Real Madrid News
Courtois, Valverde react after Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid: “We’ll keep fighting until the end”
Franck Kessie’s late winner for Barcelona ensured that Real Madrid took home no points from Sunday’s El Clasico at Spotify Camp Nou. The Merengues had the lead in the game for over 30 minutes but conceded two goals to give away their hard-earned advantage.
A combination of an inferior intensity and poor finishing led to Real Madrid’s third, and perhaps, the most significant defeat of the season in El Clasico. The La Liga race is now a steep ask as the gap at the top increases to 12 points.
Thibaut Courtois was the first Real Madrid player to speak to the press after the full-time whistle on Sunday. He began his interview with an optimistic view of the league title race ahead and urged his teammates to not lose hope.
“We’ll keep fighting until the end. They must lose four games and we have to win all of them. It’s not impossible but it’s very difficult. We must come here to win in the cup.”
Speaking about Real Madrid’s performance on the night, the Belgian goalkeeper maintained that his side played a good game and that they did not deserve to lose.
“We put in a good performance and both teams had chances at the end. We went ahead and took good control of the game, but they scored in the last minute of the first half. We played well after the break.”
The Merengues appeared set to bring home at least one point from the Clasico before they conceded a winner from Kessie in stoppage time. Courtois spoke about what went wrong and the events that led to Barcelona’s winner.
“We had chances and we didn’t make the most of them. It’s a shame that Asensio’s goal was disallowed. We went out to win the game but left space on the counter and they got the goal.”
Finally, the goalkeeper concluded his interview about the team’s objectives in the final stretch of the season and their situation in various other competitions.
“I’m happy to help the team but the only thing that mattered today was the win. We can’t give up. We have a great team and there’s a lot of football to play. We’ve got two nice months coming up and we’ll fight until the end. We will come here to win in the cup and reach the final. Then there’s the Champions League too, which we’ll go all out for.”
Valverde disappointed with Clasico defeat
Federico Valverde did not enjoy one of his better Clasico nights and was part of the team’s lifeless right wing. He highlighted to the media that the difference between the two teams was the finishing and ability to put away chances.
“I’m sad. We needed to win and that’s what we wanted to do. They had the better of the first half and created more chances. Then they tired and we didn’t manage to put the game to bed with the chances we created in the second half. We didn’t convert them and that has cost us.”
Carlo Ancelotti openly stated in his post-match press conference that he was unsure about Marco Asensio’s disallowed goal but Valverde had a different take on the subject.
“He was offside, I didn’t realise and I celebrated. I don’t like to discuss the referees. It can go for you or against you. I haven’t seen the replay so I can’t talk about it. I always look at our team, our pride, we have to focus on ourselves, on playing and trying to win games”.
The Uruguayan then highlighted the flaws in his team’s performance on the night that enabled Barcelona to not only score an equaliser but also a late winner to take three points.
“In the first half, when we took the lead, we sat a bit deeper, to try and have a bit more of the ball. They grew into the game and played well. After the break, we had to try and go for the winner and that means you leave spaces. We were much better in the second half but we just couldn’t get the goal.”
Giving his two cents on the league title race, Valverde refused to give up and assured that the team would fight for as long as mathematically possible.
“We won’t be giving up on La Liga. So long as a mathematical possibility exists, you have to fight. The season will help us to build up positive morale and go into the Champions League with real that desire.”
Source: Real Madrid website
Real Madrid News
Harry Kane ‘very close’ to completing Real Madrid move, only final details remain – report
Jude Bellingham’s move to Real Madrid was finally closed earlier today as officially confirmed by Borussia Dortmund on their website. Yet, the offices at Santiago Bernabeu have not even taken a break to celebrate their success.
According to reports from Alfredo Pedullà, Los Blancos are now completely focused on the acquisition of Harry Kane. The English striker’s arrival is very close to approaching closure and only a few details remain to be sorted.
The Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur representatives reportedly held a meeting today over the striker’s transfer. The agenda was to agree on a number for the transfer fee.
The Premier League side began the proceedings with an expectation of €100 to €110 million in exchange for Kane. However, the Merengues suggested a lower point at €80 to €90 million, albeit with the option to include bonuses.
There is not much separating the two parties at the moment, and the minor gap will be bridged in the coming days. Overall, the meeting ended with a broad understanding between the two clubs.
Carlo Ancelotti sees the English striker as the centre-piece of his attack for next season given the recent departure of Karim Benzema. After all, Kane has been one of football’s most consistent goalscorers over the past decade.
Yet, Los Blancos cannot afford to let their guard down with one signing and will need to rope in at least two more names in attack to serve as backup options. The exits of Mariano Diaz, Marco Asensio, and Eden Hazard leave them with no squad depth, after all.
Kane has scored 30, 17, and 23 goals in his last three seasons in the Premier League and is the epitome of consistency. Further, he had three assists in his most recent league season and created 14 big chances.
