Sampaoli: "Our chance against Real Madrid is to control the game"

"They end up being unpredictable; the idea is to be the protagonist"

MADRID, 21 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Sevilla FC coach, Jorge Sampaoli, acknowledged that in order to have their "opportunity" against Real Madrid, next Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu, they will have to "control the game" against an "unpredictable" rival.

"Real Madrid ends up being unpredictable. It is a team that has a progression and connection between the players. They are in a good moment and it makes them extremely dangerous. If we want to have an opportunity, we have to control the game", explained Sampaoli at the press conference prior to the clash of LaLiga Santander.

The Argentine coach praised the solvency of the white team, who "does not have fixed positions, occupies the empty spaces well and has very well read the times of verticality". For this reason, Sevilla will base their options on control of the ball.

"In midfield we must have players with the ability not to lose it and have the opportunity to structure themselves defensively before they manage to break down, that's the idea of ​​the match. With their conviction and confidence it becomes complicated, but the biggest situation is the control of the game with the ball", he reiterated.

However, the Seville box coach admitted the "complications" in the defensive block. "They are real and they increase throughout the games. For this confrontation we have to have structures beyond proper names that allow us to try to neutralize a team with great force," he said.

Sevilla will seek to continue with the 'Sampaoli effect', which has yet to experience defeat in its second spell at the helm of the Andalusian bench. In total, three draws and one victory. Now, in the fifth duel, he will be able to count on Marcao.

"We didn't want to risk him in Valencia, tomorrow he already has the possibility of reappearing. He will travel with the group, but there are players who have been playing with some discomfort. Fernando has not improved, Nianzou is injured and Acuña has a chronic problem that comes playing in a low percentage of what he can", he acknowledged.

"I want to see the team be brave and enjoy the game, beyond the result. If we were scared to the Bernabéu, I don't know how we would get out of there. We will try to play a game with a lot of audacity, then development puts you in your place or not , but the idea is to be the protagonist", added Sampaoli, who highlighted the difficulty of analyzing the competition in the middle of the season.

"It is a moment where we have to be correcting our situations all the time. The first half in Mestalla the team could not play, they got frustrated and it was quite boring. In the second, when we found spaces to play, in a different system than usual used, we began to generate goal situations and we could have won the game", he highlighted.

For this reason, the "new process" generates negative connotations, such as "injuries, stress and a drop in performance because there is a transformation from one form to another. On top of that, it is played every two days," added the Argentine.

Finally, Sampaoli referred to the fans, who have to "pick up" what the team "offers" them on the pitch. "The second half against Valencia made the fans vibrate for those 45 minutes. We can't ask them for anything, we have to give them that hope. they will experience a different game", he sentenced.