Baraja: "This defeat has to help us to learn"

Rubén Baraja talked honestly to the media in theaftermath of the loss to Atletico Madrid in LaLiga, speaking in a post-matchpress conference.

Reviewing the game

“We have to put all our energy into each game. The consequences of good dynamics lead you to a situation in which you begin to stop doing things that we cannot stop doing -and that we didn't do today. Here, even when you perform well they can beat you. We didn't start well, we didn't press, we didn't push the line forward when they moved the ball backwards... I didn't like the team's performance. We gave away too much. In the second half, we took a step forward, but it didn't give us anything more. This has to help us to learn.”

The team's targets

“I love that the fans get excited. We are closer to the better positions than those at the bottom. We can't be affected by that. We have to be focused on each game. Today, we didn't compete at our level. We didn't understand what the game needed and we conceded a lot. It was a very bad game. Atlético overran us and they played placidly.”

The start of the game

“I have to analyse it well. In the run-up to a game, we always talk about starting focused. They gave us 3 or 4 chances in the game and when we were at our best, we closed down badly and they took the lead, and by then the game had already changed. We didn't manage to get into the game with a goal. This has to be a useful defeat. If we don't do things right, we are vulnerable.”

The loss

“It is very hard to win games. We were in a good dynamic, but we were overwhelmed today. This has to be useful for something. There are two ways to take a defeat: The first is to assess the things you can improve and the second is that the young players also have to know that they are wearing a shirt that weighs heavy and demands a lot of you. In certain games, the opposition can beat you. How you lose is very important and I didn't like the way the team played today. I have to demand things from them and they have to demand things from themselves. We cannot fall into comfort and complacency.”

Feelings after the defeat

“At the Bernabéu we were not very effective and it was a comprehensive result, but in that game, the team wanted the win and today it was difficult for us to identify what we had to do. I am the first person to be responsible: We had talked about the high pace of the game and they were the better side.”

Statements made on TV about removing all 11 players at half-time

“The coach should also have been changed at half-time. The first half was not a reflection of what we wanted to do. It bothered me how we competed in the first half. Today was a game where we just had to win. We had to be ambitious, move into the spaces, in order to compete against Atleti as I had expected."

The opening goal

“It came from a previous action in which we put a ball over to the far post, there was a rebound and a throw-in and they took it quickly. It is our mistake, which we must accept, and we will work to improve it. It cannot be the case that they score that goal in that minute.”

The fans

“Losing here today is not a setback. The Copa del Rey exit was, because of how the game went. Losing here today is part of what can happen to you. But we have to be self-critical and this defeat has to help us to improve and grow. They are players who are going to own up to things I say to them, and it is my responsibility to make sure that they perform in every game."

The changes made for the game

“We tried to freshen things up with players who could offer us different things. We had some chances, but we weren't able to get the result."