2024-09-01 06:49:12
The Barcelona coach praised the victory against El Nacional and explained why he is not thinking about Emelec yet and the reason for the goalkeeper’s absence.
Barcelona added three points that could be gold in the fight for the stage. Without playing well, they beat El Nacional 1-0 in the match prior to the Clásico del Astillero. In a press conference, coach Diego López praised the victory, He explained why he is not thinking about Emelec yet and detailed the reason for the decision to leave Javier Burrai on the bench.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We didn’t play well in the first half, we moved the ball around a lot and we were slow in our play. That favoured the rival, in the second half the ball moved faster… They are a very tough, difficult team, they run a lot…”, began the Uruguayan.
He added: “Our two centre-backs played a great game, very focused when defending. “I’m happy for Djorka, he deserved it for the way he works. Whoever comes in tries to give his best, the important thing is that the attitude is important.”
Although he was asked about the next LigaPro match against Emelec at Capwell, he preferred not to comment on anything. And he gave his explanation.I’m not going to talk about the Clásico because we have a football war on Thursday, and it’s before. The truth is that the Clásico doesn’t interest us at the moment, I say this with respect. We don’t take it into account at all… We have a very important match which is the Cup.“, said.
Diego Lopez during the press conference. Photo: @BarcelonaSC
He also referred to the surprising absence of Burrai, the starting goalkeeper this season and one of the stars of the squad. “This is what we are looking for, maybe it is not the ideal team. But we are looking for an ideal group. HToday it was Victor’s (Mendoza’s) turn… I spoke to both of them. The goalkeeper needs a mental break because it is also important for him to be well. I had no doubts about putting Victor in this match.”
“Every game is different. Today was difficult because they played direct football. You have to work to counteract that and you change depending on the opponents.”“We try to limit the things they do well. Today, both midfielders worked well in front of the defenders,” he analysed.
And he concluded: «The game forces you to be closed and not be able to play forward. But I prefer that and not giving away the ball… As a big team you are obliged to play forward but sometimes you can’t.