Real Madrid: Julen Lopetegui disappointed after UEFA Super Cup defeat, looks ahead to start of league season
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid suffered a disappointing defeat to crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night. After taking a goal lead in the second half, Los Blancos lost their energy and fell 4-2 in extra time. Here is what Julen Lopetegui said after the match.
In his competitive debut as the Madrid manager, it wasn’t pretty for the former Spanish national team boss. He had his team playing incredibly well for just over an hour, but a defensive gaffe in the closing minutes cost the club their third straight UEFA Super Cup title.
In his post-match press conference, the coach was clearly unhappy with the result, but was upbeat about the start of the La Liga season in the coming days.
"“In a final like this, mistakes can make a key difference and Atlético are experts in taking advantage. They got a deserved win. When we leveled the scores, we were better, they tied it up in an unfortunate play. We have to congratulate them and pick ourselves up, because LaLiga is starting and we need to rebuild quickly. I feel frustrated and sad, but I know that responsibility forces us to move on tomorrow.”"
For a team that is still getting their fitness and chemistry back after a long summer, there are a lot of positives to takeaways from this match. The team played well in the midfield and created some quality chances on several occasions.
But, there is still some work to be done with strengthening the defense. Although the defense as a whole was solid for the majority of the match, small mistakes from Marcelo and Raphael Varane resulted in three Atleti goals.
Lopetegui recognized that and made mention of it.
"“It is not a matter of looking at specific errors, because we lost as a team. We had good and bad moments, and that is where the rival punished us. They won deservedly. The club’s mantra will not change for this one game.”"
It is truly a shame to lose to Atletico in this way, especially in a cup final, but it is okay. It is just the first match of 50 that will take place over the course of the next nine months. Atleti won this round, but Real Madrid will be back stronger than ever the next time around.
Los Blancos can seek their revenge on September 29th as the two team will face off in their first La Liga tie.
Loeptegui will have learned from this match after using his starters and seeing them play a full match and will make the needed changes in the coming days before facing Getafe.