Madelón after Central Córdoba defeat: ‘If you don't kill it off…’ | OneFootball

Leonardo Madelón spoke after Unión’s 2-1 defeat to Central Córdoba at the 15 de Abril and delivered a strong self-criticism, although he also highlighted his team’s performance for much of the match. The coach felt that El Tatengue did enough to earn all three points, but failed to make the most of its good moments and ended up paying dearly for a string of defensive errors.

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“We were doing the hardest thing, being ahead in the match and playing well. In the first half we had chances to extend the lead, and when we were at our best, the goals came,” Madelón explained. In that regard, he acknowledged there were mistakes: “In three or four minutes we made errors and they turned the match around. We had to kill it off, and when you don’t kill it off, these things happen to you.”

The red-and-white coach also took responsibility for the defeat and rejected describing it as a “dark night.” “I take responsibility for this. I had it there to close out and maybe I made a mistake in something, in some phrase at halftime or something. We were doing well in the second half, we had come out well,” he said.

One of the aspects that worries the coach most is the number of goals conceded. Unión has let in seven goals in its first four matches, and Madelón admitted the team needs to find better balance. “A lot of goals worry me. They’re getting through to us too much. We’re very honest too,” he admitted, adding that the team has an overly attacking tendency that sometimes leaves it exposed at the back.

Along those lines, the coach explained that his footballing idea will continue to be attack-minded, although he will have to make adjustments to prevent the team from being exposed. “Maybe I’m going too far because of my obsession with attacking, and we’ll use another system too, not so naive at times,” he said. However, he made it clear that he does not intend to abandon his approach: “My idea is to keep advocating attacking football, a team that attacks, that earns respect, that is uncomfortable to play against, and that runs a lot.”

Madelón also asked for calm for the players and especially defended the young ones who are taking on a bigger role. He said the squad is going through a period of adaptation because of the changes in names and characteristics it has undergone recently. “Unión fans have to stay calm, the boys give their all. Maybe one player’s best is different from someone who came in compared to someone who left, but they give their maximum performance and we’ll find our rhythm,” he said.

On the other hand, the coach referred to the future of some players amid the possibility that they could leave during the transfer window. “I can’t guarantee it, but I don’t want them to leave,” Madelón said, expressing his desire to keep the squad currently at his disposal.

With four points from the first four rounds, Unión needs to start picking up points again to stay in the fight to finish among the top eight. Madelón is already focused on the next match, away to San Lorenzo: “We have to start adding points and stay inside the top eight, that’s our objective.”

In closing, the coach made it clear that the blow from the defeat to Central Córdoba is a big one, but that there is no time to dwell on it. “We all make mistakes in life, we made mistakes and we have to pay the bill quickly. That’s Saturday,” he said. And he added about the next challenge: “We have to go and work on it very intelligently.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.