"If we go out with a plan and stick to it, we'll be closer to winning"

Atletico Madrid captain Koke Resurreccion said on Monday that "nobody thought" his team could "do everything" they have done in the Champions League when they returned to the competition 10 years ago and remarked that "hopefully" they can give it "continuity" on Tuesday against Inter at the San Siro stadium.

"If you look back 10 years, the stability has been spectacular. It's unbelievable. Nobody thought we could do everything we have done in the Champions League or in European competitions. It's a wonderful thing and hopefully we can continue it on Tuesday," he explained from the scene of the first leg of the last 16 of the continental competition.

Focused on what his team has to do "well", more than on his opponent, Koke is "focused on winning" at the start of Tuesday's tie, with the second leg at the Metropolitano, while he anticipates a "hard-fought game against a great team, very well worked, who get a lot of people into the box and play a lot on the flanks".

"When they have the ball, they have quality players to keep possession. When they have to defend, they have no problem in doing so. It will be a nice game for the spectators, with a lot of intensity, and we hope we can be lucky enough to win," added the captain, who highlighted Inter's "teamwork" as their best quality.

 

February 20, 2024

"Morata? I've seen him at a great level"

"Beyond the individuals they have, it's the team as a whole. They know what they play every game, they have a well-prepared block. That's their greatest virtue," said Koke, who spoke of Lautaro Martinez, "a world-class player and one of the best strikers in football today", and the midfielders he will face: Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

"They are three great players. Not only them, but they have a great team, they have a lot of quality in the midfield, they move around a lot and we'll see how to deal with that on the pitch," he analysed.

"In the end, there are moments when you have to play well, when you can play well, and there are other moments when you have to suffer and fight. The level of the Champions League rises and we have to raise it. Let's hope we're up to the level of the game, which is spectacular against a great team, and we give 100 per cent," he said.

Alvaro Morata has been included in the squad after recovering from a knee sprain in nine days. "If he has trained these two days and is in the squad, it's because he has been doing well. I've seen him at a high level. If he's lucky enough to start or when it's his turn, hopefully he'll be lucky enough to score a goal like the good striker he is," he said.