersey we’re defending and that bears with it a series of consequences. All of the squad members are used to that pressure,” Álvaro Domínguez concluded.
