Axel: We're not here for the music
TranscriptTuanzebe was superb in his return game, and says the Reds aren't in the Champions League to make up the numbers...
Axel, well done. What a way to make your comeback into the first team… “Yeah, it was good. It was good to get a run out. It’s a difficult game to come back to, but I’m just happy we’ve got the win. For us, we came here to win. We’re in this competition to compete. We showed PSG respect, but ultimately we’re the bigger team and we want to dominate and get the three points.” Last time we saw you, it was against Colchester. With respect to them, it must be a bit different facing Mbappe, Neymar and Di Maria? “Most definitely, you pay them the respects but, at the end of the day, you focus on your own game and you try and do your best for the team. Like I said, we came out here to win and we got the three points and we’re happy with that.” And that formation seemed to work a treat here today, as well? “Obviously to aid the team and it being a difficult game, we tried something new and it paid off. And we’re happy that it paid off. It’s three points and happy days.” And it had to be Marcus again, here at the same end, didn’t it? “I kept telling him through the game, ‘I want my goal, I want my goal!’ and he delivered, so I’m just happy for him. And he’s delivering week in week out for the team, and I just want him to keep going and helping the team out.” And Alex Telles on his debut, what did you make of his performance? “A solid performance for him, we’re proud of him. A good addition for the team, a good personality, good character, so going forward I’m very [much] looking forward to working with him.” And your first 90 minutes for a while, obviously. How are you feeling? Are you holding up okay? “I’m feeling okay. You train hard for this. I’ve been with the rehab team and they’ve been getting me in every day and working me hard for these kind of moments, and it’s finally paid off.” And in terms of the group, what a start in arguably the most difficult game. What a start to the group… “We’re a big club, and we’re out here to compete. We’re not here for the music or just for the parade. We worked hard last season to be in this competition, so we want to be the best we can and we wanted to start off just as we did today and to continue this momentum going forward.”