Cheryshev: "I'd be delighted if Valencia want me to stay"
The Russia winger spoke ahead of his side's match against Atlético at the weekend: "We have to play to our strengths and show no fear."
Upturn: “The team has managed to build up a more positive dynamic, we’ve stepped up and we’re on an upwards curve. Hopefully we can keep it going until the end of the season.”
Away win in Málaga: “Yesterday’s win was very important. We played well against Athletic Bilbao but lost because of a series of circumstances. Yesterday we didn’t play particularly attractive stuff but the win gave us a boost for the games to come. Hopefully we’ll give Atlético a game.”
Confidence: “Victories always give you confidence. It’s true I haven’t been here long but I can see the way the team works hard and if we stick together, everything will come good.”
Stamp on Kameni: “I was watching the ball and I didn’t see him. I could feel I’d made contact when he was starting to jump and that’s what knocked him off balance I think.”
Staying at Valencia: “I’m really happy here. Everybody has made me feel very welcome. But what happens at the end of the season doesn’t depend a hundred percent on me, more on Madrid. I prefer just to enjoy this now. I’ve been here a short time and I have a lot of things to improve. I’d be delighted if Valencia wanted me to stay.”
Squad: “When I got here I found a really humble and hard-working squad. All they needed was a morale boost. Now the team is back on track and we want to carry on like this.”
Two winning goals: “The coaches have asked me for a bit of everything. I was lucky that my teammates saw me twice and I managed to score both times.”
Objectives: “Our objective is to beat Atlético. It would be a mistake to start talking about long-term goals. We have to take it game by game.” Atlético: “Atlético are showing what a squad they have. They are very compact and don’t concede many. We have to play to our strengths and show no fear against them. If we go out convinced we’ll win we’ll play well.”