Solari: “We had to work hard to get the win”

Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari talked to the press after the 1-2 win in Amsterdam against Ajax. Solari was visibly happy with the victory and the performance of his players as well.

“We knew how to play well when we needed to, we worked hard when it was needed, we persevered when we had to and scored at the right moment. This shows the strength of the group. To beat Ajax we needed everyone giving their all. It was tough going and without that grit from all my players, it would have been very hard to get a result. We had to do a lot right to get the win: work hard, persevere, create chances, deal with the pressure and score goals. Without doing that it would have been really tough to win tonight,” said Solari.

This win paves Madrid’s way to advance to the next round of the competition, although they will have to take care of business at the Bernabeu as well.

Asensio scored his first goal since coming back from his recent injury and it was a very important one for Los Blancos. It’s clear that the young attacker can be an asset for Madrid this season, so it would be capital for Solari to get him the minutes he needs to improve his form and conditioning.

“I’m really happy with the goal and Asensio’s performance. We’ve had four games since he’s returned from injury, he’s played in three of them and tonight he performed as he has to from the moment he came on. Not only in terms of his goal but because of the way he ran at them, kept the ball, defended and was brave enough to get on the end of the cross to score,” explained the coach.

Real Madrid have had a busy schedule recently, with games against Barcelona, Atletico de Madrid and this one against Ajax as well. Now, Los Blancos will face Girona at the Bernabeu in what should be a manageable game for them.