The ‘rojiblancos’ agree that they deserved the win over Espanyol
Koke: “It was a pity, but the draw isn’t all bad”
The Atlético de Madrid players who appeared before the media agreed that they felt like they’d left two points on the road against Espanyol. The team was better than its opponent, but couldn’t finish things off with more goals which would have given the ‘rojiblancos’ a well-deserved win.
Jorge Resurrección, Koke, was the central figure for the 40 minutes he was on the field. He was the author of the first goal and played well until he had to leave the pitch injured after getting sandwiched between two Espanyol players after ripping a shot on goal. “The injury was bad luck because I was feeling good on the pitch. I was unable to continue. The draw was a pity because we took the lead on the scoreboard twice and were unable to hold it. It was a shame, but I don’t think that the draw is all bad, either,” he stated.
He didn’t give up on the team’s chances of reaching a Champions spot. “You never know. We’re not going to stop fighting as long as we have a minimum chance.”
Koke summed up the game against Espanyol as “a very crazy match. We had the lead twice but were unable to earn the victory. Now we have to focus on the next fixture against Levante and move things forward.”
Tiago Mendes shared the same opinion as Koke. “After what happened in the match, I think that we lost two points because we took the lead twice and were unable to come out with the win. Perhaps we lacked having more control of the ball. In the first half, after our goal, we lost control of the game a bit and they scored the goal on us on an isolated play. We reacted well in the second half with an amazing goal from Kun, and then we saw a very hard-fought game with two teams that searched for the win and we ended up with a draw,” he stated.
He highlighted the goal-scoring instinct of Osvaldo, as well as the play of goalkeeper Kameni. “He scored two goals on us and I think he’s a very good player. He had two chances and converted them both. Then, Kameni made a great save on my header, somehow getting his hand on that. But that’s football and it was a pity because I feel like we could have won,” he pointed out.
He admitted that to have continued to think about Champions League, they would have had to have won at Cornellá. “It’s very tough, but we have to go match-to match. We have to try and earn the three points against Levante and stay in the fight. We can’t look beyond the next game,” he finished.
Jorge Resurrección, Koke, was the central figure for the 40 minutes he was on the field. He was the author of the first goal and played well until he had to leave the pitch injured after getting sandwiched between two Espanyol players after ripping a shot on goal. “The injury was bad luck because I was feeling good on the pitch. I was unable to continue. The draw was a pity because we took the lead on the scoreboard twice and were unable to hold it. It was a shame, but I don’t think that the draw is all bad, either,” he stated.
He didn’t give up on the team’s chances of reaching a Champions spot. “You never know. We’re not going to stop fighting as long as we have a minimum chance.”
Koke summed up the game against Espanyol as “a very crazy match. We had the lead twice but were unable to earn the victory. Now we have to focus on the next fixture against Levante and move things forward.”
Tiago Mendes shared the same opinion as Koke. “After what happened in the match, I think that we lost two points because we took the lead twice and were unable to come out with the win. Perhaps we lacked having more control of the ball. In the first half, after our goal, we lost control of the game a bit and they scored the goal on us on an isolated play. We reacted well in the second half with an amazing goal from Kun, and then we saw a very hard-fought game with two teams that searched for the win and we ended up with a draw,” he stated.
He highlighted the goal-scoring instinct of Osvaldo, as well as the play of goalkeeper Kameni. “He scored two goals on us and I think he’s a very good player. He had two chances and converted them both. Then, Kameni made a great save on my header, somehow getting his hand on that. But that’s football and it was a pity because I feel like we could have won,” he pointed out.
He admitted that to have continued to think about Champions League, they would have had to have won at Cornellá. “It’s very tough, but we have to go match-to match. We have to try and earn the three points against Levante and stay in the fight. We can’t look beyond the next game,” he finished.
