After the 1-2 loss against Atletico Madrid, we spoke with Anderlecht coach David Hubert to reflect on the match. What did the coach think of the game?
"Overall, I felt we were slightly outmatched by Atletico. What's interesting about a tournament like this is that you encounter different cultures with different philosophies. For example, you can see that their desire for aggression in challenges, in a positive sense, is a bit stronger than ours. That's something our boys don't often face. We rely more on good and well-structured football. In my opinion, we abandoned that too much.", reflects Hubert.
How dit that happen?
"We got too involved in their style of play; they won more duels and second balls, which made them slightly better in the game. We didn't play our own game enough. But, at a tournament like this, it can be exciting until the last minute. There's little to criticize about our boys—they gave everything until the end, but sometimes lacked the experience to handle certain situations."
Can you name examples of these situations?
"We had two brief periods of playing with 11 against 10, but we couldn't capitalize on that. You need to be smarter in those moments, but that comes with experience. These are the learning moments you take away from here, and they show that this is still an Under-19 team. But that's why we're here. We conceded a penalty, which brought them back into the game. It's unfortunate, as we've narrowly lost twice now. That's tough, especially mentally for the boys. We hope to finish on a positive note in our last group match."