The Atlético players, happy about the win
Valera: “Everything is possible on Thursday; we can turn it around”
Atlético de Madrid players David De Gea, Fran Mérida and Juan Valera appeared extremely satisfied after the match played by the team. All three players agreed that the starting line-up sent out by Quique Sánchez Flores had performed at a high level during the entire game, despite adversities such as the sending off of Antonio López.
David De Gea stated that the moment when the penalty was called was “complicated, because we were left a man down, but the important thing was the save and the teamwork, which was incredible. This is the fighting spirit we always have to show, in every match, running and playing like that, with lots of momentum. That way, things are going to go better for us,” assured the goalkeeper.
The starting squad drawn up by the ‘rojiblanco’ manager had many changes with respect to the line-up from previous encounters, which De Gea considered normal given that at Atlético “all of the players are important. The eleven on whom the gaffer decided played; players who haven’t been playing as much recently played very well. We played a very good game in defence,” he commented.
Furthermore, the home-grown footballer referred to the date on Thursday against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarterfinal return leg. Despite the absences, he believes that they can come back. “Kun is a key player for us; he’s one of the best, but we also have Forlán and Diego Costa. There are other players who will surely play well. We all believe that we can fight back and our supporters are going to push us on,” he emphasized.
Juan Valera opened the scoring with a header off a corner kick from Reyes. The right back was happy about the win, as well as about his personal play. “I’m pleased with the result and with the goal, which helped the team win. And I’m happy because the team won after two losses. We know that this result is going to help us going into Thursday’s fixture. We have to go out hard because there’s no other option. We have to try and get a quick goal and with the help of the fans and the desire with which the team will come out, everything is possible and we can turn this around. We’re going to work hard to move up spots in the table and get into the top four.”
Regarding the absence of Agüero in Thursday’s derby and the solid play of De Gea, Valera highlighted that “you always miss Kun when he’s out. He’s an important player for us, but whoever takes his place will try to play as well as possible. It’s no longer news for David to play matches like that, and that’s good for us because it gives us a security which is important for the squad.”
Fran Mérida played a fine match as a starter. He assisted on the second goal (Forlán) and is confident of coming back in the Cup. “We needed a victory like that at home and we’re happy because it was a favourable result. We had good combinations, especially in the first half. It was a new system for us, but we adjusted well. We had a bit of a harder time keeping the ball in the second half. If they had scored the penalty, it would have been 2-1 and they would have put lots of pressure on us. De Gea played very well like always; he’s been showing that for some time now. I feel most comfortable in the central midfield, but I’m also comfortable on the left wing. Even so, the important thing is to contribute to the team and earn victories like we did today.”
Mérida appeared confident of the club’s chances against Real Madrid. “We know that it’s going to be a tough match, but here at the Calderón we have our supporters and we’re going to go for it. Of course, if we could get this same result on Thursday it would be fantastic. What’s clear is that we’re going to give our all. We have to go out strong and pressure them, make sure that they don’t feel comfortable or have spaces. In attack, we have to try and create danger, make them uncertain and finish off those attacks with goals. I hope that the fans support us as they’ve been doing up till now and that Madrid feel lots of pressure when they come here.”
David De Gea stated that the moment when the penalty was called was “complicated, because we were left a man down, but the important thing was the save and the teamwork, which was incredible. This is the fighting spirit we always have to show, in every match, running and playing like that, with lots of momentum. That way, things are going to go better for us,” assured the goalkeeper.
The starting squad drawn up by the ‘rojiblanco’ manager had many changes with respect to the line-up from previous encounters, which De Gea considered normal given that at Atlético “all of the players are important. The eleven on whom the gaffer decided played; players who haven’t been playing as much recently played very well. We played a very good game in defence,” he commented.
Furthermore, the home-grown footballer referred to the date on Thursday against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarterfinal return leg. Despite the absences, he believes that they can come back. “Kun is a key player for us; he’s one of the best, but we also have Forlán and Diego Costa. There are other players who will surely play well. We all believe that we can fight back and our supporters are going to push us on,” he emphasized.
Juan Valera opened the scoring with a header off a corner kick from Reyes. The right back was happy about the win, as well as about his personal play. “I’m pleased with the result and with the goal, which helped the team win. And I’m happy because the team won after two losses. We know that this result is going to help us going into Thursday’s fixture. We have to go out hard because there’s no other option. We have to try and get a quick goal and with the help of the fans and the desire with which the team will come out, everything is possible and we can turn this around. We’re going to work hard to move up spots in the table and get into the top four.”
Regarding the absence of Agüero in Thursday’s derby and the solid play of De Gea, Valera highlighted that “you always miss Kun when he’s out. He’s an important player for us, but whoever takes his place will try to play as well as possible. It’s no longer news for David to play matches like that, and that’s good for us because it gives us a security which is important for the squad.”
Fran Mérida played a fine match as a starter. He assisted on the second goal (Forlán) and is confident of coming back in the Cup. “We needed a victory like that at home and we’re happy because it was a favourable result. We had good combinations, especially in the first half. It was a new system for us, but we adjusted well. We had a bit of a harder time keeping the ball in the second half. If they had scored the penalty, it would have been 2-1 and they would have put lots of pressure on us. De Gea played very well like always; he’s been showing that for some time now. I feel most comfortable in the central midfield, but I’m also comfortable on the left wing. Even so, the important thing is to contribute to the team and earn victories like we did today.”
Mérida appeared confident of the club’s chances against Real Madrid. “We know that it’s going to be a tough match, but here at the Calderón we have our supporters and we’re going to go for it. Of course, if we could get this same result on Thursday it would be fantastic. What’s clear is that we’re going to give our all. We have to go out strong and pressure them, make sure that they don’t feel comfortable or have spaces. In attack, we have to try and create danger, make them uncertain and finish off those attacks with goals. I hope that the fans support us as they’ve been doing up till now and that Madrid feel lots of pressure when they come here.”