“We already have the template closed”
MADRID, 29 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Atlético de Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has assured that the team has “the demand, the need and the commitment” to be in the last 16 of the Champions League, after it was determined that they will face Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Bratislava at home and Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Salzburg and Sparta Prague away.
“We have a requirement, which is to try to get into that round of 16 group. It is a requirement, a necessity, a commitment and I think we will do it,” he told Movistar+ after the draw in Monaco.
However, the Atletico boss did not want to judge whether luck has been on their side. “You can’t say whether it’s good or bad, because at the end of the day you already know what happens, you think you have a good group like we did last year, we thought we were a good group, and in the end we had a lot of difficulties getting into the last 16. What you have to do is wait, see the possibilities and see how each match develops, because what matters here is getting points,” he said.
“It’s a new format, where many games are played, some at home and others away. There is no desire for revenge in any of the games. It’s a format to try to win as many games as possible in order to qualify for the round of 16. We have drawn PSG away, whom we have never played, we have not played Lille or Slovan Bratislava either, we have played Bayern Leverkusen eight times…” he said.
On another note, Cerezo praised the team’s draw on Wednesday against RCD Espanyol. “Yesterday we had a lot of chances, but when you don’t want to get in, you don’t get in. And in the end, if you’re careless, you lose the game. But we’re at the beginning of the season, the teams are forming, there are still a lot of games left, although we’ll soon be in the month of May, playing the last games. It was a disappointment, why should I deny it?” he confessed.
Finally, he denied the possibility of more players arriving in the transfer market. “Look how closed it is, we have made six presentations of six new players. I think we already have the squad closed, and I don’t think anything important will come up in 24 or 48 hours,” he concluded.