Solari supports Marcelo after yet another poor display from the defender

Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari talked to the press after the 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey Semifinals. Solari shared his thoughts on the performance of his players and publicly supported Marcelo, who completed a poor performance after being given the chance to start.

“He’s our second captain, he is a madridista 100% and he always puts Real Madrid first, we want to see his best form,” said Solari when asked about the Brazilian defender.

On the other hand, Vinicius produced was arguably Real Madrid’s most productive player on the field, although his decision making was not accurate. Solari still praised his performance.

“I’m not surprised, I know him, and I know his way of playing football. It’s amazing that a boy of 18 years of age is progressing the way he is. Some credit also has to go to his teammates, who support him and allow him to play,” explained the coach.

Madrid dominated Barcelona for the first third of the game yet somehow became completely invisible right after. In the end, this 1-1 draw is a solid result for them and it shows that Los Blancos can compete for the ticket to the Final, but the fans will surely be wondering why Madrid couldn’t close out the game.

“We always want to win games and we had chances to score a second. We’re happy with what we’ve done today,” said Solari. “This game is confirmation that this group of players is working very well. It’s an open-ended result, there’s a lot of quality out on the pitch and anything can happen at any time,” he concluded.

The return leg will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu on February 27th.