ATLÉTICO DE MADRID
Gabi: "The derby is vital; we can't let Madrid get too far ahead"
"We want to be neck and neck with Real Madrid in the table, but we need to improve if we are going to win", the Atleti captain said.
Difficult moment
Atlético de Madrid captain Gabi was one of those to receive an accolade at the Gredos 2016 Awards Ceremony - an event which has been running for the past 28 years. Gabi received the Santosestudioavila award, in one of the national categories and attended today's event with club president Enrique Cerezo. The player spoke about the moment the team is in following the weekend defeat to Real Sociedad: "It's a difficult moment for us, the team is sued to winning, but we are not playing well and now we have gone two games on the trot losing away from home", he explained.
Madrid derby
Gabi hopes Atleti can recover their form and return to winning ways in their next outing - the Madrid derby, at the Calderón on 19 November: "It's going to be a vital game for us. It's crucial because we cannot let Real Madrid get too far ahead of us in the table, we want to be neck and neck with them, but we have to improve if we are to win. Koke is playing through the middle and while he is doing well there, we are looking a bit fragile when we have to defend. We have to go back to being a team which is solid at the back and we all have to do our job to make the team secure", he said. "Defeats are always negative and more so when they eman you drop places in the table. We want to be the best team and for that to happen we have to improve".
