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González: "I'm proud of the players"

The coach reflects on the win against Atletico Madrid

Following the excellent start to the LaLiga season with a win over Atletico Madrid, RCD Espanyol coach Manolo González spoke in a press conference to discuss the 2-1 triumph.

“First of all, I'm very happy and proud of the players for their efforts. They were able to take the suffering, which we knew they would. I'm proud of the players; they gave their all,” he began by saying.

“Ramón was feeling off in the first half, and we thought it was best to substitute him. It seems like it was a case of heat exhaustion. We changed things and switched the formation to two fixed forwards, which worked well for us. We pressed hard and we had to take risks.”

“The way we pressed was effective, when it worked, but we also took risks. Atletico Madrid are very skillful, and that's why it's so difficult. Fortunately, it paid off, and we were able to turn the game around.”

Asked about squad rotation, he said “We have to try to avoid secondary players and find a balance. The players who aren't playing have to push hard and run to earn their place. If we don't do that, we won't win.”

González also reflected positively on the debut of Tyrhys Dolan, as the Englishman made his LaLiga bow.

“He was the profile we'd been asking for: A dynamic player, and the pace at which he plays is important -both in attack and defense. I want him to have the courage to take more steps forward and continue growing.”

After a great start, the coach still believes that “The main objective is to get 40 points, then we'll see what we’ll aim for. It's good that people are optimistic, that not everything is bad at Espanyol, and that we're seeing the positive things this club has, which are many.”