Casemiro: “We tried until the end”

Real Madrid completed yet another disappointing and worrying performance when they hosted Alaves this Saturday, proving that his team does have some serious issues. Casemiro talked to the press after the 1-2 loss and tried to explain what happened.

“We fought hard and gave everything on the pitch, but they started better than we did in the first 15 minutes. We had several opportunities but they had quality and played well. They came at us and scored twice. At this club you’re obliged to win but also to give everything on the pitch, like we did today. In football the team who scores the most goals wins, but you have to have the right attitude, desire and belief right until the end. They were three important points, they all are in LaLiga,” said the midfielder.

There was a controversial decision involving Marcelo and Alaves center-back Laguardia, who pulled Marcelo’s hair in what appeared to be an obvious penalty which wasn’t even looked at by the VAR. Casemiro refused to add fuel to the fire.

“After the game isn’t the time to be talking about it because we all know that the VAR system is there to help us. We’ve got some good referees in LaLiga and they’re there to do a good job, just like the VAR system. It’s all there to help the game,” he said.

Casemiro also talked about the injured players. Hazard suffered yet another injury last night and was forced to leave the game.

“It is what it is, we know that we didn’t have a proper pre-season, we are playing in the Champions League and have many games on our schedule. We have to keep working, there’s a lot of football left,” he explained.

While almost every team has been dropping points this season, Atletico de Madrid are now six points ahead of Real Madrid with one game at hand. Casemiro doesn’t lose his hopes, though.

“It’s a different sort of LaLiga season, everyone’s dropping points. We have to adapt as soon as we can, we’re working hard and trying to be better. It’s the toughest league in the world and we just have to keep working, we’ve got a good mentality and vibe. We kept going until the end, which is what this badge demands of us. We’ve got a lot of games to come and have to carry on fighting and working. There’s a long way to go, we’re the defending champions and have got to try and put three points on the board each week. We didn’t manage to do that tonight, but we have to keep going,” he concluded.

Real Madrid face Shakhtar on Tuesday and then they will visit Sevilla in what’s expected to be a crucial week for the rest of the 2020-2021 season.