"Maybe we didn't play with the intensity that the game required"

Ernesto Valverde said, after losing 2-0 to Madrid six days before the Copa del Rey final, that "perhaps" they had not "played with the intensity that the game required", as they should "have been more involved" in it.

"It's always complicated to come here, although it was an opportunity for us. We have a final in six days, it's difficult to get it out of your head. The match had to be played. Maybe we didn't play with the intensity that the match required. In the first half we weren't good, neither were they, but they don't need it. In the second half we had to take risks and in the plays with space and their counter-attacks they were very dangerous," he told the press conference.

"The intensity is just a figure of speech. We should have been more in the game, which we wanted to be. We didn't start the match the way we would have liked. Next week is a final and we have to arrive in the best condition, both on a footballing and mental level," he added.

"We know how Madrid play. In the first few minutes we had the ball, but we didn't get there. They didn't forgive us in their first chance, with three passes and a goal," he concluded.

 

March 31, 2024