BANEGA: "IN THE SECOND HALF WE WERE ALOT MORE FRESH THAN WE WERE IN THE FIRST"

Éver Banega was not in the starting squad in the victory against Las Palmas but a late substitution meant that he had just minutes during the final moments of the game to secure the win. When speaking to the press the Argentinian addressed how the team from the Canary Islands made the victory a difficult one: " It's possible to say that tonight we struggled more than normal, but neither in our attack nor with our defence, we struggled as a result of exhaustion. This victory at home is important if we are to continue with the same momentum and prolong our winning streak. We were aware that Las Palmas had been playing extremely good football in the last few years and they consistently challenge their opponents.The important thing is that we won and I hope that our winning streak will continue".

Despite the aforementioned exhaustion and fatigue of the squad possibly leading one to think otherwise, the midfielder asserted that the team still had fight left in them after the half-time break: "Perhaps in the second half of the match we had a lot more energy than in the first, but we came off the back of playing matches in the week and at the weekend. It is normal for that to affect our performance, however, we have a broad team and we always have spare parts at our disposal".

The team have secured 13 of the first 15 points up for grabs and the team will fearlessly make their way to the Wanda Metropolitano: "We have confidence in what is yet to come, we are continuing with the mentality that our manager has instilled in us - that we have to go out on the pitch to win, always. We have started with an impressive winning streak and I hope that we can maintain this level of performance because the team shows that it wants more. All of our opponents challenge us, and perhaps Atlético is one of our more difficult rivals when considering their performance in the last few years. Even so, we will go to Madrid without fear".