Xabi Alonso pays tribute to Liverpool after Leverkusen's 4-0 mauling at Anfield
05/11/2024
Anfield, Liverpool, UK
05/11/2024
Anfield, Liverpool, UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Good evening, questions for the manager, please.
00:09Xabi, contrasting halves really, how do you feel in the second period that that game just got away from you?
00:20Yeah, for sure. Second half, comparing to the first half, was not good enough.
00:27I think that first 45 minutes we have competed really well, we have played well, we were able to have a good possession,
00:34maybe not creating that many chances, but as well defensively we were really intense, we have a good organisation.
00:41Second half, we started not having the ball in so good positions, we were not able to find the free player,
00:51so they were recovering the ball too easily and because of that we were not able to hold this intensity
00:58and we dropped a little bit our tempo and the first goal, it's been a consequence of that reason,
01:06they played the ball through too easily, we were not squeezing the line too quickly
01:12and receiving the second one after just two minutes later, it was tough, we were not able to recover from that.
01:22We were not able to hold this 1-0 a little bit longer, 15-20 minutes, to be in the game a little bit longer.
01:30Receiving the 2-0 made things much harder and at the end we tried to score the 2-1,
01:37they made great saves and with open spaces they scored those.
01:42Two more goals, 4-0, it's hard, the result is probably harder than the performance,
01:47but it is what it is, it's Champions League at Anfield against one of the best teams, so we will learn.
01:56I know it's no consolation, but can you tell us what you made of the reception that you did get here at Anfield?
02:03From one part, one thing is the game and the other thing is it was a good reception,
02:10I have a bitter feeling with the game, not to enjoy that much the reception,
02:16but anyway I really appreciate it, I'm thankful that even after so many years that I come here
02:23and I have that bond with the club, it was nice, but it could have been nicer with a better result.
02:32And we will have to move on.
02:34I know you didn't come here to assess Liverpool, but are you able to give us an assessment
02:38as to what level you feel they're at, given that you've seen so many good Liverpool sides over the years
02:43and what they've been able to achieve?
02:45Well I think that they are a very complete team, I think that they are able to defend,
02:55to score, to have power in the boxes, they are able to keep clean sheets,
03:01they are able with not that many chances to score goals,
03:04and that's a great strength for Champions League, especially when you go to the next round.
03:10So yes they have this power, it's still too early to tell, but they are in a good moment
03:15and the team has good balance, the coach is doing a great work so far,
03:22so yeah it's looking like a promising season, but we are still in November.
03:36Xabi, after four games, seven points, there were three away games,
03:41what do you think about the situation of your team in the league, in the Champions League now?
03:46Yeah for sure, overall now we take a perspective of this first half of the group stage,
03:53after four games we have had three away games, we have come to Anfield,
03:57probably the toughest test that we have, so I would say that with seven points
04:02and the next four, three at home, that we are in a good position to fight for the chances to go through,
04:07that's the main goal, to go through the next round, if closer to the eight,
04:12even in the eight will be great, but we are not happy today,
04:17but it's not the end of the world, still four games to go,
04:21a lot of hopes and a lot of challenging games,
04:26and today it will be tougher to sleep, but tomorrow we will be thinking about the next one
04:32and we will have time to see the positives as well, and the negatives that we will have to improve.
04:39Xabi, I think you changed systems and tactics for this particular game,
04:43with two wingers, like Boniface on the left, and an overload in midfield,
04:47why was that actually and why was it so difficult for your team to cope in the second half
04:51with Liverpool's man marking and more intensity?
04:55I think that we have done overall quite well in the first half,
04:59I think that we were able to create overloads,
05:02that they had no certainty about which was the player that they had to press,
05:08and we were able sometimes to go through the wing, sometimes from inside,
05:12the players understood pretty well, sometimes to change positions,
05:17so that gave us a lot of stability in our defensive plan,
05:21and in the second one they started pressing a little bit harder,
05:25when we were able to play long we were not able to hold the ball to run behind,
05:29so running behind the ball gave us that feeling that we were not that stable with the ball
05:36and dropped our defensive intensity,
05:39and probably that was the reason we conceded the first one and the second one so quickly,
05:44so against top teams 60 minutes is not enough,
05:48you need to have 95 minutes in top level,
05:51and today we missed those extra 30-35 minutes.
06:02Xabi, just before the two Liverpool goals it seemed like Anfield really found its voice
06:08and it seemed as though you and maybe one of your coaches
06:11were almost gesturing to your players to stay calm,
06:13was that something?
06:14How much of an impact did the atmosphere have on the two goals,
06:18something that happened exactly on the same on Saturday here?
06:21I can't say many things, we can't explain many things,
06:26but after to control this atmosphere that's created,
06:34not the atmosphere, I know,
06:37it's the feeling that the Liverpool players feel,
06:41and that's an extra boost that they feel,
06:45now is the moment, now they are behind us and now we go,
06:49and to defend in those moments is not easy,
06:55we have tried to prepare before the game,
06:57we were ready for that,
06:59we have our strategies but at the end it's difficult
07:04and we were not able to do that in two games like Brighton,
07:08happened last Saturday,
07:11that's why to put it in words and to say it in words
07:15is much more difficult to control it on the pitch.
07:19Yes, please.
07:27Xavi, we saw Luis Diaz play up front for Liverpool for the first time,
07:31was that something that maybe surprised your team,
07:34seeing him in that different role?
07:35Well, we were ready that Liverpool might change something
07:40because of the situation with nine points,
07:43having a Premier League, being in a good position and that demanding,
07:49we were ready that they were going to change something,
07:52I didn't know if Gakpo was going to be up front and Luis on the left,
07:56when I saw the line-up, the other things,
07:58it was Simicas or Robertson,
08:00Carthy Jones or Soboslai, so we were pretty sure,
08:04so not a big surprise because they can do that,
08:09and you know,
08:15the goals were not because we were not prepared for that,
08:17it was because of the quality that they have,
08:20and later because we were going full gas to try to score one goal,
08:25to change mindset, maybe to create,
08:27and we had the chance of Bonnie,
08:28a few other chances that made it safe,
08:30maybe with 2-1 something changes,
08:34and after with 3-4-0,
08:38it's hard for the result for me.
08:50Xabi, what do you think is the most important lesson your team will take
08:55here in regard of that there's a gap perhaps between your team
08:59and one of the biggest teams in Europe?
09:03That against top, top teams,
09:07you need to go through those difficult moments,
09:09when you are not feeling that comfortable with the ball,
09:14you need to, OK, this is not the nice part of the game
09:18when we need to be able to stick together,
09:21to suffer, to be maybe not that nice,
09:24to stop a little bit the game,
09:26and there's room for improvement in that,
09:29especially in Champions League,
09:30that we are playing against,
09:32coming weeks against Inter, Atletico Madrid,
09:34or maybe in the next round,
09:36if we go through against top teams,
09:38and that's what requires in the highest level,
09:42in these competitions,
09:43you need to enjoy playing in every situation,
09:47in the good ones, or in the easy ones,
09:50and in the not that nice ones,
09:54not nasty, but in the not as beautiful ones,
09:58you need to enjoy it as well,
09:59to compete and to be able to go through.