Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui couldn’t get a win on his debut game with the club as Atletico de Madrid got a deserved 4-2 victory on extra time in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup Final. Lopetegui wasn’t happy after the game but he also saw some positive things from his men.
"In a final like this, mistakes can make a key difference and Atlético are experts in taking advantage. They got a deserved win. When we levelled the scores, we were better, they tied it up in an unfortunate play. We have to congratulate them and pick ourselves up, because La Liga is starting and we need to rebuild quickly. I feel frustrated and sad, but I know that responsibility forces us to move on tomorrow," said the coach.
Raphael Varane’s mistake possibly decided the game as Atletico got ahead in extra time because of it. Madrid didn’t have the energy to come back from that goal. However, Lopetegui wasn’t ready to blame Varane.
"It is not a matter of looking at specific errors, because we lost as a team. We had good and bad moments, and that is where the rival punished us. They won deservedly. The club’s mantra will not change for this one game," he added.
Madrid showed an apparent lack of hunger and discipline during the second half of regulation. These players have won it all and one reporter asked Lopetegui about whether he felt this lack of hunger and motivation or not.
"These players have won a lot of titles but I do not think that their hunger for titles was missing tonight, last year in LaLiga things did not go right for them, we want to get the best out of the team and start picking ourselves up after losing this title. We were all excited for this trophy," he explained.
Bale completed a good game creating chances for his teammates. Lopetegui wants to see more and believes Bale is capable of doing it.
"He had a great game, but it is understandable at this time of the season if the players are not at their best physically, we are very happy with his work and hopefully he will continue to improve over the next matches," concluded Real’s coach.