Mark Llorente It is one of the great pillars in which the Athletic He is going to hold on to fight to return to a Champions League final. The red and whites seek to return to the grand final against Arsenal. Llorente analyzed the tie against the British on the red and white Media Day.
Victory of Saturday as energy. “It is always important when games like this come to get a good result, it gives you confidence, security and energy. It was important to come back. Few words can be said about these games, we have to value playing in the Champions League semi-finals and we are prepared.”
Zubimendi. “I haven’t spoken with him. In the Champions League there are always great rivals and footballers. I would like to see him as a teammate, but we are used to it.”
Clue. “In everything, they are such difficult qualifying rounds that you have to be good in all the details. Concentration, the first game scores, manage the pressure well… In these games you have to be good in everything.”
Debt with the Champions League. “No, I don’t feel that. Football and life never owe you anything, we face this for what it is, the opportunity to reach a final. With great naturalness and enthusiasm.”
Arsenal. “I am the player who least visualizes the games beforehand. It is a way of concentrating. Until the talk comes for an hour and a half, I don’t think about the game. I know my virtues and my defects and I know what I have to do. I don’t visualize it before. The secret is in balance.”
Favorite. “I don’t care exactly, I didn’t even know that we weren’t favorites. I also understand it because Arsenal won everything. But in football giving favorites doesn’t make much sense.”
Julian. “He is very important, fundamental for us, he showed it with goals when the team needed it. His hierarchy, his way of fighting and his way of playing are contagious. I hope he can bring out his best version because it will mean that the team is good.”
Simeone says that they attack better than they defend, how he sees it. “Just like him”
Neighborhoods. “We know what he suffers at that time, the team on the one hand, you on the other and it is difficult. He will surely learn a lot from this, he will begin to know his body better and he will surely be giving a lot of effort. He is a great professional, I know how he takes care of himself and in football there are many things that affect him, preparation, rest, family… Sometimes they think about everything and you don’t know. I am sure that he will know himself more and become stronger.”
The 4-0 in London. “That match was a long time ago, in the group stage, and we have both evolved a lot. We will have to review the set-piece thing, they are strong there, but it will be different from what it was back in the day”
