Valverde’s stunning goal
“He had a great game. Not only because of the goal and the assist but also because of what he transmitted in the side in defence and attack. He’s very intense and that’s the competitive gene he has. I’m very pleased for him and the goal has given him that extra confidence. It was a classic Fede goal. A stunning strike.”
Simeone’s words to Vini Jr. after the substitution
“The first thing is that I try to be respectful with the players of the opposing team and I don’t usually talk to them. When I have read and listened to what he said to him, I like it less. What he said to him is not an example of good sportsmanship and for me not everything goes. You have to have respect for your opponent and everything that happens on the pitch has a limit.”
Substituting Rüdiger and Asencio
“Antonio was struggling with his knee, he made a huge effort and couldn’t do any more. Raúl was also suffering and we needed some fresh legs in that defensive line. Fran and Ferland came on well and with Jude when he was in the double pivot, we put a bit more passes together and we stabilised. In the last period we had to defend the result a bit more. We’ll have to see for Sunday and see if we can get more people back as well.”
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Mbappé
“The final will be different and Mbappé will travel tomorrow. He’s much better. He has trained and he feels good. His chances of playing are the same as for everyone in the squad.”
Did they overuse Courtois’ long ball too much?
“In some situations, we had talked about it and in others we lacked a bit more pause to link up and arrive better. We had talked about not always starting short and the free-kick that preceded Fede’s goal was a Gonzalo flick that Jude hooked in between the lines.”
