De Gea: “We stood up to Real Madrid but there was Iker, who saved everything”
“Hopefully we’ll be settled into European spots when there are three games left”
De Gea was the player in charge of attending to the press after Tuesday’s training at the Majadahonda Sports Complex. The pain from the loss to Real Madrid was lingering and the Atlético de Madrid goalkeeper spoke about the second goal conceded, the team’s play, and the confidence that he has in the squad reaching its goal, which is none other than to finish the season in Europa League spots.
Concerning the reasons that they lost the derby to Real Madrid, he had no doubts. “Iker was in goal for Madrid. We played a great game and had plenty of chances, but were unable to win the match.”
As regards what happened on Özil’s goal, the ‘rojiblanco’ keeper said that “they pulled the ball back, there were lots of players in between, and when he struck it I didn’t see the ball until it was right on top of me and it didn’t give me time to react.”
With respect to whether this defeat hurt more than others at the Calderón, De Gea stated that “all losses hurt. Perhaps it hurts a bit more against Madrid, but I think that the team stood up to them and played well. We had a whole lot of chances but Iker played fantastically. You can’t ask for anything more. We created a ton of chances but were unable to score more goals. We played a great match and Iker was there, who can save everything in any given contest.”
A loss after a five-game unbeaten run was upsetting to the ‘rojiblanco’ players, although, as De Gea highlighted, Atlético are going to finish in European competition. “We showed face and played well against Real Madrid. We have to stay along that line, continue with the same kind of play and try to score more goals than our opponents. We’re close to European spots, there are nine fixtures left, and those are nine finals. We have to keep working from match-to-match to move up and surely at the end we’ll be up there with the squad that we have.”
The end of the season is very different from last year, when the team played in two finals and won the Europa League. “We have goal of qualifying for European competition, which isn’t small change. It’s always tough to achieve that in this league because any team can make things difficult for you. That’s how we look at the season. We only have La Liga left and we have to focus to try and make it to Europe.”
Nobody in the dressing room wants to look at the numbers. “We’re going little-by-little, game to game, trying to give our best in each one. We have one week ahead to work hard. Hopefully we’ll already be settled into European spots when there are two or three games left.”
To finish, he was asked to give an evaluation of the season. “It hasn’t been the season we were hoping for. We’re sticking to the goal of qualifying for Europe and we’re going to train with the same desire, and hopefully the team can qualify for the Europa League”.
Concerning the reasons that they lost the derby to Real Madrid, he had no doubts. “Iker was in goal for Madrid. We played a great game and had plenty of chances, but were unable to win the match.”
As regards what happened on Özil’s goal, the ‘rojiblanco’ keeper said that “they pulled the ball back, there were lots of players in between, and when he struck it I didn’t see the ball until it was right on top of me and it didn’t give me time to react.”
With respect to whether this defeat hurt more than others at the Calderón, De Gea stated that “all losses hurt. Perhaps it hurts a bit more against Madrid, but I think that the team stood up to them and played well. We had a whole lot of chances but Iker played fantastically. You can’t ask for anything more. We created a ton of chances but were unable to score more goals. We played a great match and Iker was there, who can save everything in any given contest.”
A loss after a five-game unbeaten run was upsetting to the ‘rojiblanco’ players, although, as De Gea highlighted, Atlético are going to finish in European competition. “We showed face and played well against Real Madrid. We have to stay along that line, continue with the same kind of play and try to score more goals than our opponents. We’re close to European spots, there are nine fixtures left, and those are nine finals. We have to keep working from match-to-match to move up and surely at the end we’ll be up there with the squad that we have.”
The end of the season is very different from last year, when the team played in two finals and won the Europa League. “We have goal of qualifying for European competition, which isn’t small change. It’s always tough to achieve that in this league because any team can make things difficult for you. That’s how we look at the season. We only have La Liga left and we have to focus to try and make it to Europe.”
Nobody in the dressing room wants to look at the numbers. “We’re going little-by-little, game to game, trying to give our best in each one. We have one week ahead to work hard. Hopefully we’ll already be settled into European spots when there are two or three games left.”
To finish, he was asked to give an evaluation of the season. “It hasn’t been the season we were hoping for. We’re sticking to the goal of qualifying for Europe and we’re going to train with the same desire, and hopefully the team can qualify for the Europa League”.