Ujfalusi: “We have to come out aggressive against Levante, pressure them and score goals”
“Our opponent is playing well, but we’re at home and you have to be able to notice that”
Tomas Ujfalusi believes that the draw against Espanyol was good but that they have to make it stand up by winning at home against Levante on Easter Sunday. Furthermore, the ‘rojiblanco’ defender doesn’t want to speculate on their rivals’ results in the battle for a European spot and only wants to focus on Levante.
The Czech player was clear when asked about the team’s mental state after drawing against Espanyol last Sunday. “I think that the team is fine. We’re training hard and enjoying the moment, the good play we showed against Espanyol, a very strong team and a direct rival. It was a complete match,” he assured.
The direct match-ups between teams involved in the fight for Europe this weekend could benefit the ‘rojiblancos’ if they take advantage and beat Levante. “It could be. The truth is that I’m only interested in our game. Levante is in very good form, is earning points and is in a spot that nobody expected them to be in. We have to win because we’re playing at home. I could care less about the other results,” he stressed.
Tiago and Reyes will miss the game through suspension, but Ujfalusi isn’t worried because he thinks that “the team was put together with enough players to face any type of injury or suspension. I have no doubt that those who play will play well.”
The team’s goal is to reach a European spot for next season. Ujfalusi believes that “we can’t think about what we’ve done in previous matches. I think that earning a point at Espanyol’s stadium isn’t bad, but now we have to win at home. I don’t want to think about anything other than beating Levante. We have six matches left and we’re going to try and get as many points as we can to get where we want to be.”
Atlético de Madrid has only lost one of its last eight games. It seems like they’ve achieved the consistency they’d been looking for down the home stretch of the Championship. “I don’t like to play from Sunday to Sunday because we train a lot more, but I think that we all want to play in European competition next season and if you don’t do that you’re only going to play every Sunday. We’ve been in good physical shape the last few matches, have enjoyed playing football and we’re trying to qualify for the Europa League,” he stated.
Levante is having a spectacular second half of the season, with numbers that would put them in Champions had they played like this all year. “Yeah, they’re playing well and are in the best form they’ve been in all year. But they’re coming to our stadium and you have to be able to notice that from the beginning, from the first minute. We have to come out aggressive and with the idea of pressuring them and scoring goals,” he asserted.
With respect to whether they’re hoping to gain a sense of revenge for the loss suffered in the first round at the Ciudad de Valencia, Ujfalusi stated that “losing that game was tough. Nobody expected it, but I’m not thinking about anything special against Levante or Hércules, who also beat us in Alicante. I don’t care whether we win 1-0 or 3-0. We have to win.”
To finish, regarding whether he would label the season as a good one if they make it to the Europa League, the Czech defender highlighted that “it’s not bad because we won a title at the beginning of the season, the European SuperCup and if we get back into the Europa League it would be nice. But we still have work to do. We’ll make an assessment when the season’s over.”
The Czech player was clear when asked about the team’s mental state after drawing against Espanyol last Sunday. “I think that the team is fine. We’re training hard and enjoying the moment, the good play we showed against Espanyol, a very strong team and a direct rival. It was a complete match,” he assured.
The direct match-ups between teams involved in the fight for Europe this weekend could benefit the ‘rojiblancos’ if they take advantage and beat Levante. “It could be. The truth is that I’m only interested in our game. Levante is in very good form, is earning points and is in a spot that nobody expected them to be in. We have to win because we’re playing at home. I could care less about the other results,” he stressed.
Tiago and Reyes will miss the game through suspension, but Ujfalusi isn’t worried because he thinks that “the team was put together with enough players to face any type of injury or suspension. I have no doubt that those who play will play well.”
The team’s goal is to reach a European spot for next season. Ujfalusi believes that “we can’t think about what we’ve done in previous matches. I think that earning a point at Espanyol’s stadium isn’t bad, but now we have to win at home. I don’t want to think about anything other than beating Levante. We have six matches left and we’re going to try and get as many points as we can to get where we want to be.”
Atlético de Madrid has only lost one of its last eight games. It seems like they’ve achieved the consistency they’d been looking for down the home stretch of the Championship. “I don’t like to play from Sunday to Sunday because we train a lot more, but I think that we all want to play in European competition next season and if you don’t do that you’re only going to play every Sunday. We’ve been in good physical shape the last few matches, have enjoyed playing football and we’re trying to qualify for the Europa League,” he stated.
Levante is having a spectacular second half of the season, with numbers that would put them in Champions had they played like this all year. “Yeah, they’re playing well and are in the best form they’ve been in all year. But they’re coming to our stadium and you have to be able to notice that from the beginning, from the first minute. We have to come out aggressive and with the idea of pressuring them and scoring goals,” he asserted.
With respect to whether they’re hoping to gain a sense of revenge for the loss suffered in the first round at the Ciudad de Valencia, Ujfalusi stated that “losing that game was tough. Nobody expected it, but I’m not thinking about anything special against Levante or Hércules, who also beat us in Alicante. I don’t care whether we win 1-0 or 3-0. We have to win.”
To finish, regarding whether he would label the season as a good one if they make it to the Europa League, the Czech defender highlighted that “it’s not bad because we won a title at the beginning of the season, the European SuperCup and if we get back into the Europa League it would be nice. But we still have work to do. We’ll make an assessment when the season’s over.”
