Evening Ruben, I know you won’t want to make excuses, but maybe the lack of fluidity we saw tonight. Do you put that down to players you’re maybe missing this evening?
“That is normal, but we didn’t use that excuse against Newcastle. We are not going to use [it] today. But, of course, if you see the game, I understand why we played the way we played today, the lack of fluidity, lack of one against one. We knew that would be a completely different game compared to Newcastle because [against] Newcastle, we have more space to play. We didn’t have to work the play so much and today, we have difficulties in that aspect and that is clear.”
Appreciate it’s a different game to Newcastle, but could you just explain the tactical tweaks, you know, moving [Patrick Chinazaekpere] Dorgu back to the left and going back with a three?
“No, we knew that they will play with a five. They will use the width. And, today, was just to do that and then sometimes building up with him open or closed with Luke Shaw doing the opposite. So, we try to arrange the right situations for the situation that we have in the moment.”
Ruben, sorry, you’ve said a lot that you know that this team is not the finished article, but is this tonight an example that you need more creativity in your squad? There was a lack of creativity and it feels as though there’s some players within your squad who can’t give you what you need, and you need greater depth.
“No, I think we are in one situation that you have a lot of players out in the same time. Of course, when you play Casemiro and [Manuel] Ugarte, in the middle, you know that is different. When you have Kobbie Mainoo or Mason Mount or Bruno [Fernandes], that is normal. So, we just need to recover our players, the players from AFCON to return, and then the fluidity is going to be different. But again, we won the last one. Today, we could [have] won with the players that we have. We had lack of fluidity, and then lack of quality, and then lack of creation of chances. And then we suffer a goal with set-pieces with the team that, and [yet] we are tall in this moment. So, these details are important to win these games in difficult moments.”
