- 2 hours ago
Hurzeler on Welbeck brace in 2-1 Liverpool win
21/03/2026
AMEX stadium, Brighton, UK
21/03/2026
AMEX stadium, Brighton, UK
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:22David, is that your best performance of the season?
00:27It's difficult to say. I think we played a really good second half, so not the best first half, but
00:33a really good second half.
00:34Played intense, created chances. I saw a team that was connected, that had a really good togetherness, that reacted well
00:43on setbacks.
00:44So we conceded the goal out of nowhere, reacted well, we stick to our principles.
00:48Overall, I was very pleased with the intensity, with how we created the chances, how we scored the goals. Therefore,
00:56I'm proud of the boys.
00:59Thomas Tuchel named a lot of players in his England score yesterday. If one of them was Danny Welbeck, I
01:04think he was a bit unlucky.
01:06Yeah, I think it's not on me to judge this decision. The only thing that I can say is that
01:13I said afterwards to Danny Welbeck, control the controllables, and that's what he did today on the pitch.
01:18He created his own record by scoring, I think now his 12th goal. And besides that, I think the media
01:27will go hard on this. But besides that, for me, even more important for our team is how he functions
01:32as a connector.
01:33He's always there to connect the different ages, to connect the different cultures we have on our team, to be
01:41there as a social leader.
01:42And I think if you want to achieve something in a World Cup, that's an attitude that definitely helps. And
01:48therefore, we keep pushing him, we keep trying to support him,
01:52and then hopefully one day he gets the rewards for all what he's doing on and off the pitch.
02:08Yeah, I think that's football. And it's also when you stay calm, when you don't overreact, when you can avoid
02:15the noise, when you don't get distracted by the noise, when you focus on the things you can control and
02:20influence, then these kind of things can happen.
02:25So now it's about understanding why we are on this run and why we created this winning culture.
02:33And I think then it's very important to stay humble, to keep working hard, to keep doing these things that
02:38brought us into this run, and play every game like it's in the final, and then we see what happens.
02:42Last one for me, Jankouba Minta, a few weeks ago, you talked about how the clubs had to support him,
02:48not just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well.
02:50And today, you've got such a big ovation from the crowd. How pleased are you to see his performance? Can
02:55you talk a bit about the work you've had to do with him?
02:58Yeah, I think it's a prime example of when a young player understands what it needs to play for this
03:05team, when a young player understands that the standards are high in every training session and that he has to
03:10wait for his opportunity.
03:12He wasn't playing, he was on the bench, he was frustrated, he had some personal issues, but one thing, what
03:18he did, he never gave up.
03:20He always was there for the team, he pushed hard in every training session. Of course, there were some lows
03:25in the training session, but he got more and more understanding what brings him back into this team.
03:31And I think today he gets rewards for all his hard work in the last weeks, for all the effort
03:36he's doing. So I'm very happy for him and now he has to keep doing these things, keep pushing and
03:41try to improve every day.
03:43Do you think Danny could have used his exclusion from England as extra motivation today? He could have been disappointed,
03:50but he looked to use it in the right way.
03:52Yeah, sometimes frustration can be turned into fascination and I think there was a prime example from Danny Welbeck today.
04:02I can't exactly say to you what happened in his body, so that's something you need to ask him, but
04:08I saw Danny Welbeck that was there for the team.
04:11I saw Danny Welbeck with a positive energy, with a really good attitude, a really good approach towards this game
04:17and he was there today. He delivered, so sometimes behaviour and performance are more valuable than any words.
04:27With Danny, you had a 35-year-old and a 40-year-old and James Milner both starting today, and
04:32yet you outran Liverpool quite considerably as a team.
04:36What does that say about the attitude of those players?
04:41I think it's no coincidence that they have these kind of careers because they are top professional, they are there
04:49for the team, they try to prepare every day the best they can do.
04:53I think they are role models on and off the pitch for the young players, so that's why they are
04:56so important for me.
04:57Because these experienced players, they set the standards, they set the basic things you want to achieve in every training
05:06session, the basic things you want to achieve in the game.
05:09They do the simple things right, they don't do complicated things, they speak on the pitch, they communicate, they support
05:15each other, they play simple passes, they show great effort and defensive work.
05:20Therefore, I can use these players as role models and be really happy to work with them and also really
05:27happy that they still have these kind of standards and these kind of levels in their body to perform and
05:35help us win the games.
05:54I think it was not the plan to test them, the plan was to be more intense than Liverpool, to
06:01press them to keep sticking to our principles.
06:04And that's what we try to do from the first second. No matter where we go, no matter to which
06:10stadium we go, we want to play our style of play, we want to stick to our principles.
06:14And I think there was another example today, we always want to play with intensity because that's our identity.
06:21We want to play intense football, we want to play football with courage and therefore it was not about testing,
06:26it was about doing the things we are convinced of.
06:30And one of the things we are convinced of is intensity.
06:44How difficult is it to stick to your principles in that situation? And what extent have the last six weeks
06:53been another learning process?
06:56So first of all, I think the learning process was we didn't play better last week, we just managed the
07:02game better.
07:03We were able to manage the key moments of the game better. And on the other side, I think it
07:10wasn't that difficult.
07:11Because first of all, I'm very convinced of what I'm doing and I'm very convinced of my principles.
07:17And second of all, I have a great board behind me. I have great staff members behind me.
