Koke of Atletico Madrid against Chelsea. Copyright: Focus Images FIL-15219-0086
Speaking to Movistar+ (h/t Football.london), Atletico Madrid ace Koke fired a warning to Chelsea ahead of their second leg Champions League encounter. The Blues came out of the first leg with a 1-0 scoreline and an important away goal courtesy of Olivier Giroud.
With the second leg of the tie to come on March 17th, 2021, Atletico captain Koke was upbeat about his side’s ability to turn the game around and warned the Blues to not think too far ahead.
“It was a play that had no danger and we have conceded a great goal. In this competition, you have to take the maximum care of details. We are still in the same position, we are top in the league, in the Champions League Round of 16 and we are going to win there.”
“It’s difficult but we usually bounce back and we are going to. We are the same ones that came into the eight-game winning streak, competing well. You cannot win all the games and we leave a bad week, that’s the reality, but we have to compete, to continue reaching. Atletico always bounces back.”
Jan Oblak was also not too disappointed with his side’s form over the last few games. He talked about their gameplan and how the situation was in the dressing room after the Chelsea game.
“The plan is always to defend well. Equally, the formation, it’s always important to defend well. We wanted to score, we haven’t had many chances, but we have been there. We would like to have peace of mind and things will be better. I don’t think that we had a bad game, we have had a normal game, you don’t have to reproach anything or anyone.
“When I went back to the changing room, I saw a team with their heads held high, all convinced that we are going to improve, that we are going to play well first in La Liga and to have the possibility to come back in the second leg.”
Chelsea will take heart from the Atletico win they gear up for some tough Premier League games starting with a positive-looking Manchester United on the weekend. A win could go a long way in getting them back into the fold for the Champions League places.
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