Chivu: “We knew how to suffer: an important win”

“These are the kind of games where, if you don’t finish them decisively, you can find yourself in trouble. Today, I had to adapt Pavard to play as a wing-back and move Bisseck into the middle given the circumstances. You have to adapt to the team and to the situation. I would have liked to see a little more character from us towards the end, dominating the game as we did in the first half, but we were in the midst of a challenging phase, and I had to react accordingly. It’s still early days for the new signings. Jones and Stones have plenty of experience, but they still need time to settle in. Playing in high-pressure environments is second nature to them, but they need to get back up to speed. They have the right attitude; they’re two exemplary players with great grit and enthusiasm, and we’re delighted to have them. We lost five players and had to replace them. Diouf is showing promising signs of growth in a wide role, and we opted for a more defensive profile who can play on either side. We had been considering Curtis in midfield for some time because of his character and quality. We have a midfield packed with top players, and it’s my job to keep everyone happy. That’s the most difficult part of being a coach. The mission is to see every player with a smile on their face every week. It's not easy. Real Madrid? I was thinking about Napoli, because that's who we face first. Today wasn’t easy either. Cagliari have plenty of drive, and a lot of teams struggled here last season. When we go to Madrid, we’ll give it our best shot. We want to be competitive, and we more or less know the points tally we need to avoid the playoffs.”