07:22I have with the owner, Tony Bloom, with the CEO, Paul Barber, people who supported me through the whole season.
07:30I have with Mike and Jason, technical and sporting director, we have really trustful relationship and that definitely helps.
07:37And then I have a great staff around me and I have a great team.
07:41I have great players with great personalities and we build it over the last month a really strong relationship.
07:51And therefore, I can always rely on my players. I can always trust them because I know when it's getting
07:57tough, they will be there.
07:58And I think that's a great value and that's a great thing to have. And therefore, we have to keep
08:04pushing now.
08:05We have to keep doing the right things and then let's see how far we can go.
08:10Fabian, Arne Slott said it must be nice to have a season ticket here at the Amex because the team
08:16wants to play, your team wants to play.
08:18It's quite a nice thing to hear from a Liverpool manager, isn't it?
08:21And it kind of indicates you sticking with your idea and your principles and not changing them because the results
08:27have gone a bit wrong.
08:30Yeah, that's what I meant, saying that I'm very convinced of what we are doing, what are my principles.
08:38And therefore, in football, you always go through lows and through highs. That's normal.
08:43But a very important thing, and I have it through my whole life, is sticking to my opinion and sticking
08:48to what I'm convinced of.
08:50I want to go home, look in the mirror and say, yeah, that's me. That's how my team should play.
08:56And therefore, I think it's very important to share your opinion and to trust your opinion and then give this
09:03belief to the group as well.
09:05Give this belief to the players, to the staff. And I think it's always important to understand it's never a
09:12one-man show.
09:12It's always a togetherness that we try to achieve. And therefore, yeah, it's a nice compliment.
09:20And now we have to understand why we get these kind of compliments and keep doing the same things.
09:42Yeah, for me, it's also no coincidence that results come when availability is high, because there is a relation.
09:48It's just proven that when you have a high availability, the percentage of getting results is definitely higher, because you
09:58have competition in training, you have players fighting for their position, you have good energy, you have a lot of
10:04players who can make a change when they come on the pitch.
10:08So I can choose from different options regarding the results, regarding the game, regarding the tactics.
10:16So therefore, now at the moment, I'm very pleased with the availability. Therefore, a big compliment to my medical department,
10:23because they do a hard work for getting this availability.
10:26They stick together, and I'm very happy for them as well.
10:32And just another yellow card for you today. Was that a harsh one?
10:35Yeah, it's too harsh. Like, for me, I don't want to create another big bang here.
10:43So I was sitting here, I think, a few weeks ago after Arsenal and created a big bang.
10:48So now I'm more careful what I say, because I don't want to be the main topic tomorrow in the
10:56media.
10:57But it's just, if I see how Ada behaves, and then I behave like this, and I immediately get a
11:05yellow card, it's just nonsense.
11:08But...
11:09What did he say?
11:10Nothing. I said nothing. I was asking why in this case we didn't get a yellow card, and why the
11:20opponent didn't get a yellow card for this foul.
11:21That was the only question I made, and that was it.
11:24Did you actually not even imagine who went yellow card? Because that seemed to be the signal, I think.
11:29Maybe it was this case, but even then, I can say to you, other managers in the league, they do
11:35it as well.
11:36There is a clear rule, you know?
11:37There is a clear rule, but then you have to do it for everyone.
11:40Patrick, can I just check, with Carrillo, obviously, he came back from that painful ankle.
11:46Will you really touch up to Japan or ask him to not go too much, or how will that work?
11:52Yeah, I think we had an exchange with the Japanese medical department, so they know how much he trained in
12:02the last weeks,
12:02they know where he is at the moment, so overall I hope it doesn't only count for Japan,
12:10for all the national teams that they take care of, our players, because I think we give them in really
12:16good shape to them,
12:18and hopefully they come back in good shape, and therefore everyone has responsibility now.
12:32I think that was a really good observation, Brian, I can confirm this.
12:36I think that's how, or what I mean, it's about managing key moments better.
12:43We stick to our principles, we stay calm, we didn't overreact it.
12:46Of course, we know this was a very unlucky goal we conceded, but we were good in the game,
12:52and then afterwards we were even better in the game.
12:54We created a better energy, we created chances, and I think that was a prime example of managing key moments
13:02in the game.
13:03Fabric, can I just ask you one more just about Jason Steele?
13:06Because he looks like he's going to play a very unique role in the next England camp.
13:11Is that something that Thomas Tuchel had gotten into contact with you before to find out about his character
13:15and how he might fit in with the team?
13:18No, we didn't spoke specifically about that, but it's another great example of Jason Steele.
13:27First of all, when he plays, he's so reliable and he's one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.
13:33For me, he's the best number two in the league, definitely.
13:36But besides that, he is an unbelievable character and he has quite similar attitudes
13:43as what I just mentioned with Danny Welbeck.
13:47He's a connector, he is taking care of the team, he creates a really good dynamic in the team,
13:53he builds a cohesion between the different ages and I think that's just crucial for every team in the world.
14:00If you want to be successful, you need to have these kind of characters in the team who understand their
14:06role,
14:07who know, oh, I might not play, but I will 100% be there for the team, 100% try
14:13to support the head coach
14:14and therefore it was no surprise for me that he got nominated.
14:19Uda?
14:20Uda!
14:21Uda!
14:22Uda!
14:24Uda!
14:26Uda!
Comments