"In every department, Madrid were superior to us" - Eusebio

Disappointing start

Real Sociedad coach Eusebio Sacristán admitted that there was little side could do to avoid defeat to Real Madrid on the opening day at Anoeta and said the only positive thing to take from the game was that his side never gave up hope, or stopped battling.

Overview of the game:

“We didn’t start the game how I wanted; we were not able to press Real Madrid, we didn’t manage to steal the ball off them and they looked comfortable right from the start – while the opposite was true for us - we looked uncomfortable in defence, and in trying to move the line forward, in re-organizing ourselves as a team and in winning possession in midfield. We tried but we couldn’t achieve that. Perhaps we had a couple of half chances to level but another lapse in concentration at the back cost us the second goal, and made us aware that they were the stronger side.

"Madrid didn’t leave us any options. It was very difficult for us to compete with them. The only positive part was that we insisted right up until the end and the team showed spirit until the last second, but in every department, Madrid were superior to us. All of the work we have been doing in the pre-season was focused on pressing in the opponents’ half and recovering possession high up the pitch, but we didn’t do that today. Then, we were obliged to play close to our area, we also allowed them to attack us easily; I’m a bit annoyed that we permitted that; we should have been much firmer in defence, as that would have made us feel strong, and able to start generating moves of our own. The only good aspect was that the team never dropped it head at any point, and battled right to the very end - we have a lot of tactical issues to work on so that my team improves. It's obvious that the person who is most responsible for this defeat is me. We have to improve and do so as quickly as possible”.