Casemiro: “We can’t play with that attitude during the first half”

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro addressed the Spanish media after the team’s 0-1 loss against Cadiz at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano, a disappointing defeat not only because of the final score but also because the performance was simply unacceptable.

“We gave away the first half, it wasn’t good. We tried, we fought, but they just played better. In the second half we pressed higher, we controlled the game but this is La Liga and they have quality. But we gave away the first 45 minutes,” said Casemiro, who came off the bench at half-time.

The midfielder believes that it was a matter of attitude, character and intensity.

“It’s tough for me to talk about the first half because I was on the bench. It’s a tough moment, we have to take a look at the mistakes we made and what we did well. But we can’t play with that attitude during the first half. We lost three points to a well-organized opponent, they knew what they had to do. We have to forget about this game because we have a Champions League game coming up and this will be a long season,” added Casemiro.

Then, he was asked about whether or not Real Madrid have lost the edge they had defensively. Cadiz created a lot of chances and while they only scored one goal, Courtois was once again a notable performer for Los Blancos.

“I don’t think so. We always have room for improvement, in the second half they didn’t create chances. We have to work and do better, we have to improve offensively and defensively, just everywhere. We have to embrace this lesson so that it doesn’t happen again this season because we have time to fix this and we have time to become a united group again,” concluded the midfielder.

Madrid host Shakhtar in the opening game of the 2020-2021 Champions League season this Wednesday and then will travel to face Barcelona the following Saturday.