"We will play to win!"
RBL head coach Marco Rose and Xaver Schlager in their pre-match press conference ahead of the final UEFA Champions League group stage game against Real Madrid | Kick off on 2nd November, 18:45 CET at the Stadion Wojska Polskiego in Warsaw.
Last game of the group stage! Two top team go head-to-head with a place in the last 16 at stake. RBL will give everything to progress to the next round in the Champions League.
Marco Rose and midfield engine Xaver Schlager answered the media’s questions in the pre-match press conference ahead of the sixth group game in Group F.
A look ahead to the game in Warsaw
After arriving in Warsaw, we met Xaver Schlager ahead of the crucial game against Shakhtar. Together we looked ahead to the challenges facing the team on Wednesday night.
Watch the full interview here.
Xaver Schlager ahead of the game against Shakhtar Donetsk
Marco Rose on...
... opponent Schakhtar Donetsk:
“They are a great team that works really hard and with a lot of passion and have unbelievably large amounts of individual quality. With Mykhaylo Mudryk and Taras Stepanenko, they have two danger men who could decide the game.”
... the approach for such a decisive game:
“It is a final for both teams. Both teams can still get through, but could also be knocked out of the Champions League. Even if a draw would be enough for us to progress into the last-16, it is never smart to play for a draw. We want to play our game as we have done in the last few days and weeks, and play to win. In the course of the game we will then get more and more of a sense of how it is going. We want to play good football against a good opponent and win the game.”
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Xaver Schlager on...
... his champions league experiences:
"Playing in the Champions League is always really special for me. It’s always a really exciting challenge and games under the floodlights are always really cool. Our position in the group is a strong one. We want to get the job done and reach the next round – I want to play my part in us doing that!”
... the decisive champions league game:
"This will be a difficult game for us, even though we’ve got ourselves into a good position and we will go into the match full of confidence. We are well aware of how strong our opponents are. We cannot afford to lose and have to keep playing as we have been to get the result we need.
I haven’t forgotten from the last game against them how we had lots of the ball and they waited for chances to attack us on the break. We have to win to get through tomorrow. I’m expecting them to try and control possession this time. We have to break down their compact defence better than we did back in Leipzig.”
Showdown in Warsaw!
Squad news:
- Goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, who missed out against Leverkusen with a calf problem, will return between the sticks against Shakhtar Donetsk.
- Mohamed Simakan (shoulder) and Kevin Kampl (ankle) are also available again for our final Champions League group match.
- Amadou Haidara pulled up in final training on Tuesday and is a doubt for the game.
- Yussuf Poulsen will miss out with an ongoing muscular issue.
- Lukas Klostermann, Konrad Laimer and Péter Gulácsi (ACL) remain unavailable.