What the Real Madrid players had to say after the 1-0 win against Leganes

Real Madrid pulled off what was looking to be yet another poor match. The late goal from Marco Asensio gives Madrid the upper hand heading into the second-leg next week at the Santiago Bernabeu. Here’s what the players had to say about the match.

Raphael Varane

The Frenchman filled in as Captain for Sergio Ramos, here is what he had to say about the game at the Butarque:

"“It is important to get a win for the team’s confidence, and we kept a clean sheet. The coach told us we needed balance and the team’s focus was great. We played worse than the other day but won. Other times we have played well and lost”."

Varane on building momentum:

"“We want to win and get on a good run. We are playing the same as last year but things are not coming together. We enjoy winning we love to compete and relish coming out on top. We’re not thinking about the PSG tie yet, we’re just focussed on winning games. We have many games left, we want to get better and be hard to beat like today”."

Touching on the injured Karim Benzema:

"“He is doing well, looking faster and strong again in training and we’re happy that he is getting sorted”."

Marco Asensio

Goalscorer Marco Asensio shared his thoughts on the night:

"“It was an important game for us. We wanted to get a good result and we can take that into the return leg. We know Leganés are a great, hardworking side, above all defensively and it is normal to struggle like that. Now we turn our focus to Sunday’s game against Deportivo”."

Asensio on being consistent and the confidence boost:

"“We know what football is like, it goes in waves. From now on we have to change our dynamic, keep working and improving every day. When the goals come, we are more confident. We have to get a few wins under our belt so that things flow and treat every game as a final. Today was the first of those and every game from now on is of paramount importance”.“We have to put a good run together to get things flowing well again, and take every game as if its a final. Today was the first and every game is going to be crucial for us now”.“I try to make the most of the minutes I’m given and today I got a goal. I have to keep plugging away if I want to continue getting opportunities”."

Dani Ceballos

Ceballos expressed the importance and value of away goals:

"“In a knock-out tie it’s crucial to keep a clean sheet and get an away goal. We’ve put the tie in our favour and we’ll have to put it to bed at the Bernabéu. We thought the game was going to end 0-0, but Asensio popped up with a great goal and we take an advantage into the second leg”.“Leganés are having a good season and fighting for the European places. They played in a very compact style, they’re a daring team and we struggled to beat them. When the ball goes in, everything changes. We need to find more continuity in our play and remain patient”."

His knock in the first-half:

"“I took a blow to my knee in the first half and then in the second I collided with Lucas. I hope to undergo tests tomorrow and rule out anything serious”."

Lucas Vazquez

Vazquez pointed out that Madrid came out strong:

"“It was a very difficult, hard-fought game against opposition who really put you under pressure. We started the game strongly, did a great job and picked up a very good win. Keeping a clean sheet and Asensio netting a goal has given us an advantage going into the second leg. We’re going through a spell when we really need to pick up some wins. We hope we can keep this going from here on in”.“You can always improve and that’s what we’re working towards. We believe this can change our dynamic, we’d gone three games in a row without a win. We need to get our confidence back in our play, I’m sure we will do. LaLiga isn’t easy but we’re not going to let our heads drop and we’ll fight to the end in every competition”."

Social Media

Marco Asensio

The game saver was proud of his accomplishments as he shared a post via Twitter:

Translation: “Good victory for the team.”

Lucas Vasquez

Vasquez shared his appreciation for the result hugging Asensio after his goal:

Translation: “Positive result in a complicated game. We keep going”

Mateo Kovacic

The Croatian shared the positive vibes that came out of a hard-fought result:

My Thoughts

Yesterday’s match against Leganes was not easy by any means with Marco Asensio being the saving grace of the night. The biggest issue was surely the disconnect in the midfield, something we saw come to life with the addition of Isco and Modric late in the game.

Next: Three takeaways - Real Madrid's win over Leganes

Despite the somewhat ill performance at the time by Real Madrid, there are some positive takeaways from this uncanny result. The team does not look prepared to play with more impactful mid-field players but positive vibes echoed around the Real-verse. Winning late in the match was reminiscent of last years heroics turning into a morale boost for the whole squad. Let’s hope Madrid can carry this energy forward as they play Deportivo this weekend in La Liga.

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