ALONSO: "OUR SECOND HALF PERFORMANCE SHOWED PROMISE"

Diego Alonso weighed in on Sunday afternoon's draw with Real Betis: "The team performed better in the second half, after a period in the first where the opposition created lots of chances. We tried to do the same, but we couldn't nail anything on the inside or through crosses. We didn't rise to the occasion. We improved in the second half, but our best passage of play came just before their goal as we spread ourselves too thin, but thankfully we found the equaliser. We really went for it and created chances until the end, but we're angry yet hopeful for what is to come."

"Rakitic's goal was deserved, because of his leadership and the efforts of his teammates and everyone at the club. It's just a shame we couldn't secure the victory for themEl golazo de Rakitic es merecido, por el liderazgo, por el esfuerzo por los compañeros y por el club. I think we know we can win these type of games because we have the personnel", said the Uruguayan about the captain and his performance.

Alonso continued by stating "we need the international break to regroup and work on a few things. Last international break we didn't have much time between players returning from international duty and our first game, but this time we should have a little more. We will use it to prepare and work towards our first objective: making it out of the Champions League group. To do this, we will have to make some improvements, but it is well within our capabilities. With regards to the league, we haven't lost but we do need to get three points at some point."

He finished by saying "the fans, of course, were excited. The atmosphere was incredible from the moment I arrived and it is not something that I will ever forget. Hopefully we can get some results to give back the love that they show us."