Real victory buys Lopetegui time
MADRID: Julen Lopetegui grasped at the hope it could prove a turning point but Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League is unlikely to guarantee his survival.
Madrid ended their run of five games without a victory, and three without avoiding defeat, while they scored twice in a match for the first time in over a month. But away from streaks halted and a certain sense of pride restored, beating Plzen on Tuesday was never likely to save the coach, still less given the kind of win that came at the end of 12 nervy minutes, with Madrid hanging on for the whistle.
Karim Benzema, the team’s best performer by a distance, and Marcelo, had put them two up before the hour and had one or two of a handful of chances gone in, a more emphatic score might have lifted the mood.
As it was, Plzen’s openings were even clearer and the feeling afterwards at the Santiago Bernabeu was the European champions had been fortunate. Barcelona will not be so generous on Sunday. Lopetegui focused on the result. “The important thing was to win this game, the players really needed it, and so did their coach,” he said. “For me, it could be a turning point. We created lots of very clear chances.”
Casemiro said, “We have to be honest. We are not playing well but we have to trust these players and the coach. We are not in a good run but we have to work and overcome this situation.”
Even Lopetegui’s body language was more a picture of agitation than satisfaction. He had winced and grimaced his way through the second half, and cast a downbeat figure in his postmatch press conference.
“Have you studied psychology?” he replied to a journalist making the point.”