Julen Lopetegui has revealed how Real Madrid plan to replace Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals – by making it ‘the responsibility of the collective’.
Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus has left Madrid with a huge void in terms of goals, given he was their top scorer in each of his nine seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Lopetegui believes Los Blancos can cover the loss of their talisman with hard work.
“Every game is prepared for differently,” the Coach said at a Press conference for Sunday’s trip to Girona .
“Girona are going to be difficult, we know what happened last year and we want to win, which is the objective.
“Every game is a conquest and these three points can be definitive for us. It’s important that we’re focused on each match because each one is Final and these three points are worth as much as those in March or April.
“We haven’t decided what we’re going to do with the goalkeepers during the season, but it’ll be seen to.
“Some of them joined up later, but they’ve been training hard. We’ll make a decision on them and manage the situation by talking to the one who plays and those who don’t.
“The style of any team stems from the players and I’m lucky to have some very good ones.
“There’s a lot of talk about style and possession, but everyone’s objective is to win. That’s all there is to it.
“There are teams who allow you to have more possession, while others don’t. Still, the important thing is that the players assimilate concepts and use them to win.
“Possession may or may not be worth it, but winning is. I’m just 100 percent focused on polishing the magnificent squad we have.
“I’m not thinking about signings, only that we’re focused on each game. Vinicius is a member of the squad, he’s young and sometimes he’ll play with Castilla.
“We’re focused on surpassing Ronaldo’s goal tally with the work of everyone. It’s a responsibility of the collective, rather than putting pressure on a individual.
“Between all of us, we have to score goals and reduce the number we concede.”
The 50-year-old then had his say on the players’ opposition to plans of La Liga matches being played in the US.
“I’m aligned with the players,” he added.
“I think they have reason to think what they think. I’m with the players on this issue.”
Madrid squad for Girona: Keylor, Casilla, Courtois; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Odriozola; Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Marcos Llorente, Asensio, Isco, Courtois; Benzema, Bale, Lucas Vazquez, Mayoral
