Raphael Varane: “This defeat is my fault”

As Jose Mourinho once said to his players after a heavy defeat at Camp Nou: “Perhaps people talk about the significance of this defeat, but do not hide behind it. You must show your balls.”

Raphael Varane has done just that tonight, making it a point to speak to the press after his two heavy mistakes against Manchester City.

“I wanted to come out and speak because this defeat is my fault and I have to accept that, Varane said. “I’m sad for my teammates and the effort they’ve put in. I take my part of the responsibility for the defeat. We were doing well in the game and had prepared well for it. Mistakes are very costly at this level and I have no explanation for these errors”.

“They’re things that happen in football. It’s a tough night for me. We can’t be going over it in our minds. We gave our all out there and sometimes you make mistakes. Tonight I’ve made mistakes and have to accept that. Even when it was 1-1 we had chances to progress and ultimately things didn’t go our way”.

”Sometimes things go for you and other times they don’t and tonight things didn’t work out for me. I’ve got to accept that. I felt good out there and perhaps we took too many risks early out and really paid the price. There are no more explanations. Everyone knows I’m upset and I have to deal with that. It takes a lot of character to come back better and stronger. It’s going to be a tough night, I’m a competitor and we’ve lost and I made mistakes”.

Eden Hazard and Rodrygo Goes also spoke to the press.

Hazard

“I think we did well in the first half and deserved more. We played the kind of football we wanted to, they scored and so did we. When you play for this club, you want to win it all, especially the Champions League”.

“The way Manchester City press you makes it difficult and that’s why we made mistakes, which are part of the game. It’s tough. We’re going to come back hungrier and wanting to win everything, which is what this club demands of you”.

Rodrygo

“Manchester City are a great team. It’s very difficult to play here against them, but the team kept fighting until the end. What happened with Rafa (Varane) is a shame, but he’s a great player who gives us a lot to cheer about. Throughout the match we could have given more, but we didn’t stop trying at any point. Things like that happen in football. They put in a great performance and deserved to qualify”.