“What better challenge than beating Real Madrid”

Iraia Iturregi turns the page on Athletic’s elimination from the Cup against Sevilla in Lezama. The ‘rojiblanca’ coach considers that he has to focus on tomorrow’s League match against Real Madrid. The lionesses, according to her technique, are not willing to let themselves go in these eight days that remain to finish the season.

“Anger is not bad if you manage it in a good way. We are professionals, the result of the previous game cannot influence you for the next one. What better challenge than a Real Madrid team that is on an impressive run because it has not lost in the league for three months These are games that you’ve been wanting to play since you were a child,” says Iraia.

The Athletic coach grants this duel against the merengue team total importance. “Although in the first games they weren’t in the Champions League position, in March we can say that Real Madrid is a direct rival. We can’t let ourselves get carried away in the League because there are options, few but there are, to reach the Champions League”.

Iraia insists on his reflection in this regard. “We have no choice but to fight to be as high up as possible. In the end, if the team shows ambition, they are not going to let themselves go in these eight games. It would be so unfair! We want to finish the season well. The Cup thing has been a stick, but we’re professionals. We have to get up. The Cup thing makes you even more angry because in the first half we weren’t as good as we know”.

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s game, the Athletic coach considers the key to be “the first thing is to defend well; to be an aggressive, intense team that presses forward, forceful… And with the ball to be much better than in the first half against Sevilla”.

Regarding Madrid, Iraia emphasizes that last year, the year of its creation, “they managed to enter the Champions League and this season the team has improved little by little, it is already among the greats in Europe and they have been able to recompose themselves in the League”.

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