Blancos’s center-half is a World Cup-winning defender, but he endured an evening to forget at the Etihad Stadium in early August.
Real Madrid’s horror show against Manchester City
Raphael Varane admits it is “difficult” to make peace because his “mistakes” cost Real Madrid in a Champions League horror show against Manchester City. Blancos’s center-half is a World Cup-winning defender, but he endured an evening to forget at the Etihad Stadium in early August. Zinedine Zidane’s side arrived in England with complete confidence on the back of a La Liga title triumph, but their European dreams had to be spoiled as they suffered a second 2-1 defeat to City final-16 stage. Varane was mostly responsible for their demise, with Gabriel Jesus robbing him off the ball to throw Raheem Sterling on Etihad’s starting goal. The France international then nodded directly at the path of Jesus, trying to find Thibaut Courtois as Real Madrid’s continental ambitions unraveled in Manchester.
Varane’s knockout game Vs Sky Blues
After that, Varane raised his hands and admitted that it took him a while to shake his system’s disappointing performance. The 27-year-old told journalists: “Yes, sure, that will not remain a perfect memory in my career. It was a difficult game for me. It was a knockout. Right after the match, I wanted to take responsibility, made a few mistakes. It was worth our victories. You had to digest and watch what is happening ahead and think about what was happening. At the highest level, we do not have time to think about it. We have to think about the next game. The days that followed were a little difficult, I admit, but at the highest level has to look ahead quickly.”
According to Varane, Sergio Ramos is an important player for Blancos
Now Varane looking to the future as Real Madrid prepares to open their 2020-21 campaign, he wants to prove again that he has the talent and leadership to go in alongside Sergio Ramos – and potentially become a Blancos legend as a skipper on some stage in the future. “I am sure that we are very complementary to each other in the game,” said Varane. “We have qualities that complement each other perfectly, we have been playing together for several years, so we know each other perfectly. In defense, he works in pairs, and this understanding is essential. For the future, after Ramos leaves, it is difficult to predict things for me. I am a leader in my way. I talk a lot with my teammates before matches. We talk about tactics, positions. Everyone has their path.”
“It’s hard to plan for the future, and Real Madrid is a huge club with great players. The important thing is that everyone plays their part in the team. When we won our titles, our Champions League, it was like a team with 11 leaders on the field each time. Sergio is a legend in Madrid. I don’t think about the future at the moment, but for sure, Ramos is a crucial player for us.”