DIEGO ALONSO: "THE TEAM KNOW WHAT THEY NEED TO DO AND THAT THEY'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK"

Head coach Diego Alonso spoke at Friday afternoon's press conference before travelling to Cádiz for a fixture at the Nuevo Mirandilla. "We're in a good place despite this week's results. We could have easily won against Madrid, but the performance was very encouraging. The team know what they need to do and that they're on the right track. If we produce similar performances, there is no doubt that positive results will follow."

"Cádiz will be a different challenge to our last two opponents, but we will always try to control the game. We succeeded in doing this for large parts of both the Madrid and Arsenal game. We will try to do the same again, remaining wary of their strengths."

"I'm yet to decide on the starting XI. I will wait until the last moment"

Alonso provided an update on Marcao's injury situation, having been absent from training. "Marcao has been struggling a bit over the past week. It's only a small knock though, so he will be back very soon."

"I'm yet to decide on the starting XI. It's been a physically demanding week for the players, so I will wait until the last moment when I have a better understanding of fitness levels before making a decision."

“I don’t select players based on age”

The head coach rounded off by discussing the squad at his disposal. “Age is irrelevant when it comes to making decisions on selection. Provided he is physically ready, if a young player performs well he will play, and vice versa. Then there are other metrics that inform our decisions on selection and how to rotate the squad, we have a lot of information and statistics that enable us to make the right choice.”