Real Madrid new boss Rafa Benitez seems to be highly optimistic for Real’s impressive show this season that is why he is not ready to accept any loss especially when they have been in dominating position. Last game with Sevilla was one such game that eventually went in favor of home side and they won a high scoring game quite impressively. Sensing the importance of possibly a lost opportunity, Benitez expresses his frustration over the way his side handled the pressure during crucial moments although James was the only Real player who impressed everyone with his brilliant ball holding technique in the later half.
Game started with good news for the visitors when Sergio Ramos header gave them initial lead but their joy was short lived as Ciro Immobile, Ever Banega, and substitute Fernando Llorente made it sure Real would have to go back empty handed. This defeat is also noticeable looking at Benítez side’s season record where they have conceded just four times out of first 14 La Liga and Champions League games. Talking about what went wrong for them and if manager was responsible for placing players on undesirable positions in crucial moments, Blancos coach said in the post-match news conference, “We played 30 very good minutes, lots of control, in all levels. Then we let them score at a set-piece. That changed the game.
“From the second goal we started to make mistakes, they took advantage and scored a third. We came back and scored late, but it wasn’t enough. That was the lesson from the game, in the first half a good Real Madrid for a long time, in the second half we were not able to manage the situation. We should have killed the game in the first half, and we didn’t.”
Another disappointing news for the Spanish giant has been injury to Sergio Ramos which could yield more negative impact in upcoming games. Clarifying if Ramos’ injury was the turning point of the game, Benitez said, “I wouldn’t say it determined things, as the other centre-backs played well. But one change made a difference, as we had one substitute less to change things when we wanted to. I speak about the team, as a team, I do not talk about individual players. And we were not able to control the game in the second half.”
