In a recent interview with Alkass TV, Antonio Rudiger has opened up about his time at Real Madrid and the season so far.
The veteran defender notably talked about the matches against Atletico Madrid as well as Arsenal, Real Madrid’s upcoming opponent in the UEFA Champions League.
But first and foremost, the defender talked about joining Real Madrid and how it was a no-brainer to accept the offer from Los Blancos.
“When an offer comes from Real Madrid, you can’t think twice,” he said. “When you join Real Madrid, I think you come to win the Champions League.”
Needless to say, Rudiger has certainly lived up to the billing, notably winning his first Champions League title with Real Madrid last season.
Talking about the best match he
has had at Real Madrid, the defender mentioned Manchester City and facing Erling Haaland. “I’ve played many matches, but I think facing Haaland for the first time changed everything for me at Real Madrid,” he said.
As for his worst outing for Real Madrid, the veteran admitted, “The loss in El Clasico.”
Despite losing twice to Barcelona this season, Rudiger, though, admitted that the most difficult striker he has faced in the Spanish league so far has been Julian Alvarez.
When asked about Alvarez’s controversial penalty, he said, “Honestly, I saw it from the start, but the referee went back to ‘VAR’ and decided not to award the penalty, so I don’t understand the controversy we’re talking about here.”
Speaking of Atletico Madrid, Rudiger offered his thoughts and how perceives the idea of the Madrid derby.
“The Madrid Derby is where two rivals from the same city compete, and the fans of both teams really don’t like each other. You have to prepare well to win,” he said.
Real Madrid did recently beat Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 of the Champions League this season, with Rudiger notably scoring the final penalty in the shootout that helped Los Blancos seal a narrow and rather controversial win.
Talking about the final penalty, Rudiger admitted that he took the responsibility in order to shield Endrick.
“I took responsibility for the fifth penalty kick against Atletico Madrid to protect Endrick because he’s a young kid and might be psychologically affected if he missed it,” he said.
Rudiger also talked about his muscle injury in February which saw him miss key matches. Reflecting on his injury, the defender said:
“The injury deprived me of two decisive matches against Atletico Madrid and Manchester City away from home, but sometimes you have to look at it in a positive way.“
The veteran defender is back in full flow, though, and is looking forward to the upcoming Champions League clash against Arsenal, in the quarterfinals.
“Arsenal are a great team, and we will definitely have two very ...
