Lucas Silva has dismissed claims that Real Madrid are a club in crisis, claiming Carlo Ancelotti's men are merely experiencing "a moment of instability".
Los Blancos enjoyed a 22-game winning streak in all competitions
earlier in the season, as they recovered from a slow start in La Liga to
storm to the top of the standings, as well as claim the Fifa Club World
Cup and cruise through their Champions League group.
However, Madrid have suffered a number of notable defeats since the
turn of the year and their latest, a 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao on
Saturday, allowed Barcelona to displace them at the summit of the
Primera Division.
Lucas Silva, though, sees no reason to panic, arguing that Madrid
just have to work harder in order to get back to their brilliant best.
"There is no crisis," the January arrival from Cruzeiro told
reporters on Monday. "We’ve been through a moment of instability but we
are calm.
"Sometimes things don’t work out as you want them to. We need to work
hard and do more running in our games so that we can get out of this
phase we’re in and start gaining more consistency."
Lucas Silva was speaking on the eve of Madrid's Champions League clash with Schalke at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Spanish side lead 2-0 after the first leg in Gelsenkirchen three
weeks ago but the Brazilian, who is set for his first European outing on
home soil, insists that the Blancos will not make the mistake of
assuming that they are already through to the quarter-finals.
“We have a small advantage from the first leg but we have to start
strong at the Bernabeu," the 22-year-old said. "We want to win and not
suffer any surprises.
Lucas Silva has settled quickly into his new surroundings following
his €14 million move from Brazil, admitting that he feels just as
comfortable out wide as he does deputising in the middle of the park for
Toni Kroos.
"I've played in both positions - in Kroos' position and out wide - and I'm relaxed about wherever I play," he added.
"It's the coach who decides that. I've played my first games, I've
got a lot to improve and need to continue developing my game.
"But I feel relaxed and I feel ready."
No comments:
Post a Comment