Tribal Football

Real Sociedad coach Imanol: Victory over Barcelona a Champions League performance

Carlos Volcano
Real Sociedad coach Imanol: Victory over Barcelona a Champions League performance
Real Sociedad coach Imanol: Victory over Barcelona a Champions League performanceLaLiga
Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil was left happy with their 1-0 win against Barcelona.

Sheraldo Becker hit the winner for La Real, with Robert Lewandowski having a first-half goal for Barca denied by VAR for offside.

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Imanol admits the win left him "very excited".

 

Analysing the victory against Barcelona:

“I am very excited, not only at the end, but during the game. I really enjoyed the way we competed, I would have been happy if we had lost or drawn. The players and the fans deserved a night like this. We know it wasn’t the best start possible, but today players and fans are going home happy and that’s what it’s all about.

“What we have to do is enjoy today’s game, the moment, how it was, because I give a lot of importance to the how and how it was brutal, because right now for me Liverpool and Barcelona can be the best teams in Europe right now and beating them is very valuable. I am very happy, we needed a night like this.”

 

The performance:

“It was a great game, Champions League and top level. We were very strong and aggressive in pressing, which is probably the secret to why they created so little and, with the ball, they only called three offsides on us and we had plenty of goal-scoring opportunities coming in from behind and breaking that offside, and in one we were successful in front of goal. I think our victory is more a credit to Real than a discredit to Barcelona.”

 

Finding momentum:

“If we don’t give it continuity, none at all. This is about having continuity and not doing it once in a while. We’ll see when we get back from the break. The wins are very useful to us, not just today, but because of what we’ve seen in the last phase of the calendar, which I think we played well, but today we were successful in front of goal. 

“The team will fight in the next match to get the three points. At the moment the table means nothing to me, it is what worries me the least, whether we are at the top or now that we have been in the middle or bottom of the table.

"What worries me the most is always getting the most out of the squad and growing. I understand that the fans get nervous, but that is of no use to me, what matters to me is growing and getting the most out of the squad.”

 

Barca's disallowed goal:

“We must respect all opinions, but I think we played a great game from the first to the 90th minute, that Real was superior and that the victory was fair, even with a narrow scoreline.”