It was a very solid performance, you must be really pleased?
Yes, that's the word.
It was very, disciplined, very solid, very serious.
In my opinion, we had to take care of some things to control the counter-attacks before
they even started.
For that, we had to be very disciplined and we had to close the spaces down while trying
to attack.
They changed their formation today and we did not expect that, so there were not the
same spaces we thought we could explore.
We played very disciplined on the ball, they played very disciplined off the ball It was
not maybe the most exciting game to watch but it was challenging for us to keep the
focus and discipline up because you know our schedule, we come very a from demanding schedule,
from Madrid, travelling, being in a lot of different competitions.
So this is where the credit goes to my team and why I'm proud: we did not lose the focus
for a second.
We tried to find different spaces in the second half to overload the middle and to maybe accelerate
the game more towards the box and the last third a bit easier.
Minute by minute, it then became a bit more fluid.
Then it's one of these games that you have to covert maybe a half-chance or the chance
to win it.
If the opponent does, which can always happen, you can maybe play the same game and go out
the feeling of whether we did enough.
But it was hard to do more without taking crazy risks.
If you win the game, you say it was solid, focused and controlled, but there was not
many other ways to play it in my opinion.
We controlled it and didn't lose focus or patience.
You now have the potential for revenge against Liverpool and a chance to stop their quadruple?
"I don't care about their other titles.
We lost, of course, the final.
We gave everything in that final as you know, it was a big match that went until the very
last penalty.
Of course, we were unlucky and lost it.
We want to turn things around.
It will not give us the Carabao Cup title back but we are here and were here last season
in the FA Cup final and that means an unbelievable lot to us.
"It's the FA Cup, the most prestigious, most traditional cup in the world and played at
Wembley.
There are not a lot of bigger games to be part of and it's why we are grateful and we
will be well prepared.
We play against one of the strongest teams in the world which are in outstanding form
given their results.
So it will be a tough one and we will try to make life hard for them."
How important would another trophy be at the end of this impressive but difficult season?
We cannot promise.
All we can do now is to be well prepared because it will be another hard fight given the quality
and run of form from Liverpool.
It's unbelievably difficult to beat them but this is what a cup final is about.
It's about winning and we need to try to find a way to beat them.
We'll need a bit of luck and everything at the top level we can have.
Of course, it makes the season that much sweeter if you have at the end of the season a final
that you can win.
But as we all know in a final, two compete against each other and we experienced last
season and this season that sometimes you give your everything and it's not enough.
We will try to find a way and if we do this, then we deserve it.
And we want to deserve it.
Timo Werner's performance today, he created a lot of space for Kai Havertz and Mason Mount.
Is that something you've worked on?
No, he worked on it.
The players take care also of their place in the team.
We had a bit of a change in formation up front so he played against Southampton and he played
alongside Kai, Mason and Mateo Kovacic around him.
He likes that a lot and has a good connection with them, so that was maybe the turnaround
point for him.
He scored and had big chances.
He was decisive in Madrid and could have been the hero with the third goal but unfortunately
not.
But he scored, was involved, create chances and spaces, and did again today.
It was very hard to find spaces today and be decisive but he assisted the second goal.
Also for Mason, it was perhaps impossible for him today to have the influence he normally
has, to have the high rhythm of actions he is normally used to and is good for his game.
But he stayed patient, waited and finished with a lot of composure.
So full credit to them.
We have a lot of young players and to do this all the time is very good for their development.
Timo at the moment is a huge part and takes care he stays in the team.
How big a moment was the opening goal for Ruben Loftus-Cheek given what he’s been
through?
Hopefully, a big moment because it was a big moment.
You see in his celebration, it was nice because he is usually a very clam and quiet guy.
But to see him like this, jumping and celebrating a goal was good.
Like I said, he has the opposite of over-confidence.
We need to install this confidence into his body, into his game, and these are the next
steps for him that he can absolutely feel how much influence he can have.
We want him to show everybody in the stadium his potential and not only us on the training
ground.
These are the next steps for him and we will encourage him to do so.
Like Timo, he was involved in the last three matches and was involved in goals and assists.
Today with the opening goal that was decisive, so very, very good.
How is Mateo Kovacic and was there an issue with N’Golo Kante today given he didn’t
start?
N’Golo is ok but we decided for Jorgi in the mix because he was out against Madrid
and was hungry to play this match.
The season is not finished and we wanted to reward Jorgi and Azpi to stay part in this.
We also needed some fresh legs so NG is not injured.
When Kova comes off, you know that he is in pain.
The ankle is swollen, it’s a huge ankle right now.
So let’s hope.
It doesn’t look so good but we will wait for the examination
and we can tell you more.
How was the mood between these two matches and does getting through to the final give
you an energy boost for the rest of the season?
I didn’t feel the players so flat.
It was everybody’s right to digest it because we played on Tuesday and then Sunday, that
is an awful lot of time for us if you look at our schedule.
So we used it.
We gave everyone a day off and trained the next day in the afternoon.
We gave them a speech after Madrid straight away and got a lot of positive feedback but
it was mixed feelings because we won and had a fantastic performance, but still we were
out of a competition we wanted to stay in.
So we gave them time.
I can tell you on Friday the training quality was excellent and this was for me, the very
best sign.
It’s always the very best sign.
And on Thursday, the players who didn’t play, the guys who were on the bench and we
brought over some guys from the academy, they also trained with quality.
The mentality, attitude, joy, quality, that was the best sign.
It showed me the group takes care of itself and that we can focus on the process and what
we can influence.
This was excellent to see.
On Friday, all the others came back, we trained with a full group and it was at such a high
level and intensity, that I almost got scared that we did too much.
We reduced training yesterday in terms of intensity because they were so hungry to be
out there.
They really enjoyed and it these are the best signals.
If the players who have disappointment in them, if they take care about the quality,
attitude and discipline in training, this makes a group special and this is what these
guys do constantly.
They put their ego aside and do what they love.
It’s what I love and it feels like amateur football at some point, for the love of it,
being out there and having a good time in training with a lot of quality.
So we felt well prepared without having big talks about Madrid.
What could I tell them that makes the pain go away?
Nothing.
How important is it to have a trophy to keep playing for?
We want to be in every competition and, like
last season, to have this big final at the end of the season is massive.
It gives you this joy to have something waiting and right now, if it's not only the league
that is demanding enough, we have another final and it gives us a lot of confidence.
It’s a big emotional boost, of course.
We are happy to have this final and we will give everything to be ready there.