Merino: “I don't think the referees are always in Madrid's favor, but in our match it was like that”

Mikel Merino pulled the Royal Society car again. Against him Real Madrid He returned after sanction and his presence was noticed in the realistic midfield. He was also the protagonist of the two key plays for those from San Sebastian: he scored a goal and his position invalidated Januzaj's goal that would have changed the game.

– How do you feel after the defeat against Real Madrid?

We are upset and angry, but more than the result, because of the result, against Madrid you can lose in many ways, but doing it with situations in which the referee has so much to do leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. But happy for the team, because it shows good signs of growth again and that we are improving.

– How did you see the play of the goal that was canceled because you supposedly harm Courtois?

I think I am not even in the trajectory of the ball, it happens to me two meters away, I do not bother his action at all, if I am not there it is the same goal, he does not stop it. And that is important to note. But more than the play itself, what bothers is the little doubt they have had to call the cancellation of the play.

– Does it bother you that all the dubious plays hurt you?

In football it is no longer just the fat decisions that mark the game, but small actions that happen in a game and that if every time they happen, they are whistled for the same place, you condition a team. Against Madrid, whenever there was doubt the automatism was to raise the flag for their side, and that is worrying, because they have no hesitation in whistling to one side, and that is what hurts me the most.

– Are you saying that the referees always whistle for Real Madrid?

I do not think that in all actions the referees are in favor of Madrid. But in our match I had the sensations that they have tended more to that. And I would have liked that on the other side, there would have been more doubts, and in our case, in the possible hand of Benzema in his goal, for example, which may be doubtful, they have not had the slightest doubt. I am not saying that they are always in favor of Madrid or against Real, but it does strike me as curious that in our match they always went the same way when there are doubts and that conditions us.

– How have you felt on the field with the green shoots shown against Madrid?

After a long time without playing it is difficult to catch that habit and that feeling with the teammates, so the match against Madrid will be very good for us, because we have been brave again in the midfield and we have pressed brave in the center field, and with that we have to stay to play against Celtic because we are going to need it.

– Do you feel more pressure now in the fight for the Champions League?

We also put that pressure on ourselves because we know that we have a team to play well and the dynamic we had was to fight at the top, and we still have options because there are many points at stake, and the pressure does not affect us at all.