Carlos Soler: “Correcting some small mistakes, I’m sure we can move up the table"

Carlos Soler scored for Valencia CF against Real Madrid in the first game between the two sides this season, and he looks to repeat the feat this Thursday at the Alfredo di Stéfano on LaLiga Matchday 29. The midfielder spoke to VCF Media on Monday after training.

The derby draw

“It feels bittersweet. We had it in the bag and in the final minutes we let two points that would have been great for us slip away. We are already focused on Thursday’s game at Valdebebas, and we want to take the three points there.”

The return to competition

“It’s all a little bit different; from how we leave the hotel -which is done in another way-, how we arrive at the stadium and even the precautions in the dressing rooms. We are adapting to this new situation. On the pitch we are gradually feeling better in terms of fitness, both individually and as a team. The other day was bitterweet because of the draw, but we’re seeing that everybody is finding it hard because it’s a new situation. We were about to take three points which would have been good in the fight for Europe, but we still have ten more games. Our rivals have their games, and we will try to win ours to get to where we want to be.”

ositives from the game against Levante UD

“It wasn’t a brilliant game. It was the first one back after a long time, and it’s tough because there are aspects that we have to improve. Tactically, sometimes you lose your positioning after so long away from the field of play, but we will steadily get that back. We have to correct a few details in how we handle the final minutes, because it’s something that has happened at other times. The equaliser came at the end, just like in the first game against Real Madrid this season. By correcting these details and maintaining the level we showed the other day, but with the fitness and tactical improvement we will have, we will keep ascending.”

Team morale

“It’s good. We’ve worked hard at home, in the circumstances we had. We’ve come back physically fit and these past five weeks at Paterna have been pretty intense and productive. We still have days left to train and to practice, although between games those players who have featured have less time for training. We’re improving our positioning on the pitch steadily; it had been three months since we last played 90 minutes, and in a preseason you could play 4 or 5 games before the competition starts. This time, the first game back was in LaLiga. There are ten matches remaining and the team look motivated. We are still up there and thankfully our rivals didn’t take the three points. We are still only four points off the Champions League spots. Ten games seems a lot, but it will be over quickly.We have to try to take as many points as possible to get to where we want to be.”

The calendar

“We have a game on Thursday against Real Madrid, then Sunday against Osasuna. We’re going to have five tough weeks; there will be many games, but that’s something that we’ve known about for a long time. It’s a question of adjusting to this new situation and there is no excuse because it’s new for everybody.

Trying for a first win.

“We’re going to go there to take something positive from the game against Real Madrid. We have good previous experiences against them, and nearly beat them in the first half of the season. We have to try to correct some small mistakes; each player knows what they have to do. I think that by correcting small mistakes and improving tactically and with our fitness, the results will come. I hope that we take three points, which is the most important thing. I was lucky enough to score in the first game against them, which earned us a draw, but we hope that in this game we can take away something more.”

Missing the fans

“It’s strange without the fans there. You feel the push from the fans a lot at Mestalla. This year we haven’t lost at home in the league, and part of that is down to them. It’s tough to not have them there, but we’re sure that they are at home cheering us on.

Whether it’s Madrid or any other place in Spain, fans always turn out and support us. That can’t be the case now, but we know that they will be supporting us from home and sending positive messages on social media. They always help. We will try to dedicate a victory to them.

We’ve had a few seasons in which the unity in the dressing room and with the fans has helped us in bad moments. They will be supporting at home. With that unity between us all, we will achieve our objectives. We’ve done that before, and hopefully this year will be the same.”