Julen Lopetegui happy to start the La Liga season off with a win over Getafe
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui was all smiles after his side’s 2-0 win over Getafe in the opening La Liga fixture of the 2018/2019 season. Goals from Gareth Bale and Dani Carvajal were enough to see Los Blancos cruise past their city rivals.
All quotes come via the Real Madrid official website.
"“We’re satisfied with the win and happy because the team did a lot right. There’s still room for improvement at this stage of the season, as with all teams. We played with intensity, played as a team and scored two goals against a side who had the third-best defensive record last season and who came here and made things difficult.”"
This is how an upbeat Julen Lopetegui led off his press conference on Sunday afternoon after guiding his players to a clean sheet victory. The coach had a tough few days after suffering a difficult defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, but that did not affect him back in the friendly confines of the Santiago Bernabéu.
Lopetegui was complimentary of Gareth Bale’s great play yet again as the Welsh forward put in yet another great shift for the Whites. Bale scored the second goal of the match on a nicely redirected ball from Marcelo. The goal marked Gareth’s fourth goal in the last five matches.
"“I liked the team’s performance in general and Bale had a very good match. He offers lots of different things, like the other players. We must continue working, the team always comes before individual talent and that goes for Bale too.”"
Julen has put a lot of faith in Gareth and so far, all is going to plan as he has been a key part to the team’s success thus far in the early season.
One of the two surprising moves from the new boss was his starting lineup. He started Isco and Dani Ceballos over Casemiro and Luka Modric. While both Spanish internationals played well for the majority of the match, it came as a bit of a shock to see Luka start the match on the bench.
Whether Lopetegui prefers Ceballos or Modric simply is not yet back to full form after a busy summer is tough to say. He had this to say of Dani’s play as a starter in Sunday’s match.
"“He put in a very worthy display. He’s got real character, works hard and is a fine footballer. We’re happy because he put in a worthy performance and he’ll have his part to play.”"
Modric is, of course, still dealing with all the transfer rumors that he will be heading to Inter Milan so that could be causing Lopetegui some doubts. Nonetheless, the strategies the manager has already implemented have paid off as the team clearly plays a different style with a new pressing mentality.
It is a good start to the season for Lopetegui and his men, but the road only gets tougher from here as Real Madrid will travel to face Girona on Saturday.